So, we did indeed make it, and even when the airline said we would, which was a nice change. Apparently Detroit closed shortly after we took off due to inclement weather, and Baltimore was threatening to do the same shortly after we took off for Charlotte.

So, my experiences so far. First, the resort itself. It's... not what you'd expect. For something bearing the special distinction "Gold Crown," it feels more like a Comfort Inn than a Hilton. It's very comfortable and quite clean, but the amenities are not mind-blowing, and I certainly wouldn't use the word "luxurious" to describe it. Further adding to my surprise were the huge power plant with smokestack and the giant tower crane visible from the beach, the railroad tracks, and the 7-11 across the road. Not exactly what I envisioned when this all began, but nonetheless, just fine for what I need. Carlsbad itself is scuzzy, very poorly laid out as far as driving goes (you have to make six turns and one u-turn for every turn you'd have to make back home), and full of unique restaurants that serve food that isn't very good. As for the people? Well, someone tried to start a fight with me our second night here in the 7-11 parking lot, the TV was stolen from our resort library (which has 24 hour security) the same night, and apparently there was a bomb scare here a week ago. Lovely, eh? So, Conor, I have to agree with you about the overall friendliness of people - I've seen much better in the U.S. than this, but yeah, we're probably still doing better north of the border.

The towns are weird. There's the I5 which runs from San Ysidro (Tijuana), North to Los Angeles and beyond. Then, parallel and right on the ocean is the Coast Highway. Driving along that is like winding through a 50's movie, or a giant conglomerate of Port Dovers. South of Carlsbad, in order, are Leucadia, Encinitas, Cardiff by the Sea (that's right, bitches!), Solana Beach, Del Mar, and then metro San Diego. North is Oceanside. To drive through these places along the Coast Highway takes between 30 seconds and 5 minutes per town, but there is NO division between them. The only way you can tell that one surf shop is in Del Mar and the hamburger joint across the road is in Solana Beach is by the towns' welcome signs. All put together it's a city sized mass, but with the feel of a giant small town. Very weird.

Now a few miscellaneous things, in no particular order:

- San Diego has an (at least one) multi-storey open air shopping mall, where, at night, you can look up and see the stars and feel the breeze while you shop. Also, it's not that well lit, so at night, it's nice and dark in the whole place, which is perfect for me.

- I've discovered Mrs. Fields cookies. It's a chain. It's fantastic. I've looked them up and found there are indeed some in our area - Brampton, Mississauga, downtown Toronto, and, oddly, Cambridge. They're without any doubt the very best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had. Anyone remember the cookies at mmmMuffins? Same basic theory.

- It's chilly here. People are complaining about the cold, and that's hillarious to me, 'cause this is California - extreme south California, in fact - but it really is quite cool. Too cold for most people to wear short sleeves, anyway.

There's a seminar going on in our library now, which is where the internet access is, so I have to go now. But, I'll be back with more details...