Different Seasons means Different Footwear

San Diego Winter Problem #8: Socks with Flip-Flops Doesn't Really Work.

Socks with Flops

Like I've said before, Winter in San Diego means cold mornings. Brutal bone-chilling 50 degrees. I know! Anyway, we have to prepare for that in advance because flip-flops and socks don't really have that style.  

Here in the beach paradise of Southern California, we have four types of footwear. Barefoot, everyday flip-flops, formal leather Reef flops, and our Teva hiking sandals.  

So, what do we do on those cold Winter mornings? Well, some of us just tough it out and keep wearing our everyday flops, because we are just built that strong and tough. We are actually freezing inside, but image is more important. 

The other option is to repurpose your Teva hiking/water sandals and wear socks. Yes socks.   Socks do keep your feet warm, and with the full sandal you don't get that weird sock-between-the-toe thing. People keep trying to invent socks that work with flops, like ones without toes at all, or ones with individual sock toes (like gloves for your feets), but I prefer only having to have three pairs of socks on hand at any single point in time.   I hear people have sock drawers? Entire drawers of socks? Why?

San Diego Storms get no Respect until they Hit New York

San Diego Winter Problem #7: Our Problems aren't Problems until they are Your Problems

Polar Vortex II, January 2015

I know that I've said that it never happens, but it actually does. Occasionally a real storm will pass through San Diego. Yes, usually at night when we are all asleep, but waking up to a damp driveway with a few scattered palm fronds and a tipped-over trash can will certainly make oneself think twice about turning down that flood insurance.  

Anyway, we get zero respect for going through these "San Diego Storm Watch" events. In fact, people make fun of them. Laugh at us. However, we are like the proverbial Canary in the Coalmine. Winter storms generally move from West to East, hitting us first before making their way across the United States.  


I can not tell you how many times I have and friends make fun of "our little storm", just to watch the National News polar vortex storm of the century coverage a few days later when the same little front hits Denver, Chicago, New York, and the rest of the Eastern Seaboard.  It is major news. Schools close. People hunker down. Power goes out. The National Guard is called in. The governor calls for a State of Emergency. This is "now" serious! 

And, we were trying to warn you!   

Winter Ocean Glare in San Diego

San Diego Winter Problem #6: Ocean Glare

Winter Glare in San Diego

Winters here in San Diego are much more brutal than the rest of the world thinks. While they have their issues, certainly, we also have our own striff right here at the beach.  One notable example is that the angle of the sun in the winter, greatly increases the glare on the ocean. It is blinding. 

Also, sometimes the glare is coupled with some high clouds that reflect the sun back at you from above as well. The San Diego winter double whammy. It is so bad that we sometimes have to close the window shades. 



The photo does NOT do it justice. I am still seeing spots. That giant white line at the horizon is not some sort of photo download error. That's actually what the horizon looks like. Imagine the sun, instead of being a little dot in the sky, was a giant stripe all the way across your line of sight. Exactly. Not good. Blinding. 

Be safe out there!

Leaving San Diego to Visit Family in the Winter Makes No Sense

San Diego Winter Problem #5: You are Screwed when you Visit other Places in the Winter

I know, right. Leave San Diego. In the Winter. Are you nuts? Sure, we're all prepared to go snow-boarding up in Big Bear, but that trip automatically comes with special snow-boarding gear we usually rent there. Any other travel to anywhere, and I mean anywhere (it rains in other parts of California), requires us to figure out what kind of cloths to bring, and that sends us into a tizzy of confusion. Will my heavy winter jacket (a light fleece) be enough to stave off a cold day in Minnesota in January? How could anyone even know that? Should I bring shoes, actually shoes, or should I try to figure out how to wedge my flip-flops onto a sock-covered foot (that's probably winter problem #7), and yes I do have socks despite what you might think -- for winter... duh. I am nothing if not prepared! The strange thing is that despite all the craziness of trying to plan for super-storm Sandy all over again, we usually end up in an over-heated house that's in our comfort range of 73-74 degrees. So after all that, we could have just worn our normal San Diego attire the entire time.

You Don't Know It is Winter Until You Step Outside

San Diego Winter Problem #4: Picture Windows Don't Tell Temperature

Here in San Diego, when you look outside your massive picture windows to stare out at the Pacific it looks the same all year round. Even in Winter you see blue skies, bright sun, beach, white ocean waves, palm trees, maybe a scattered cloud, but when you step outside in your shorts and flip-flops, BAM! That arctic blast of 60 degree wind bites into you without any warning! 

Yes, this is generally a winter morning problem, but it requires a fast duck back into the house for a hoodie. Afternoons are better, as the sun has had a little time to combat the cold winter night. However, a little head's-up would be nice! Really.  

Heating and Air Conditioning on the Same Day

San Diego Winter Problem #3: HVAC Confusion

Why do I have to choose?

Your HVAC system (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) gets really confused during the harsh San Diego winter. The "Heating" part of your system is actually used (really) for about 30 minutes each morning to "take the chill off" and yet, around 2:00pm, it is back to "Cooling" mode as that bright sun streams through your picture windows. 

Yes, it is almost always 74 degrees here in San Diego, but glass windows heat up interiors like a greenhouse unless you keep your windows open (but that's another topic). Anyway the real problem is that most thermostats force you to manually choose between heat and cool, which when done twice a day makes you feel like a cave man calling on the HVAC gods to do his bidding! Urg. Now. Um. Heat. Now. Cool. Mmm! 

Luckily, technology has started to get past this, and modern thermostats like the Nest Learning Thermostat will automatically handle the mode switch for you. Thank goodness for small miracles! Together, as a united humanity, we will overcome!

The San Diego Windshield Wiper Issue

San Diego Winter Problem #2: Rotted Windshield Wipers

All that windshield wipers really do in San Diego is sit on your car and rot in the sun all year. Then when it rains for the one day of the year that it rains here in paradise, they scratch up your windshield. I mean, etched lines running back and forth across your windshield like a diamond on glass.

So, you run out the next day and buy new wipers, and they rot in the sun all year until the next time in rains the following Winter.  In reality, you probably shouldn't even have windshield wipers at all in San Diego. Just leave your car alone on the rainy day, and save a ton on replacing scratched windshields. 

The other option, which actually works quite well is to prepare your windshield with Rain-X Rain Repellant  and just speed like you normally do and watch the droplets of water just cascade off your cars. 

Side note: Auto parts stores in San Diego don't carry wipers. You have to special order them if you can even find a salesperson who knows what you are talking about -- usually someone older, who remembers water falling from the skies way back in '82, when it rained for three days. Three days! 

People Can't Drive in the Rain in San Diego

San Diego Winter Problem #1: Driving in the Rain

People here in sunny San Diego by the Sea can't drive in the rain. It rains once a year, so people either keep driving 75mph like they normally do, or they over-react and drive 50mph. The combination of slow road-blocks and wet surfaces makes for an interesting day. Best to stay and bed and sleep late that day. I'm sure that there are people who used to know how to drive in rain, but when they move here they forget after about five years. You could have been the the best Seattle rain driver in the history of the world, but five years in San Diego will ruin all your mad skills. In fact, you are probably one of the ones driving your usual 75mph as you have your Seattle attitude of, "this is nothing, I used to drive in the rain every day back home." 

The rain driving issues are also related to issue #2, as you really can't see out your windshield due to the rotted out wipers.