by Donna Amis Davis / @DonnaAmisDavis

Big-Waves-at-La-Jolla-January-2010
Big Waves at La Jolla, the January Swell

Come along today, and we’ll venture across the Pacific Ocean from Palawan, Philippines to visit my hometown. I was born and raised in San Diego, California. Well, I was actually born in La Jolla, the gorgeous upscale village on a jewel of coastline. That’s what my birth certificate says because Scripps Hospital, where I was born, was in the heart of La Jolla at the time. I try to flaunt it, but sadly, fail to impress anyone who really knows me. Serra Mesa where I actually grew up, a 50’s-built neighborhood, is 8 miles inland from the beach, perched on a mesa above Mission Valley, middle-class and unpretentious.

Like Puerto Princesa, Palawan, San Diego also relies on tourism as a top industry. Cities catering to tourists tend to have a great selection of restaurants and places to stay. My mom worked in the restaurant business while I was growing up, and her bosses were forever opening new eateries.

Lennon and McCartney aptly sing it for me,
“There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some are gone and some remain. . .”

My mom worked for Foodmaker, Inc., which owned Jack in the Box, a real success story, and several other restaurants, including the old Oscar’s Drive-In, where waitresses wore roller skates to take orders at your car window. Later my mom worked for the men who owned the old Tortilla Flats restaurant in Mission Valley, as well as The Jolly Ox, which was right next door. In fact, Jolly Ox was my first job. I was a cashier there.

Still later my mom worked for the owner of Bully’s restaurants, several of which are still open and functioning.

  • Insider tip: if you are coming in on a late flight and need a meal after 10 pm, the Bully’s East restaurant in Mission Valley, at Texas Street and Camino del Rio South is one of the few nice restaurants in San Diego open late at night. Their steak salad with blue cheese is a terrific light meal.
Mt-Soledad-View
Bill and I on Mt. Soledad on a Glorious Thanksgiving Day!

How else do San Diego, California and Palawan, Philippines connect? Not surprisingly, my work-in-progress’s protagonist is also a San Diego girl. She desires to get into a grad program for Marine Biology, so she’ll be volunteering on an ocean-related project on Palawan to amp up her application. And she’ll be getting into a whole lot of interesting trouble while there. So stay tuned!

Donna Amis DavisNovelSan DiegoCalifornia,Donna Amis Davis,La Jolla,marine biology,Mission Valley,ocean,Palawan,Philippines,San Diego,Serra Mesa,tourism,travel,Travel and Tourismby Donna Amis Davis / @DonnaAmisDavis Come along today, and we'll venture across the Pacific Ocean from Palawan, Philippines to visit my hometown. I was born and raised in San Diego, California. Well, I was actually born in La Jolla, the gorgeous upscale village on a jewel of coastline. That's...Author of the '60s SURF SHOP MYSTERIES and DIVE SHACK MYSTERIES