What an amazing last weekend it was in San Diego, I spent Friday night at High Dive bar and grill with my coworkers from Ashford, and then Saturday I spent most of the day on Joel's new boat. Then Saturday night I went to a going away party for Morgan Scott, and finally on Sunday afternoon I went to see the final Harry Potter with my roommate and friend Andrey. The movie was quite symbolic as I watched it, it was the last Harry Potter related book or film in the series, so I knew once it was over, that was it. Once the film was over that was also the end of my life in California. I went home and did the final packing and then I was on my way. As I was leaving San Diego it started raining, which anyone living in SD will know how rare it is to see rain in the summer. In fact during my first year in San Diego it only rained about 3 times total, and the longest gap between rains was 9 months. I left around 5 pm and headed for my first stop which is Phoenix, Arizona. On the drive to Phoenix I saw something I had only ever read about in science books. There was a lightning storm, which lasted hours. As I approached Phoenix the storm intensified, and I could see several bolts of lightning striking the ground at once. If I had to guess I would say there was a lightning strike every five seconds, and then came the rain, which I'm told is really rare for Phoenix as well.

I'm in Arizona for one more night then I'll head up to Denver, Colorado for a few days of sightseeing there.

1,141 days I've spent in San Diego and only 5 more left. Out of the entire time here I've enjoyed the last few weeks the most. My last day of work was July 6th and I have been extremely busy since then. I went to LA and Vegas for what will most likely be the last time for many years. I've been spending time with Niall, Lucas, Andrey and Andrey's summer house guests and I can tell this is one of those periods in my life where I will look back and miss these times. I am very excited for what is coming in the very near future, as I get ready to head back to the east coast and then Ireland again. I've come to realize that California is just one of those places that you need to get out of your system in order to move on with life. It's some place that people all over the world hear about, because of the movies and television, and then when you experience it, you find out its not as glamorous as the films. 3 years might have been a bit excessive, but at the same time, the lessons that I've learned and the stories I will have going forward, I am extremely thankful for.