Saturday, June 6, 2009

Pockets

An old acquaintance of mine, who I ran into a few months ago and have been playing let's try and get together but it never happens tag- told me San Diego is a city full of pockets.
I didn't believe it at first, but as I keep spending time in the different areas of this city, it's totally a city full of little communities, each with their own vibe. The difference between the pockets of San Diego versus LA is that here, the pockets have a sense of community.
I experienced that today while sitting for 6 hours in the hot sun at the Art on Adams festival. My friend who was with me was raving about how cool and funky that part of town is, and I told her back in the day Normal Heights, used to be the "Ghetto." Now it's filled with art lovers and indie crowd and vegans. Same thing with Kesington. I drove by remembering how at one time I would have been scared to drive east of the 15 on Adams Ave, and close to sunset the cute little bars and restaurants were filled with people enjoying their Saturday evening. Most of whom, most likely aren't from San Diego. We really are becoming a rarity these days. And then there is South Park, it still has it's slum streets, but it's filled with cool locals and great little bars. I never thought I would feel comfortable walking down the street at 11 pm to Claire De Lunes, and last Saturday night - there I was, and didn't even think twice about it.
It's amazing how gentrification happens.
People come together.
It's a warm feeling.
They create a sense of community.
They fill those empty pockets.