I wasn’t supposed to be in San Diego right now, but here we are…
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Monsoon season officially arrived in Arizona, so after I got back on the road from my new van build, I spent three days in Sedona…until clouds and storms started rolling in and blocking the sky.
What did I do? Turned right back around, went to Phoenix, ordered rooftop solar panels for my van, and installed them on Tuesday and Wednesday (which I was going to do in September, but those three days in Sedona treated me extremely well and I might as well get it done now).
It’s so weird having my power station at 100% constantly, not worrying about how much solar I’ll have time to get on any given day!
On Wednesday afternoon, I got back on the road and drove to…San Diego!
Although I had been hoping to get in early enough for astronomy on Wednesday night, the reality was I did laundry and ran some errands, pushing my arrival time to 10pm. So Thursday July 16th (tonight!) will be Day 1 of sidewalk astronomy in San Diego, starting at 6pm with Venus and the Moon closer to sunset each evening.
I’ll stick around San Diego until one of two conditions are met:
- July 29th, at which point I need to drive north to Idaho
- This round of monsoons peters out and Sedona gets a clear stretch, which doesn’t appear to start until later next week
Even if that clear stretch comes, I may just stick around San Diego. Still weighing the pros/cons of jumping back to Arizona.
BUT that’s some of the beauty of being a traveling astronomer living the van life: the ability to work almost anywhere and jumping back and forth between cities as needed.
There is obviously some calculation to this. Weather is certainly a factor. I of course need to make money, so while I’d prefer to be in Sedona for that (tourists who want to do same-night private stargazing tours) San Diego is great for sheer volume of visitors. The marine layer is a hazard, but with Venus and the Moon being the primary targets the next two weeks, the marine layer won’t be much of a setback.
Why? Venus can be seen at all times of day, so I can start at 5 or 6pm even though sunset is close to 8pm. After sunset, if the marine layer begins drifting overland, the Moon is bright enough to shine through, limiting the visual impact (and in many cases, fog acts as a welcome natural filter to dim the bright light).
This is also why I keep data and record every factor in every town and city I visit. As the years go on, I’m developing itineraries that maximize visitor reach and stabilize my personal revenue around the country. In both 2025 and 2026, I’ve focused more on the western US (Arizona and California primarily), and in just over a month I’ll be in Missoula, Montana. But in 2027, I’m going to practice itineraries in New Mexico and Colorado.
Summer tends to be slow due to monsoon season and variable weather patterns in many parts of the country, so I’m still searching for reliable areas to be in the June – August months. Florida is fantastic for December – February, Arizona is perfect for March – May and September – November. It’s those finnicky months in between I’m still searching for regular locations that won’t be heavily impacted by evening weather.
But, I digress.
If you’re in San Diego or any of the nearby towns up and down the coast, come visit my free telescope at North Embarcadero Park/Seaport Village on the edge of downtown! I’ll definitely announce if I’m going to head back to Sedona at the end of next week, but it’s 100% dependent on weather there. According to the three weather apps I use for my decisions, San Diego looks like it should be mostly fine for the next two weeks (partly cloudy isn’t a dealbreaker).
See you out there!
This world is beautiful.
Alex
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