Alright, so I was working on today’s crossword puzzle, just relaxing a bit after getting some yard work done. You know how it is. Got most of it filled in pretty quick, feeling good about myself.
Then I hit this one clue: City near San Diego. Seemed easy enough, right? San Diego’s got plenty of places around it. My first thought, naturally, was Tijuana, but that didn’t fit the squares I had. Then maybe Coronado? Nope, wrong letters again based on what I’d already filled in crossing it. I started rattling off others in my head.
- Oceanside? Too far north maybe, and too long.
- Chula Vista? Possible, but again, the letter count or the existing letters just weren’t matching up.
- Del Mar? Nah, didn’t feel right for the letters I had either.
I was stuck on this one for a while. Had a few letters filled in from the crossing words, looked something like _ _ M _ _ A. Six letters. That M and A really threw me for a loop. I just kept staring at it, thinking, “Come on, brain, you know this.” It’s frustrating when it’s a place you know exists, but the name just won’t surface, you know?
I put the puzzle down for a bit, grabbed another cup of coffee. Sometimes stepping away helps. Thought about that time I visited SD, driving around. Where did we go? We definitely went east a bit one day. There was this area, kind of suburban-feeling…
And then it just popped into my head. La Mesa! L-A M-E-S-A. Six letters. Fits the M and the A. Yeah, that felt right. Remembered seeing the signs for it. It wasn’t one of the big famous spots, just a regular city nearby.
It’s funny how memory works. You struggle and struggle, and then some random connection fires off and there’s the answer. Reminds me of trying to remember the name of an actor from some old movie the other day. Took me half the evening, then it just popped up while I was thinking about something totally different. Our brains are weird machines, man.
Anyway, penciled in LA MESA. Felt good to finally crack that one. Now, onto the rest of this thing. Hopefully no more clues that rely on my spotty geographic memory.
