Okay, so I wanted to share a little bit about my morning routine today. I try to keep my mind sharp, you know? And one of the ways I do that is by tackling a crossword puzzle. Usually grab one from the newspaper or an old puzzle book I have lying around.
This morning, I was working through one, pretty standard stuff. Had my coffee, sunlight coming through the window, the usual. I got to a clue, I think it was 14 Across, and it just read: City near San Diego. Okay, simple enough, right? That’s what I thought too.
My first instinct, maybe like a lot of folks, was thinking south. Tijuana pops into mind immediately, but that felt kinda off for a typical US crossword unless specified, plus I checked the letter count, and it didn’t match the spaces I had.
Working Through the Options
So, I started thinking about places right next to San Diego or commonly associated with it.
- La Jolla: That felt more like a neighborhood within San Diego, usually crosswords want distinct cities. I skipped that for the moment.
- Coronado: Nice place, definitely nearby. I counted the letters. C-O-R-O-N-A-D-O. Too long for the spaces I had. Darn.
- Chula Vista: Another big one nearby. C-H-U-L-A-V-I-S-T-A. Also too long.
I looked at the grid again. I already had a few letters filled in from the ‘Down’ clues that crossed 14 Across. It looked something like this: E _ _ _ _ O N. Seven letters total. Okay, this helps a lot!
So, a seven-letter city near San Diego, starting with ‘E’ and ending with ‘ON’. My mind started scanning the map mentally. North County? East County?
The ‘Aha!’ Moment
Then it clicked. Driving east from San Diego… what’s that city? El Cajon. Let’s check. E-L-C-A-J-O-N. Seven letters! Starts with E, ends with ON. Fits perfectly.
I penciled it in. Checked how ‘L’, ‘C’, ‘A’, ‘J’ worked with the Down clues I already had tentatively placed. Yep, they all seemed to fit nicely. It felt right.
It wasn’t the very first city that jumped to mind, which made solving it feel pretty good. Had to actually work through the geography and use the puzzle constraints. Just a small victory, but satisfying. That’s why I enjoy these things, keeps the gears turning.
