Courtesy of SoCal Explorers

After seeing the beautiful pictures and hearing amazing stories, Christian Schnurbusch daydreamed of San Diego everyday. He thought of the beaches with beautiful people, the downtown lights and the breathtaking sunlight. Finally, he decided that he absolutely had to see it for himself.

Schnurbusch counted down the days until he would leave Germany and actually arrive at San Diego State, sniffing the San Diego air. But once he was here, he had no clue how to find all of his dream places. He didn’t know where to start, what was easiest, with whom to go or how expensive it would be.

Enter Mike Wagstaff and SoCal Explorers.

SoCal Explorers coordinates adventure tours and social outings aimed at young people who are new to San Diego.

“SoCal Explorers is more than just a tourism company,” Wagstaff said. “It’s a way for people to come together and get to know each other, while doing active and fun activities.”

This fun program offers a variety of activities, such as surf lessons, backpacking and camping trips to national parks, snowboarding trips to Mammoth, wine tasting in Temecula, kayaking tours at La Jolla Cove, white water rafting trips and Baja surfing and camping trips.

Wagstaff grew up in Colorado, spent three years of high school living in Panama and while attending college he was an exchange student in Australia. After graduation, he lived in Hawaii for almost a year before making his way to San Diego in 2005.

The brilliant idea of SoCal Explorers came to Wagstaff after a lot of traveling. He experienced that feeling of wanting to see and try so many things, but still felt lost in all the culture. He thought it would be great to help international people have fun and make it easy to get active and visit places worth seeing.

After brainstorming which places would be exciting, such as Balboa Park and La Jolla Shores, Wagstaff spent a lot of time working on the little details.

“The biggest challenges have been getting the Web site just right, and now just spreading the word,” he said.

Wagstaff said that advertising is hard because campuses have different rules for posting and handing out flyers that may intervene with campus organizations.

SoCal Explorers’ Web site allows you to see the planned events, register for e-mail news and sign up online (preferably a week ahead of time) for events you choose. All of the activities range from $40 (to cover transportation or rentals) to $175 (for weekend camping trips).

Transportation is organized to pick up people at SDSU and UCSD campuses, as well as Pacific Beach.

“This is perfect for international students and freshmen who don’t have vehicles, but still want to get out, meet new people, and try new things,” Wagstaff said.

Fredrik Zettergren, who’s from Sweden, attended one of the first surfing lessons with SoCal Explorers. He said everything was included, so there was no need to worry about surf boards and wetsuits.

Wagstaff does almost everything himself, including giving the surf lessons. Zettergren said it was nice to be around people who had everything under control.

“Mike, who did all the talking, is a real natural when it comes to giving instructions and teaching,” Zettergren said.

Eventually Wagstaff would like to offer his excursions to other campuses but for now, he said, he just loves to see people get excited and interested in the trips to come.

“SoCal Explorers opens peoples eyes to San Diego’s unique culture,” Wagstaff said. “It’s an exciting way to do something different with your weekend, rather than just go to some party or bar.”

-Upcoming trips include Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park in October, a Baja surfing trip in November and a Pacific Coast Highway road trip over Thanksgiving Break.

Visit www.SoCalExplorers.com, for more information.