The family quickly identified the photograph as dating back to a San Diego trip they took about 12 years ago.
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A family’s stay at a California Airbnb took an unexpected twist when they discovered a photo of themselves hanging on the wall. The video of the uncanny discovery quickly went viral online.
Aubrey Birrell and her sister, Livy, were in San Diego from Utah to celebrate their grandfather’s 80th birthday when they made the surprising discovery shortly after checking in.
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“My dad had walked up to help unpack some things and jokingly looked at the picture and said, ‘Hey, that looks like me.’ We went over and looked and realized, ‘That is you — and that’s my sister and my brother,’” Aubrey Birrell told KFMB.
Reacting to the situation, the family admitted feeling a bit creeped out initially.
“It was very, very strange,” she said. “We were creeped out. The rest of the time we just made jokes about it. I called all my friends and said, ‘Look how weird this is!’”
The family identified the photograph as dating back to a San Diego trip they took about 12 years ago for a soccer tournament. Despite staying in both Mission Beach and Imperial Beach during that trip, they still remain unsure where the picture was originally taken.
Birrell later learned from the Airbnb host that the photograph belonged to a decorator and photographer in San Diego who uses aerial photos to enhance the homes.
“They said it was just a crazy coincidence,” she said.
After posting the video on TikTok, it garnered millions of views and reactions from people around the world. “A lot of people actually said it is good luck. People were telling me to go put myself in the lottery to get a lottery ticket,” Birrell said.
Many viewers also recounted similar experiences, stating they had spotted themselves in unexpected places during their travels.
As for their recent trip, Birrell noted that the family enjoyed their time in San Diego. They might even be getting a souvenir from their extraordinary experience, as the Airbnb owner offered to send them the photo if they wanted it.