Living anywhere near the coast makes one very popular among friends and family who liver in hotter and colder climates. Over the many years I have lived here (born in Corona, Riverside County) I have discovered where I might take or send my guests for entertainment that wont break the bank. What an adventure it has been to discover the treasures we have. Of course the beach could go without mention except that you can’t really do that very long and not acquire some painful memories such as sunburn and sand in unwanted places. There is the country’s longest pier in Oceanside and it does have a small shuttle that will haul you out to Ruby’s restaurant at the end. Rubys is a typical 50’s style soda fountain. You can have a picture taken at the end of the pier where there is nothing but ocean in the background. If you do it right, viewers will wonder if you are walking on water. The pier stays lit up all night and is a free place to catch fish. No license is required.
Cruising to Hwy 101 or the Coast Hwy as it is called in Oceanside you will find a free surf museum with old longboards and older photos of some of the areas greatest surfers. That is on the corner of Pier View Way and the Coast Highway. Just across the Street is our City Hall grounds that are as inviting as any water sculpture park and is next to Oceanside’s Art Museum.
California’s oldest Mission called Mission San Luis Rey de Francia located appropriately on Mission Avenue at 4050, houses the country’s first Pepper tree which was imported here. Behind that area is Heritage park. which is really a best kept secret. Perhaps it is so lonely because it is not on the main drag and maybe tricky to find but it is worth it for the photo opportunities. All the historic buildings such as Oceanside’s first newspaper, Jail, feed store and more are there. It is at 220 Peyri Dr.
Not much farther down the road bordering the quaint village of Vista is theRancho Guajome Adobe Museum: 2210 North Santa Fe which was built from the discarded lumber and more from the Mission. Next to that is a Steam engine train museum.
Probably my favorite places are the gardens and the nurseries which one can wander through and spend many days yet never cover them all since flower growing is one of the areas top industries. A good place is early in the morning at San Diego International Floral Trade Center at 5600 Avenida Encinas in Carlsbad. You can feel the amazing synergy of the hustle and bustle of farmers bringing their flowers into the market place where distributors buy them and sell them to shops, hotels, and other distributors from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Giant trucks load up next to smaller farmer trucks and the display of never seen before flowers is unbelievable. Behind every vendor are giant cooler rooms where they keep just as many flowers as they are displaying. Little known fact is that our area exports more poinsettias than any other place in the world.
There are other gardens that are amazing. The Encinitas Botanical Gardens at 230 Quail Gardens Drive only charges a voluntary $2 parking fee last time I checked and it’s trails are worth wearing gym shoes to hike through. They have a gift shop where you can buy cuttings of some of these drought resistant palms and plants imported and tested from all over the world. It is beautiful.
The perfect garden has lots of free labor. That is affectionately known as Swami’s garden at 215 “K” Street in Encinitas towards Cardiff by the Sea. It is a garden taken care of by the Monks of the Self Realization Center founded by Parmahansa Yogananda. The plants are perfect the Koi fish are fat and there are benches to sit and reflect on the bluff overlooking the sea. A really cute tour of this majestic garden is on you tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7g9w_S9Btw&feature=related
Right next to it is a park known as Swami’s as he donated it to the City for public use and it is a great spot to watch the surfers.
By now your tourists friends or family are tired and you need to take them home for a nap and start again another day. We have only just begun. Next we will visit the wonderful bronze sculptures in Fallbrook and the many events in Escondido an old town with a memorable flavor. For now we need that nap…..
