In SoCal (Oceanside) for a week, looking for suggestions

Hey all

I'll be in Oceanside for a week coming up and I'm looking for any suggestions on places to go that are a little off the beaten path. Somewhere where I could pull out the awning, throw some chairs down and chill for a few hours. Maybe a lake etc? No trails that are too crazy as I'm by myself and 1400 miles from home so the last thing I need is to be stranded somewhere.

Oh and anyone recommend a good authentic Mexican joint in Oceanside or down towards San Diego?

 

I was stationed there in the early 90s and my best escape was a place called Julian. I don't recall how far but well worth it. They have a place called "Julian Pies" That place will make sure you take a good nap : )

 

Old town Mexican cafe in old town San Diego is by far the best Mexican chow in the state.!

 

While it will be a bit of a drive, the San Bernardino National Forest has Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake areas, Both are quite full because of our abundant rainfall. There are lots a amenities in the area as well as trails of all difficulty ratings.

 

S.D. in my opinion has the best Mexican food in the state.
I haven't tried them all, but I've never had a bad one.

 

Idylwild is pretty nice, up at elevation. Look up the "Bee Canyon" trail. Isn't that far from Oceanside.

 

Check out Anza Borrego

 

Death Valley, Alabama Hills, Mojave. You got the SoCal BDR you could run part of.

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys, keep them coming!

I looked up the Bee Canyon trail, according to the USDA/Forest service website it's currently closed?
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/sbnf/recarea/?recid=34156

Any particular area of Anzo Borrego you'd recommend? Looks like Font's Point offers some good views.

 

Restaurants:
Mexican - Miguel's Cocina (Old Town is the better locale). Miguel's is not tourist trap Mexican food.
American - Texas Roadhouse (I loooove this place!)
Italian - Don't go to Venetos (dirty), Vigilucci is equal to frozen dinner meals), Buca di Beppo is a touch salty but family style and palatable.

Fast food:
Burgers - In-N-Out
Mexican - Alberto's (on Mission in Oceanside) (the others are garbage compared to Alberto's, trust me)

San Elijo Beach
Moonlight Beach
La Jolla (near La Jolla Cove Bridge Club)
Ponto (south Carlsbad)
Coronado (North of the Hotel Del Coronado)

As for trails... Marc Nitz takes groups out in SoCal. He may be an incredible resource for tips on trails. Cool guy, I sold him an air deflector ages ago.

http://www.fx329.com/aaeca021-2f1d-4c19-bf15-772dc6fcc8f0.html

Beware of Mohsen gas. Not TopTier, so no PEA. Costco Gas is the best price/quality.

PS this is my neck of the woods.

 

Bummer about Bee Canyon being closed. Many of our local forests were closed over the winter due to the excessive rain/snow we received.

Regarding Anza, it is beautiful, but it will be INSANELY HOT most likely. I saw a suggestion for Mojave and Death Valley, also INSANELY HOT this time of year. If you do go, please be extra prepared.

 

What are your dates of travel? OTL is coming up on fiesta island (I live 2 miles from the entrance of Fiesta Island). One of San Diego's finest events. July 15/16.

DO NOT go to the deserts right now. I grew up in Palm Springs and it's stupid hot right now. Julian/Ramona are good choices for a little road trip (a little over an hour from Oceanside).

Bring a bike!

Encinitas, Cardiff, Del Mar are awesome places to check out. Not a lot of beach access, but upscale neighborhoods with some good eating.

I live right next to Old Town and I food is good but it's a tourist trap. I only bike through Old Town.

Petco Park for a Padres game is always a great time. Ranked in top 3/5 baseball stadiums on every list. Some put it as the best.

Point Loma/ Cabrillo National Monument will give you the best view of the city. Mount Soledad for an awesome view of La Jolla. Cowles Mountain for a quick, but strenuous hike for the highest peak in San Diego City. Great hiking everywhere 30 minutes east of the coast, but warm, so go early.

 

Thanks guys.

I'll be in Oceanside the 12 to the 19th. Making my way down right now with stops at Crater Lake & Yosemite on the way.

Looked at the weather outlook for while I'm there and while I'm used to hot desert weather where I'm from, it's nothing like what I'm seeing on the outlook. Holy crap.

I was in Encinitas last year and had a great time, plan to go back this time for a day. I looked up Fire Island, seems pretty cool.

 

Just made the trip yesterday from NM to Southern Ca.( Long Beach) to bring my father in law ( 95 years old ) home. We traveled on I-10 through Tucson, Phoenix, Quartsite and Blythe, Ca. The 4Runner ran great and kept us cool in the scorching heat. The picture was taken after we left Phoenix and the temp actually got as high as 109. We are relaxing for a couple of days, then making the return trip to NM on Sunday morning.

 

That black paint made the AC work double time, hahahaha.

Your MPG indicates that you might have been speeding just a little, eh?

Safe travels!

 

1. Stephen Birch Aquarium @Scripps Institute of Oceanography. If you don't know it, Scripps was the defining factor for Marine Biology on the West Coast for years. Blew the East Coast students minds when the Prof. would come in wearing wetsuits and saying you're gonna get wet today to students in ties!
2. Wild Animal Park in San Diego!
3. San Diego Zoo-On of the premier zoos in the world!

 

Traveling on I-10, most traffic is doing between 80-90 miles an hour. Our speed was right at 80mph and we were being passed by every car and some big rigs. There were some areas where we were getting 24 to 25 miles per gallon, other areas where it went down to 29 to 20mpg.

 

East of Dago, there's the wooden road across the dunes. Maybe on your way back?

 

Because of the heat, for the week you're going to be here, I'd suggest you enjoy the coast. Stroll around Carlsbad, La Jolla, Seaport Village. Anything east is going to be hot. East...east... like Idyllwild, Julian, Ramona, San Diego Zoo Safari Park (used to be the Wild Animal Park) is going to be very...very hot.

 

Are you driving down from B.C.? I'm in Wenatchee and grew up in SoCal. Happy to suggest places to see/eat on the way down.

 

That's great MPG at 80!!! Fluid dynamics dictate poopier gas mileage for such a hulk of a car. I'd do 27 MPG, grandma-style driving for distances of 150 miles, etc, but that's a 20 MPH difference. Not survivable NM to SoCal.

My kid and friends just drove in on the I-40 yesterday (Lake Havasu to San Diego) they were very uncomfortable with the narrow lanes and the bad drivers from Arizona and Illinois. One guy (AZ plates) was towing a boat with a grossly under-inflated trailer tire. They passed them, tried to signal the driver, got a finger as thanks.

I hope they recorded that.

 

If you're not already aware, about half of Yosemite is inaccessible due to major road closures. We were there ~2 weeks ago. Still cool, but missed some major sights that I'd have like to have seen.Get there early - it's combat parking in the lots otherwise.

We also did Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Park. It's not far from Yosemite, and was our favorite between it and Yosemite.

A day trip out to Catalina Island is a cool trip. You can catch a boat from a few locations. We went from Long Beach - https://www.catalinaexpress.com/schedule-fares.html

Catalina Island things to do - https://travellemming.com/things-to-do-in-catalina-island/

 

Ocotillo Wells is always a fun day trip, just bring water and a spare or two.

 

+1

Weather not withstanding, there's even a few Ghost Town-quality places in the area. The abandoned railroad stuff has had a few videos done on YouTube. Like mentioned earlier, Julian for the pies. There's also an old gold mine up there. If you're a fan of thriller and horror movies, the child star of Poltergeist, a local girl who died at something like age 12, had autographed a picture for the people that ran the Julian Pie Company, if I remember correctly. Sad, but sweet.

If music history is your liking, San Diego played home to people like Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa. Movies? Mark Hamill and a billion others. There's bound to be some Google search you can find some of the addresses. (Mark Hamill's is real easy because they named the street Mark Hamill Drive.)

Another vote up for Mount Soledad. They close the access at 10:00 p.m. but you can park on a nearby lot and walk up there and see city lights.

Oceanside has its own little history, parts of Top Gun were filmed in Oceanside and further down into San Diego.

I haven't been there in ages, but if you are courageous Tecate is kind of a back road access to Mexico. On the way is Jamul Casino. It's a nice and newer casino. Join The players club, get some free slot machine credits; the staff is friendly.

Beach-wise, there are a great deal of pollution-related issues thanks to Mexico. Check before you go.

It may have already been said, while around here is a billion times better than LA or Portland, there are still some lawlessness issues. Do not leave anything that looks valuable in your car. I do see broken windows around Oceanside maybe once a week. Oceanside police are understaffed.

May I make a small suggestion to all of you to get a quote for a lower deductible on your comprehensive insurance. Personally, I have a $50 deductible. Being that Toyota has all the optics behind the windshield since 2020, a full factory OEM replacement including a factory-guaranteed safety system calibration done by Toyota certified body shops costs about $2,200 around here. $50 for me (instead of $250 or $500) and the difference in premium is only about 10¢US cents (I think that is something like $40 Canadian ) per car per month.

If you do not have collision coverage, some insurance companies will allow you to have comprehensive. That will cover vandalism, acts of God and theft. Canadian Insurance may work differently, but it's worth checking into before the trip into a social petri dish of parasites and vicious diseases.

Ultimately, enjoy!

 

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

I saw Yosemite was partially closed but planned the visit almost a year ago so I'll go and make the best of it. Planning to be at the park by 6am to get in and get a parking spot.

In terms of the weather while I'm in SD, you guys have convinced me to stay on the coast for the duration on my time there. The Scripps Aquarium looks interesting, I've been to the zoo and safari park before so the aquarium will be something new.