Chillin' in the Marine Layer in Coastal S.CA
 

First off, thank you very much to all the local Southern Californians (or S. Californians at heart) that helped me plan my initerary. Your input definitely helped me prioritize what we ended up seeing.

We had really chilly weather while we were there. The marine layer (fog) only burned off for a few hours at the coast for a couple of days. The other days it was completely overcast and cool, great touring weather but not so good beach weather. Thus, we ended up doing more of the tours and less of the beach this trip. In many ways the fog reminded me of San Francisco as did the weather. It was a nice break from the Texas heat for sure, but somewhat dampened (pardon the pun) our beach experience.

Day 1: arrived late into chilly 62 degrees San Diego, drove straight to hotel in Encinitas (reviewed later) and fell asleep.

Day 2: Awoke to cool and cloudy conditions. Checked weather and they said high of 66 with sun breaking through for perhaps 2 hours which they had spot on. Had breakfast and headed out to Legoland. Had a few problems with GPS system but eventually found Legoland (it directed me to the employee entrance).

I do have to say that we were quite impressed with Legoland. My favorite part was looking at the miniature cities, my son's favorite part was getting the driver's license at the Volvo Driving School. The diorama of New Orleans was very well done, with Cafe Du Monde, Jackson Square, the Riverfront Streetcars, the Mississippi River, the steamboats and even a Jazz Funeral and a (broken) Mardi Gras parade. It's interesting the liberties that they took with the cities (for instance what to include and not) but I think their interpretation was well done especially considering the constraints they were dealing with. I also enjoyed the other dioramas, especially Las Vegas and New York City.

We had initially taken the boat ride through the park right when we arrived to get a feel for what's there. It gives you a taste of what's in store and piqued our interest to look into more detail at the cities. Other highlights were the Volvo Driving School, the Dragon, Lego Technic Coaster, and the Lost Kingdom Adventure.

I have been to many theme parks in my time, and this was one of the best I've ever seen. My son absolutely loved the park and was so happy that he got to go. Honestly, I can say that we could have probably spent three days here and we would have not tired of it.

My only complaint was they did not have fastpass, which means lines for rides are excrutiatingly long. That's tough on the little ones but since the weather was so cool, it's not like we were waiting in the hot sun or anything.

Coming up - Day 2 @ the San Diego Zoo

Sorry, meant Day 3 @ San Diego Zoo!

Day 3 @ San Diego Zoo:

Another cool and cloudy day, sun forecasted for a few hours today but it ends up being one of the sunnier afternoons of the week. Highs of around 68 perhaps.

Head out to Zoo. We start taking the monkey trail and some other trails all the way down to the tigers and the hippos and then back up to the polar bear area. Then, we decide to take the skylift across the zoo to the other side to cover ground quicker. There was a nice kid's area there and some great places to eat lunch.

After lunch we decided to take the open air bus around the zoo and pick what we wanted to see. We put the panda bears, elephants, and cheetahs as things we wanted to see and then we set out to see them. Highlight of the day was the parrot that sang "Old McDonald" to the crowd. My son absolutely loved hearing that.

We left the zoo around 5 PM or so, after two full days of touring we figured we'd find a place to eat nearby and then get back to the hotel.

Using my garmin, I asked for a few restaurants and the first two were not kid friendly, so I went to the third, which was a Mexican restaurant downtown on 4th Ave. It's called Maria's Mexican Cocina and it's very easy to miss when driving. However, if you go there, you will be richly rewarded. We ordered fajitas and they were the best tasting fajitas I've ever had in my life, and you have to remember I live in Texas so I know good fajitas when I see them, and I've tasted fajitas as countless restaurants. Note to Texans: in California they add diced tomatoes to fajitas, which is a no-no in Texas. However, I really feel it adds color and flavor to the onions, peppers, and steak/chicken. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE. The only drawback is they do not have a liquor license and I really was in desire of a beer!

Next: Day 4 @ Wild Animal Park

Ok, I guess nobody is interested?

Hey, I'm reading it! I haven't been to the Wild Animal Par in a long time.

((H))

"Wild Animal Par"

I think that's where elephants play golf.

((H))

I'm reading, too, but I'm not as funny as maitaitom, so I haven't responded!!

I'm reading. What is your overall evaluation of the Zoo?

Day 4: Wild Animal Park

Originally we were planning on having a beach day this day, but the weather was *still* cloudy and cool and knowing that Wild Animal Park was further inland, I figured it was a great day to go there. We drove out there and sure enough that Park is far enough East that it is in the sun. The weather was around sunny and 78 or so at Wild Animal Park, a very nice day indeed and it was nice to see some sun finally.

I'm really happy that we went to Wild Animal Park. Many people on Fodor's tried to dissuade us from going, but honestly, I actually preferred it to the Zoo. The main reason was that it was not nearly as crowded. Also, I liked the "African Village" vibe of the place and it seemed like a more relaxed and laid back place. We really enjoyed the narrated open air bus ride that brought us through the various habitats and the views from the cafe overlooking the valley were tremendous. My son loved the African tribal dance show among other things. There's also a nice playscape area that comes in handy when your kid(s) need to burn off some steam.

We drove back that evening and as we got closer to the coast, the fog got thicker and thicker until we were fully enveloped in the marine layer yet again. I believe that the coast had been cloudy all day, so we definitely made the right call to go to Wild Animal Park.

That night we drove down the strip in Encinitas and found an Asian restaurant called East Village Asian Diner. The waitress there used to be a nanny and she did really well with my son, accommodating his every wish. Of course I tipped her big time for that!

I had a very spicy kung pao chicken and my son had a kid's noodle dish. I washed it down with a Saporo and it really hit the spot. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Next: Day 5: Beach and Padres game.

dbdurand, it's the best Zoo I've ever seen.

Your son is the perfect age for Legoland. Glad you enjoyed it.

I enjoy all your reports, so keep it up.

MY

Great report so ar.
Yes this is fdefiantely a different summer!
I know some people really like hot days but I am enjoying not having to use air conditoining!

Day 5: We woke up to cloudy skies as usual. Had breakfast and showered, etc... and low and behold but the fog was burning off! Just as if on cue! So, we got all the sand toys like the shovels, sifters, scoopers, castles, big buckets, little buckets, starfish, and a whole spectrum of assorted sundries that I got at a silent auction for this very reason, and set out to the beach.

We went to Encinitas Beach. The sun was full out, just a few clouds in the distance off the shore and near the foothills of whatever hills are inland. My son wanted to play at the playscape right there at the beach, so I let him. He really enjoyed a funnel like contraption there, he played for over an hour on that one contraption. I just sat in the sun soaking up the rays watching him.

I finally convinced him to go to the beach. We found a good spot close enough to the shore that he could go back and forth with ease. I had promised him that I would "play" with him and help him build sandcastles since I never do that in Texas in his sandbox. So, true to my word, I helped him create the biggest sand construction project Encinitas beach has ever seen. Unfortunately, our miraculous set of moats, castles, and sea creatures fell victim to the mighty surf as we had arrived at low tide and high tide eventually overtook the fort. It's definitely a better way to go out than footprints though :)

ASIDE:
I do have to say that the water was a little too brisk for me though. My son went in and seemed oblivious, he had a task at hand and needed buckets and buckets of salt water, but the water was a bit chilly for me. Funny thing is I used to live in the Bay Area and would swim off the coast of Santa Cruz and Aptos Beach, which is colder than San Diego, but years of living in Texas and being used to bath like water I can't take the cold water like I used to.

Here in Austin we have a natural "cold" springs called Barton Springs which is 68 degrees year round. Our swimming pools are 85 degrees or higher this time of year so 68 degrees seems chilly. The surf temp @ Encinitas was 63-65 so you can see my hesitation! Also, when you go into Barton Springs 68 degree water, you are going from 105 degree air and when you get out you warm up quickly. From 70 degree air to 63 degree water and back, you really can't warm up until you get back to your shower and take a hot shower!

END ASIDE

Now all that digging and you build up quite an appetite. Now, I had seen those Angelos chain restaurants everywhere so I figured we'd give it a try. So, we went to the one in Encinitas (near that Asian restaurant) and we split an order of fish tacos. By the way, I asked the server what kind of fish was in the fish tacos and he was clueless. The cooks replied "catfish" and then I realized San Diego wasn't too different than Austin afterall. I was a little surprised that S. Californians were using southern catfish in their fish tacos, but hey, catfish is pretty darn tasty! By the way, the fish tacos at Angelo's are very similar to fish tacos you'd have in Austin (if anyone cares).

We then returned to the hotel because it was time to shower off all the sand and get ready for some baseball. LA Dodgers were coming to town, trying to unseat San Diego from atop their 1st place NL West position. They failed to do that, but it was a wonderful game nonetheless.

Next up: our experience at Petco stadium.

They must be using catfish cause it's cheap. Mahi Mahi is the regular option.

Enjoying your vivd writing! Thanks for sharing! Keep up the good work!

Thanks Michelle,1JAR, and easytraveler.

I decided we'd take the Coaster not knowing how traffic is downtown San Diego. The actual train was around 45 minutes late, which meant we arrived at the stadium in the 3rd inning or so. It would have been much quicker to drive and while the views on the coaster were nice, it was extremely loud and not kid friendly (i.e. they allow people to drink alcoholic beverages on the train). I almost got a headache from the noise and the way back was worse because we didn't get a seat until the end. By the way, the train was late coming back as well, by an hour.

We were sitting in the nosebleed section of second base, with great views of the city and the Bay. The weather was sunny and 70 degrees, about as perfect as it can get for any kind of game. It was a great game, decided in the bottom of the 9th with a San Diego win.

As for Petco Park, it is absolutely stunning, I didn't anticipate that it would be so beautiful. I have to say that it is my second favorite park after AT&T Park in San Francisco so that's saying a lot.

The food was typical baseball game fare, with garlic fries but not as good as AT&T Park. I did like the premium beers though. Also the crowd didn't heckle this SF Giants fan too much even though we were in gear.

Next up: Day 6: driving north and south along coast and stopping at various stops

Should I keep going?

Sure.

Enjoying your report so far. Glad you had some sun at the beach. I think there are two reasons Fodorites don't always recommend the Wild Animal Park. One it's a bit of a drive and many San Diego tourists are trying to see a lot in a few days. So to drive to Escondido isn't always time effective. But the main reason is that in the summer it is usually so hot there. Often the Wild Animal Park has the hottest temperature for all of San Diego County not counting the desert and the temperature can easily top 100 degrees. In the heat, the animals as you can imagine aren't as visible as they are laying down trying to stay cool. I am glad you had the perfect weather for The Wild Animal Park and your son enjoyed it.

I have lived in Southern California now for 37 years and I still think the ocean is too cold. I grew up in Arizona where pools were pretty warm in the summer and then went to college in Texas where we'd go to the Gulf. In a warmer summer, the ocean temperature can get up to 72 degrees usually in Aug/Sept but that's still chilly for me. Of course kids never seem to mind the cold water.

Never thought I was eating catfish in my fish tacos but I guess that's possible. Keep the report coming.