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.

Paula, I don't think we are eating catfish in our fish tacos. I've never heard of "Angelo's".

Is a "playscape" the same as a playground?

The weather is really unusual this year.

paula1470, thanks. I realized that Wild Animal Park was further east and would be warmer. Since the weather was unusually cold, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to visit Wild Animal Park. I can't imagine visiting when it is 100 degrees as there's not a whole lot of shade, but it was 78 degrees and sunny and it was a perfect place to visit. Also, we were already in Encinatas so we didn't have as far of a drive as others. The weather forecasters had said that the inland areas were upper 70's to low 80's while the coast was 60's so I made my decision based on that. Had it been warmer, we would have been at the beach most likely.

Barbara, Yes, a playscape is the climbing part of a playground (i.e. an elevated platform connected by tunnels and reach by ladder and with slides, etc...) A playground is the area that contains the playscape and swings and other playthings which are usually separate. Being single dad I get to learn all these interesting things (mostly from single moms that give me the lowdown).

Angelo's is on Highway 101 in Encinitas. I also saw one in Carlsbad. They mostly have burgers but some Mexican and fish tacos were on the menu. I do indeed recommend them, they are yummy. Two large fish tacos served with rice and beans. My son and I split it and we both were stuffed. If I lived in the San Diego area, I would frequent that place quite a bit.

Not sure if my explanation of playscape was clear. A playscape is a subset of a playground, just as a playground is a subset of a park. park > playground > playscape > slide for what it's worth

You are lucky it was cool for the Wild Animal Park as it was so hot when we went that the kids couldn't handle it.

Day 6: Coastal Exploration.

Okay, so it was Day 6 and we were leaving the next day. It was another overcast day, and since I'll never know when I can visit San Diego again, I figured it was time to do some touring. We went to the playground again so my son could play on the playscape, and then after he had his fill we got in the car for a little road trip. We started on Highway 101 and went North through the various coastal towns, up towards Carlsbad and so on. We passed a marsh and there was a visitor's center, so I figured I would make the trip a little more educational (well the whole trip was educational anyway) by bringing my son into the museum and then taking the marsh trail. It was nice to be able to walk through a marsh without mosquitoes and alligators. That's not possible in Louisiana. We then head back South because I wanted to see La Jolla and that area.

So, we headed South on 101 right past Encinitas and then all the way along 101. We passed Torrey Pines, UCSD, and finally into La Jolla. Let me say I really enjoyed that drive, it's quite amazing really. I particularly liked seeing the UCSD campus, even though it was dead this time of year (in a few weeks I'm sure it'll be quite lively...)

When we got to La Jolla, we stopped at various points along the coast to stop and take in the scenery. We stopped at a point where there are some tidal pools, caves, and a walkway out to the surf with railings. I hope people know what I'm talking about. Looked at the watch and it was already late (don't know where the time went) and had to head back.

Wrongly took the Garmin's advice to take I-5 north back to Encinitas during rush hour and I got a glimpse of the San Diego traffic patterns. Only saving grace was that we could take the carpool lane since we had two people!


Day 7: Coronado and return home

I had packed everything the night before and our flight was leaving in the evening, so we had plenty of time to enjoy this day. In many respects this was the best day for me (except for the flying part).

Checked out of the hotel and then went south towards San Diego. Took the Coronado Bridge (beautiful) and arrived in Coronado. Right when we arrived I felt instantly relaxed and at home. I hadn't felt that the whole trip, so it was nice to finally find a place in the San Diego area that was "my style". I'm not a military guy in any sense of the word, it was just the vibe of the place that attracted me. It has cute compact, walkable streets, adorable and meticously maintained homes, great shops, and a wonderful view of San Diego. We stopped at the grocery store there for lunch to pick up so we could go eat it outside and I was surprised at the wide variety of international cheeses and other international fare they had. We took our sandwiches, deviled eggs, fruit, and drinks and headed to the bay to eat and crowd watch. We watched a giant ship pass by and it was amazing. Later we went to play at a park and it was lovely. A military couple was getting married and the sun filtered through the eucalyptus and palm trees. Coronado, that's my kind of place.

We then got in the car and returned back to the San Diego airport. Our flight went through Dallas to Austin. Pilot mentioned conditions in Dallas "Folks, it's a little warmer in Dallas than here, temperature is 100 degrees." Now that's a smack back to reality ;)

Next up: My observations and views on San Diego

Thanks for continuing your report. It's very interesting reading what visitors think of our area.

If you lived here, you'd probably get fish tacos from Rubios, the San Diego restaurant that started the whole fish-taco-thing here by re-creating beach tacos from Baja California.

Barbara-I think it's Angelo's Burgers. They also have one in Oceanside. I think Rubio's would be a better choice for fish tacos but sounds bkluvsNola liked the meal so that's what counts.

I had to chuckle at your description of Coronado and how you felt right at home there. I think lots of us would feel at home there if we could afford it. LOL Even with the recession it's still way out of reach for most of us. I was curious so looked on realtor.com. The cheapest single family home (not a condo) was a 960sq 3 bed 1 bath foreclosure for $509,900. The next house jumped up to $699,000 and the average is well over 1 million. Condos aren't any cheaper.

Sorry you had to return to the heat but glad you enjoyed your trip.

paula1470, yes it's Angelo's Burgers. I thought they were good but then again I like the small roadside cafes - that's what we have in Austin, small taco and barbeque stands that server amazing food. I know that's not for everyone. We were in our bathing suits so we needed to find a place that was appropriate for that attire.

<<<I know that's not for everyone. We were in our bathing suits so we needed to find a place that was appropriate for that attire.>>>

I don't think Rubio's would have thrown you out :-)

Ok, now for my observations. If you have thin skin or have pollyanna blinders on about your love for San Diego, please skip this section below. It's mostly good, but not all good. It's not meant to offend or to irritate anyone. They say you can only criticize what you like. If you hate something it's not worth the time. So here goes...

I found San Diego and environs to be a very interesting city overall.

The first thing I noticed was how sprawled out the city is. Now I've been to Los Angeles and Los Angeles is sprawled as well (as is Dallas and Houston so TX cities are not exempt), but at least the San Diego sprawl has many parks and preserves nestled in between the developments. However, when you compare to a city like Austin, Austin almost looks like Manhattan. I remember driving down a street near the San Diego Zoo and the road was so wide with a large median and I was comparing it to an Austin city street and even Congress Ave was not as wide as that street and that's one of our widest streets. I like that there is shrubbery or palm trees on the streets of San Diego but the feel of the city is such that it doesn't really feel like a city. Again, I'm not criticizing, just saying what I felt. I don't really know what it felt like, I guess I just couldn't relate to what San Diego was about. I only could relate to Coronado for some reason.

Second, the traffic is horrendous. Why they put I-5 so close to the coast is beyond me. You have some of the most gorgeous coastline in the country and you put a 10 lane freeway within a couple of miles of it? It just seems you could have put I-5 way inland kind of the SF Bay Area does it. The coast doesn't need a whole lot of freeways near it.

Third, I had some negative experiences with drivers on the road that could only be described as "road rage". When I was driving to Legoland, I was using my GPS (Garmin) to get there since I was not familiar with the roads. I accidentally pressed a wrong button and the screen faded from view. So, since it was a red light, I tried to zoom back to the map. Apparently the light turned green and I didn't realize it. People started honking and one guy even yelled for me to go. We were turning left so I turned left and the guy immediately sped up and passed me. I honked at him for doing something so dangerous and this is what he did. He stopped the car in the middle of the road and approached me. Now, I didn't know if he was crazy or whatever, so I just rolled my window down a crack and asked him what he was doing. He told me "how dare you text in a car, I mean look, you have a baby." I told him "I wasn't texting, I'm not from here and was adjusting the garmin." He replied, "I know what you were doing, you were texting". This was the first day of the vacation but I didn't let it affect me. We had a great time at Legoland that day.

This incident got me thinking about what would happen if that would happen in Texas. Well, it's unlikely that person would have approached my car because he would have assumed I was probably "packing" and thus it would not be a wise idea.

I realize that he probably is not representative of Southern Californians but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I talked to various people at the beach, I'm usually a hit with the single moms as they can't believe there is a single dad that really cares about his son like I do. I told them about the incident and one woman said that "Well, there's a lot of people in S. Cali that are underwater on their mortgage and he was probably just venting his anger on you." Another said "there's no sense of community here because everyone's from elsewhere and they think they can get away with anything, back east where there's community, if you did something like that they would hold you accountable because you'd have to see the same people daily".

Even with the incidents, we really enjoyed our trip but it did make me even more sure that we are living in the right place. San Diego is a great place to visit though.

Sorry you encountered such an angry motorist. There are a lot of drivers in California who get really angry when they see other drivers texting-while-driving, which is illegal in this State. I understand that you were not doing that, but I also wonder why you didn't pull over to reset the Garmin. People don't generally start honking at others at green lights until a moment or two has passed, but you admit that you were not paying attention to the road. I love those people who "know" what you were doing or thinking! You find that a lot on this forum too.:)

Thanks for your explanation of "playscape". It is not a term that we use here. I sat on a local parks and recreation committee for several years, helping to plan just those things, and not once was that term used.

As for the person who told you there's not community here, she just isn't trying. There is community here, and for anyone with children it's easy to find. For over twenty years, I lived in the same community, a suburb of San Diego, and through my kids and their schools knew a huge number of fellow residents. However, it's not everyone's cup of tea, and if one really doesn't like it, one can leave.

San Diego is a group of separate communities/villages which form the suburbs of the city. Each has its own personality and its own feeling of community, in a vaguely similar way to the five boroughs of New York City.

Glad you enjoyed your visit. Come back when the weather's more cooperative!

Thats so funny, my last traffic incident was from that area too. Mine happened on the Palomar Airport road freeway onramp, though I didnt know about it till Orange County. Some guy FOLLOWs us up the freeway until we exit. At that light he rolls down his window and lets the words fly. He finally calms down long enough to tell me why he is so angry, he says I ran the red light on the onramp. I replied 'I did?' Then I asked him if he saw the sign that says 'Two cars per green'? With a stunned look and no apology he then drove away.

I think its the long commutes that get these guys as in was during the late 90s boomtime. Come to think of it, it was a june gloom type of week too.

Barbara, I was caught in the left turn lane and it was a red light and my garmin screen was back to the menu and I needed to get back to the map. Traffic was totally stopped. Then when it got to the map I needed to zoom so I could see the streets, the default level didn't even show the street I was turning on. There was no way to pull over at all as I was stuck in the traffic lanes. It actually wasn't my garmin but my girlfriend's, so I wasn't familiar with it - I don't need a GPS in Austin.

I realize the points of view of a couple of women are not representative of San Diego so I took what they said with a grain of salt. By the way, both were from "Back East" so that may have had something to do with it.

From that point on, I drove very defensively, not knowing when someone may blow a fuse and go off on me for no reason.

I told my hair stylist this story yesterday and she said "Well you know they are now prescribing anti-anxiety drugs to people that commute now, because freeway driving is such a stressor to them that they cannot take it."

I'm beginning to think that guy should have had his dose of Klonopin.

LOL! Stuff does tend to happen at the least convenient time.

bkluvsNola, I agree with you on Coronado. It is such a great place to stay because there is a hometown feel, not too much traffic (except for the main street and base traffic in the early morning and again late afternoon).

You will always have angry motorists, especially when they can see you are fiddling with what might be a cell phone or other distraction. It's just we seem to notice it more when we are in another city. Sorry it happened though.

I enjoyed your trip report.

Thanks