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.

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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