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Carlsbad, CA

We own a week at a timeshare in California. In Carlsbad, which is north of San Diego, to be specific. We haven’t used our week there the last several years, having rented it out instead. The main reason we haven’t used it is that we’ve either been vacationing elsewhere that same week or have just returned home from a big trip, such as Hawaii last year and Alaska the summer before.

carlsbad inn

It was the same situation again this year, having returned from Ireland only a week before our Carlsbad week began.

Well, this time around, I decided to use it anyway. Dave and Connor both had to return to work but since I don’t have classes to teach, I asked Peggy to come with me and we are here and we’re having a ball.

The week is from Saturday to Saturday, but since we both had commitments on Saturday, we drove out early on Sunday morning. Here is my day-by-day account of our trip so far:

Sunday – Friends and Family Day

wind farm

We were on the road a little after 7:00 and it was smooth sailing as we crossed the Arizona/California border. The California desert skies were cloudy, gray, and beautiful!

storms a brewing

Then things got a little more serious as the clouds were so low and so thick that this is what we encountered.

low visibility

A bit of rain and very low visibility! We made it through all that and arrived at “The Inn” just before 2:00.  Marissa was in town, visiting high school and college friends, Kaley and Petra. Elementary school friends, Lindsey and Alyse, also came to town for the girlfriend’s summer reunion.

beach girls

Add to that, high school friend, Julie, who is pregnant with her second, is staying right here at “The Inn” with her entire family… and you have not only a girlfriend reunion but a brief mother and child reunion too!

When the girls arrived, they came up to our room for a “welcome” glass of wine before going down to the beach to meet up with Julie.

Norte

After beach time we all had dinner at Norte Mexican Food, which is adjacent to the property. Then the girls were off, insert sad face here.

ocean sunset

We’ll end Sunday with a beautiful California ocean sunset, a photo courtesy of Peggy.

Monday – Foreign Adventure Day

Peggy’s had an itch to go to Mexico for a while now. She just bought a new house and it has a lot of Mexican/Southwest flair. We decided it made sense to drive from Carlsbad to Tijuana (56 miles, 1-hour drive) instead of from Scottsdale to Nogales (183 miles, nearly 3 hours) so off we went.

good food

We had fun shopping and eating and drinking, especially eating and drinking! I always forget just how great Mexican food is in Mexico. Go Figure! The Mexican flag guacamole was outstanding and pretty darn cute and the shrimp ceviche – was delicious!

peggy in tijuana

All was good until we decided it was time to leave Mexico. We sat in the line of cars at the border for FOUR (4) hours, I kid you not. It was horrible!

elote

You move so slowly that there are vendors set up between the lanes of cars and they are selling everything you can imagine; ceramics, churros, dulces, tostilocos, burritos, elote, lawn ornaments, purses, toys, everything you can imagine! There are hundreds of them and even more of you, sitting trapped like prisoners in your own car. Let me say that four hours is a long time to sit after drinking beer all afternoon if you know what I mean. It was torture!

border

We were happy when we finally saw the border, but it still took nearly 35 minutes from this spot. My advice? NEVER drive into Tijuana. Park your car and walk across! Live and learn.

Tuesday – Beer and Wine Day

beer tanks

To make up for the Mexico/USA border fiasco, we felt we deserved to tour and taste a brewery and a winery on this day.

stone brewery

We started at Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens in Escondido, where we toured the brewery and enjoyed some food and drafts.

pretzel and ceviche

More ceviche plus soft pretzels with jalapeño cheese sauce and Stone Mustard. Yum!

orfila

Next, we stopped at Orfila Vineyards and Winery, also in Escondido.

wine barrels

I liked the wine enough to join the “wine club” – which is always a good thing!

grape vines

There may or may not have been a little tremor while we were there.

tremor

You be the judge.

fish house

For dinner, we went to the Fish House Vera Cruz, a short five-minute walk from “The Inn.” We crossed the Amtrak tracks on the way. Right next to them was this amazing tree that I wanted to get a picture of.

peggy surprise

I asked Peggy to stand next to it for perspective and just as I was snapping the photos, a high-speed train came by. It is Very Loud! I love her expression as it passed by.

Wednesday – The Coaster and Uber

train

Speaking of the train, we took the Coaster to Old Town San Diego in the morning and enjoyed a relaxing day walking, shopping, eating, and drinking. I guess that’s the theme of this trip.

Old Town San Diego

We wanted to go to Balboa Park next, but the bus depot was a bit of a hike so we downloaded the Uber app and used the “ride-sharing not-a-taxi” service to get there and then back to the train station. Marissa uses Uber, Sidecar, and Lyft to get around San Francisco all the time. Love these services!

balboa park

I haven’t been to Balboa for years. It’s easy to forget just how wonderful it is.

del mar racetrack

I was able to get a decent “moving shot” of the Del Mar Racetrack from the Coaster on our way back.

lawn movie time

When we arrived we saw that it was “Movie Night on the Lawn.” We sat on the deck with a glass of wine to watch the other show… the sunset.

nice work

Working from here is pretty sweet!

Wishing you a Happy Thursday, we’re off to do some serious shopping … and probably eating and drinking too.


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10 comments

1 Marissa { 08.07.14 at 9:26 AM }

Wah I wish I could have stayed all week.

2 Tram Mai { 08.07.14 at 10:13 AM }

OMG!! I feel like I just had the best escape for the past 5 minutes just reading this!! How wonderfully fun!!!!!!

3 Betsy { 08.07.14 at 11:26 AM }

Oh my– our favorite town — we have spent many a weeks in Carlsbad just down the street at Seashore on the Sand–
And I love all your pics ! Started to drool when I saw the Fish House Vera Cruz–I get the FHVC shrimp cocktail to go and enjoy on the water many times for lunch (just might have a glass of wine with it 🙂 ) Would love to rent your place sometime when you are not using it Have a great rest of your week !!

4 Nancy H { 08.07.14 at 12:52 PM }

Hi Linda, Whenever I visit my sister in Vista, we try to go to Swami’s in Carlsbad for breakfast or brunch, it’s yummy!

5 Ronnie Jaap { 08.07.14 at 2:26 PM }

Sounds wonderful! So fun for you 2!!

6 Linda Hopkins { 08.07.14 at 5:09 PM }

Thanks for all the comments ladies! We’re running out of time, but we’ll try to hit Swami’s and go back to FHVC for the shrimp cocktail, even if it’s just for take-out. Thanks for the sweet words and recommendations!

7 betsy { 08.08.14 at 9:15 AM }

oh Linda if you do get to get there shrimp cocktail vera cruz please see if you can figure it out- our son and a friend of ours both are trying but haven’t yet gotten it right 🙂

8 Anne { 08.09.14 at 8:44 AM }

Hi!! Love the pics and reading about your outings!!! Looks like you had a wonderful time!! Look forward to seeing you soon…xoxo

9 Linda Hopkins { 08.09.14 at 1:16 PM }

Unfortunately, Betsy, we never did get back to FHVC… next time, for sure!

10 Al Otter { 08.09.14 at 3:08 PM }

Hopelessly jealous!

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