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.

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

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

You be the judge.

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.

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

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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.