Exploring Oceanside and Carlsbad in San Diego County

Thanks to an invitation from good friends who wanted to check out northern San Diego County as a place to relocate, we made the trip from NorCal to SoCal.

We shared a vacation rental in Oceanside and had fun exploring the neighborhood - especially the beach and the pier.

Leaving the San Diego airport for Oceanside - view of the harbor

The place in Oceanside - front view

The back yard - We spent lots of time here.

Erick gets the fire started to take the chill off the evening

Three nights in Oceanside - Three fires in the pit

The weather was perfect for a walk on the beach at Oceanside:

The entry point

The guys 

Surfer dog

Pelican

Heading back - view of homes along the beach

Just south of Oceanside is Carlsbad.  We had a chance to look around the town and take a hike along a lagoon.

Carlsbad shopping and restaurant plaza

From our lagoon hike:

Bench mosaic 

Sparkling water

Long-billed Curlew

From a distance, mistaken for a long-billed curlew :-)

Hawk in a palm tree

The highway in the background

Wood rat den in the background - they are "pack rats"

Sign showing a wood rat

We visited the nature center after our hike

Fanciful sculpture at the nature center

Back to Oceanside:

We made a couple of trips to the Oceanside pier which is the 4th largest in California  (1,942 ft, built in 1987, wooden) The first visit was at night as we waited for our reservations at a nearby restaurant.

Surf at night from the pier

To wrap up our trip to Oceanside, we visited the pier to watch the sunset.

Surfers making the most of the pre-sunset time

Waiting for sunset

Evening light on the beach front

Worth the wait 

Fading away

After a wonderful, long weekend, we headed back to the Oakland hills via the San Diego airport.  

(Our pre-departure trip to the San Diego Zoo has its own blog post.)

Fountain at the airport

San Diego toots its own horn - and with good reason