Carlsbad, San Diego Vacation Info – August 2009

Finally, I have gotten together a few bits of info to post about our “mini vacation” to Southern CA. Although it was a couple of weeks ago it was still a breath of fresh air – literally!

Here is the travel book that we used:

Book Stats:

National Geographic Traveler San Diego

Published February 1st 2003 by National Geographic

Binding Paperback, 272 pages

ISDN 0792269330 (isbn13: 9780792269335)

Thoughts about this book:

This was a useful book with clear maps, directions, nice pictures, and listings for each area in San Diego County. Very helpful and recommended. It is not too big so, it is easily carried. I would give it 3 Stars.

About the Trip:

We enjoyed ourselves a lot. The temperatures in Carlsbad were lovely – high 70s low 80’s. The air was moist from the nearby ocean. This is a big deal compared to the Phoenix AZ area which has humidity level typical of less than 10%. That is dry.

Carlsbad is a city on the coast slightly North of the actual city of San Diego, and within San Diego County. We prefer to stay away from hotels whenever possible, so we rented a little apartment. It was the price of a hotel room plus the added advantages of a kitchen. Here is Coastal Casitas the actual place that we stayed with an ocean view from the bedroom and living room. Small, cute, near the beach, and a few blocks walk from a bunch of restaurants and shops. It was an ideal location. I would have to say on the negative that the bathroom had a dirty shower curtain with smelly mold and there where very loud construction workers in the neighbor’s back yard at 7:30 every morning. Lucky we are early risers. It did in no way ruin the trip. Just a smelly and noisy annoyance.

Linked here of two sites that I use when traveling. They give you info on finding condo/apartment/home rentals in the US. Vacation Rental by Owners and Home Away. I have had great luck with many sites like this.

Here is a picture I took of the access to the beach 1 block away from the triplex.

We found a beautiful park to hike that was also on seaside. It was called Torrey Pines State Park and it had a maze of trails on the bluffs, and if you chose you to you can walk down to a more private beach – there are a lot of people around. We walked for about four miles on the trails and are seen here taking a break. John and myself and our new profile pictures:

I cook a lot, but on vacation I get to go on hiatus. Yippee! We had several lovely meals within walking distance of the triplex where we stayed. If interested you can read my short reviews here at Yelp for a couple of restaurants which may be helpful if you ever visit the area.

Norte Mexican Restaurant ; Le Passage French Bistro ; Jay’s Gourmet Pizza and Seafood ; Branci’s Caldo Pomodoro ; The Daily News Cafe

When “the husband” was at his meeting I had the day to myself. It was very nice. There is a local used book store called Fahrenheit 451 (excellent name and linked here with Yelp.) I spent several very enjoyable hours there – absolute heaven. I purchased four books that I will list and link here under this picture. One I bought in the airport. Each book title is linked to Goodreads for more information. Purchasing info will be available in the book carousels below.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley – an award winning mystery from Canada about a little girl sleuth whom has an interest in poison. I purchased it in the Phoenix airport and it is a signed copy.

Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn – a historical fantasy set in feudal Japan, which is the first in a series. I have been wanting to read this for a while and took a test “which fantasy author are you” and was told I am her. It is posted here. You can take the test too. If you do please post me the link.

Lost Horizon by James Hilton – the classic novel of Shangri-La. Gotta have some utopia reading to balance the dystopia and post apocalyptic reads on my list.

Hiroshima by John Hersey – a journalistic approach to what happened when the atomic bomb was dropped in Japan. I read it in high school and it affected me a great deal. I would like to read it again and then review it. It is only available in the US at Amazon in audio book format.

The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold – a fantasy written by a typically SF author who has written The Miles Vorkosigan series. I am really enjoying this series so thought I would give this a try.

And to end this post some more pictures of the beautiful San Diego coast.

La Jolla – a very exclusive and beautiful area.

The stereotypical Southern California shot of palm trees also in La Jolla.

Last a bird of paradise, not a native species but appropriately named for the area and growing everywhere.

Amazon links are below in the widgets with country in left hand corner.