It’s April 3rd and we are still in Tucson despite our plans to be camping on the West Coast in Carlsbad, Morro Bay and eventually Sequoia NP. We are waiting on a part for the truck to fix the transmission issue and apparently there isn’t a part available in the country so we are stuck with a rental car and an undefined departure date. Fortunately, we were still able to hit the road (in the rental car leaving ZsaZsa behind) and head to Oceanside, CA to bunk up with the McAcks in their beach house for almost a week. Scraffs joined us for a few days and we had a very relaxing time watching the dolphins, waves, pelicans and sunsets from their amazing Oceanside decks!
So what did we do you ask?? Here’s a sampling:
Food, Home and Garden tours….Since this was the third time during our year on the road we have been joined by (or joined the McAcks) you can be sure the Food Tour theme continued both at home and in restaurants. Jim and Lynn were great hosts, making wonderful meals and cocktails or reservations for the same. Breakfast at Carolines with Pacific views, the Flying Pig for small plates and beignets filled with banana cream …OMG! Stellas for ice cream and the Local Tap House for another outstanding chicken sandwich (chicken sandwich’s are having a moment, or maybe I’m just having a chicken sandwich moment) and Tanner’s Prime Burger for pretty damn good *but messy* burgers. The Mission Pacific Rooftop Bar was the perfect place for a sunset cocktail (or two!) complete with great views, cool vibes, accommodating servers and the best umbrella heaters imaginable! Last but not least, the local Buccaneer shack right across from the beach dished up seriously hearty breakfast fare and açaí bowls all of which were delish! No need to worry….we walked a bit each day admiring the beautiful homes along Pacific Avenue and did 10 minutes of yoga most mornings, so any extra calories simply melted away!
Carlsbad Flower Fields….these fields were AMAZINGLY beautiful! Thanks to local farmers who have protected this land, you meander through rows and rows of brightly colored ranunculus that are simply stunning with their various blossoms and colors. We got our steps in on the hillside, took a few pics and then picked our own blueberries! Divine. And yes, Jim turned those blueberries into a blueberry cobbler later that night!
A Durak tournament is always on deck and once again, the hat made the rounds for those who were unlucky enough to become the Durak! We were also treated to several dolphins shows and even a whale breaching on the horizon! There may even have been an evening call to the Oceanside coastguard after an hour of watching a small watercraft bob in the water without moving while the ocean got darker and darker. Better safe than sorry, but I’m sure the dispatch folks wondered what we had been drinking. The boater was safe btw…..motored off on their own 20 minutes after we made the call!
We are so lucky to have such long time friends eager to meet up with us all over this world for laughs, good food and conversation! What a blessing they are!
On our way back to Tucson we stopped off in Joshua Tree Park for a quick hike. We came in the North entrance and hit Arch and Heart Rock trailheads fairly easily and then headed out the southeast entrance. I must say, we were a bit underwhelmed….the rocks and trees were interesting but a lot of it is fairly desolate desert. I have two theories on our reaction: 1) we are totally spoiled living in Utah with the redrocks, high desert mountains and national parks that are truly breathtaking and/or 2) we’ve had our share of deserts having traveled through Chihuahuan, Sonoran and Mojave over the past few months. I would still recommend you visit but would definitely tell you to go to the North side to the boulder areas….
If I’m still blogging from Tucson in 3 months, please send reinforcements….
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