What to do in the Carlsbad CA area?

Bruceter

Bruceter

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My family and I are headed to Carlsbad CA for some R&R in a few weeks.
We are planning to go to Legoland and up to San Diego to visit Sea World.

Is there anything else in that area that is a must see? Anything that we should avoid?

Any knife shops in the area? (Don't tell my wife I asked:D)
Any advice would be appreciated as we have never been to Southern California.

Thanks in advance.

Bruceter
 
Bruceter said:
We are planning to go to Legoland and up to San Diego to visit Sea World.

Is there anything else in that area that is a must see? Anything that we should avoid?

Thanks in advance.

Bruceter
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First thing, check your map because, unless you are going the really long way around, San Diego will be South. ;)
Traffic around SD is pretty heavy during rush hour so I would try and avoid that; nothing like sitting five lanes across at a blistering 4 mph.
The SD zoo is a good bet, but I like the wild animal park ("35 miles north of the San Diego Zoo and east of Escondido") better. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/index.html You used to be able to ride on flat beds into areas with herbivores, but you can bet that costs $$ more. If you are in Carlsbad you will be closer to the WAP than the zoo.
Tijuana is further south still; probably can still buy Italian spring steel there but I have no idea how you get it across the border now.
And there are great beaches along the way as you head south to San Diego.
Enjoy the trip,
rats...
 
Your wife will enjoy the factory outlet mall near Legoland and the food at the Andersons motel is pretty good (pea soup ).
 
ratstuph said:
First thing, check your map because, unless you are going the really long way around, San Diego will be South. ;)
.....
Click to expand...

Uh, yeah, thats what I meant, My other South:o

We had talked about the WAP and chillin' on the beach is on the agenda.

Bruceter
 
You have to visit La Jolla which is just north of San Diego. It is a grand old resort town with really fine shopping and dining. It also has a great cove for snorkling. You might also want to check out the cave.
 
Right by Sea World is Mission Bay where people do things like water skiing etc. You might take the San Diego Harbor ferry cruise. I like the drive out to Point Loma and the drive over to Coronado Island on San Diego Harbor (these are separate drives). You may also want to visit Old Town San Diego.
 
If you're a history buf you might want to see the sight of the "Battle of San Pasqual" where Kit Carson fought alongside Kearny during the US conquest of California. It is funny to think of the Nestor of the Rockies fighting out in California. His favorite hang out was hunting beaver up in the South Park. The historic site is close to the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/glance/uniquely/battlefield/index.html
 
Jeff Clark said:
If you're a history buf you might want to see the sight of the "Battle of San Pasqual" where Kit Carson fought alongside Kearny during the US conquest of California. It is funny to think of the Nestor of the Rockies fighting out in California. His favorite hang out was hunting beaver up in the South Park. The historic site is close to the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/glance/uniquely/battlefield/index.html
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Carson
 
Thanks for all the tips Jeff, we'll try to work some of those in.

Bruceter
 
In addition to the great zoos and marine parks, our family enjoyed:

1) A trip to Palomar Observatory, home of the 200-inch Hale Telescope which was for decades, the largest telescope in the world.

2)A trip to Julian which is a quaint historical (although a wee bit touristy) mining town. The tour of the old Eagle Gold Mine was really cool. Oh, and don't let the old rickety sign that says, "once you've crossed this line, you are considered a customer and owe $10" scare you away. The people are actually extremely informative and friendly - they just stink at marketing, lol.

3) Google "tide pools san diego" and visit one or two. It sounds boring but it was so cool we ended up doing it twice.

A final tip, if you see a sign for Lego-land, run like the wind! Way overpriced for what you get unless you have a 5 year old who is obsessed with legos and have no choice.
 
Tracker2 said:
A final tip, if you see a sign for Lego-land, run like the wind! Way overpriced for what you get unless you have a 5 year old who is obsessed with legos and have no choice.
Click to expand...

I have a six year old that fits that description. We got a hotel room on the beach in Carlsbad that came with Legoland tickets as part of the package.


What will the water temp be like the first part of May?

Thanks for all the responses,

Bruceter
 
+1 on the tidepools.
Aside from the other suggestions:

- Balboa Park springs to mind. A number of museums there. Nice aviation museum.
- San Diego Zoo is world famous.
- San Diego Wild Animal Park (not the same as the zoo and not very close to it. Very different experience.)
- USS Midway aircraft carrier & museum. Way cool if you are into ships or aircraft.
- Near the USS Midway is the Star of India, an iron-hulled sailing ship built in 1863 that is set up as a museum. Good if you like history or ships.
- Dinner in the Gaslamp quarter. Lots of restaurants. Good for mom & dad.
- Dinner at Corvette Diner: 1950's theme diner, fun for kids and adults, noisy though. Waitresses and waiters put on quite a show.
- In addition to La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya) proper. La Jolla Shores is very close to the shopping section and has one of the nicest beaches around and a gentle slope into the water so the waves there are gentler for kids. (note: our water temp this time of year tends to be in the high 50's. Florida, we ain't.)

There are some knife shops here, though I don't frequent any of them. Too expensive. But you could do some googling and find them.
 
UC San Diego is right next to La Jolla and has the Birch Aquarium there. This is run by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. If you haven't worn yourself out of the sea life experience at Sea World this is a way to give your sunburn a rest.

http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/
 
Appreciate all the help guys!

I think our week will be pretty full.

Bruceter
 
As you see, lots of options. I'll just add one: Torrey Pines State Reserve, just north of La Jolla and the UCSD campus.

www.torreypine.org

In May and June, it is often overcast near the beach, which usually burns off by 10 or 11 am. "June Gloom".

Enjoy your visit!
 
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