Lisa's Travels

Posts Tagged ‘San Diego California’

Carlsbad is a picturesque seaside village ideally located 30 miles north of San Diego. Here you will find irresistible sandy beaches, three unique lagoons, two luxurious resorts and more than two dozen fine hotels. Visitors love walking around the “village center” that offers outstanding shopping and dozens of great restaurants for every taste and pocketbook. There is a never-ending array of things to do in Carlsbad – this report shares six things every outdoor-loving visitor MUST do.

1. The Flower Fields are one of Carlsbad’s most beloved and famous traditions. Fifty acres of Giant Tecolote Ranunculus flowers are in a full bloom for six or seven weeks each year – from early March through early May. The yearly color burst of red, orange, yellow, green and purple blossoms is part of Carlsbad’s heritage – and nature’s method of announcing the official arrival of spring. Telephone: (760) 431-0352.

2. The 610-acre Batiquitos Lagoon is one of SoCal’s few remaining tidal wetlands. Interpretive signs along the trails assist visitors with identifying the many species of birds and wildlife that call the lagoon home. A stroll along the two miles of nature trails from the Visitor’s Center takes you by nesting sites of red-wing blackbirds and through rookeries of great blue herons, great egrets, black-crowned night herons and snowy egrets.

3. If you have kids, don’t miss Legoland. This unique theme park provides a very pleasant experience for both children AND parents. The park is clean, pleasantly landscaped and alive with color. Adults enjoy “Miniland” where entire city skylines are recreated with Legos. Attractive cafs with reasonable prices offer tasty yet healthy choices for hungry kids (try the apple fries). Lines to ride the attractions are short compared to Disneyland, especially first thing in the morning.

4. The “downtown” area of the Village of Carlsbad is located along Historic Coast Highway 101 along the Pacific Ocean coast. The majority of the hotels and vacation rentals are in (or very close to) the village; some properties are directly on the beach while many others are within walking distance to the ocean. The well-known Carlsbad Inn is a Bavarian style hotel at the edge of town with ocean views (for $350 a night in summer) from some rooms.

5. Carlsbad Village offers many restaurants from the very casual to quite upscale. Le Passage on State Street is a local favorite – a delightful French bistro with outdoor dining. Fish House Vera Cruz is a well known and popular family-style seafood restaurant with a marvelous fish market. There are great bars and night spots that get fun and lively, especially on summer weekends,

6. The Agua Hedionda Lagoon Nature and Discovery Center features a native garden with nearly a thousand California native plants of more than 50 different species. Visitors can walk short trails lined with educational panels explaining Agua Hedionda Lagoon and its flora and fauna. Seven species of sage, five varieties of Manzanita, five varieties of wild lilac, and a selection of coffeeberry, buckwheat, currants, honeysuckle and fuschia grow in the garden. The Discovery Center features many interesting and informative exhibits offering glimpses into the lives of Native Americans who once inhabited the area.

Terry Hunefeld retired in 2007 from his job as a CEO to pursue his passion of sailing the Pacific Ocean to observe seabirds and mammals. Terry and his wife Ann Dunham own and operate a romantic 4-suite Bed and Breakfast Inn near San Diego, California. For more information visit: Carlsbad Bed and Breakfasts or Hotels in Carlsbad California.

Carlsbad is a beautiful, fashionable beach-side town just north of San Diego. It’s one of several quaint beach towns lined along the coastline of the Pacific Ocean. It is known for it’s wide sandy beaches and picturesque downtown – the quintessential SoCal California beach town.

The North County beach communities include Solana Beach, Encinitas and Cardiff By The Sea. Each community is offers magnificent ocean views and cooling sea breezes.

Batiquitos Lagoon is a coastal wetland north of San Diego. It is one of the few remaining tidal wetlands on the southern California coast of the United States. The area is run by the California Department of Fish and Game as a nature reserve.

The coast runs six miles and is home to two popular beaches: The State Beach and South Ponto Beach. The beaches are wide and sandy in many places. The shoreline is interrupted only by a few water inlets. The beaches are mostly hidden below ocean bluffs, away from busy Highway 101 and residential areas, offering a peaceful atmosphere.

The Flower Fields are famous for their beauty. Tour them from March to early May where for a small fee you can walk through acres and acres of brightly colored fields of flowers on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It’s a sight to behold. At the Flower Fields, Giant Tecolote Ranunculus have been refined for generations to produce exceptionally large blooms and lots of them. Available in a rainbow of lavish hues, each flower is packed with hundreds of silky petals. You’d be hard pressed to find a fuller, more lush blossom anywhere.

Hotels and inns are represented by all the big chains including the Hilton. Regal Eight, Howard Johnson’s and The Inn. You’ll also find romantic bed and breakfasts.

Many vacation time-share condos serve as Carlsbad vacation rentals. These more upscale accommodations are luxurious and can be quite expensive. A famous Carlsbad resort is the La Costa Resort and Spa. As soon as guests enter the gates of La Costa, they’re impressed with the beauty and relaxing charm of this one-of-a-kind Southern California resort. La Costa is rated among the best resorts in the United States by Cond Nast because it offers a world class spa, an extraordinary championship golf course, sophistication and unequalled personalized service.

Of all the Carlsbad Hotels the only one that is (1) cute, (2) romantic with (3) views of the ocean for (4) under $170 a night is the Inn at Moonlight Beach.

Terry Hunefeld retired from a CEO career in several years ago to sail the ocean observing seabirds and marine mammals. He and his wife Ann own the lovely Inn at Moonlight Beach on the Pacific Ocean of San Diego. If you are looking for Encinitas hotels or Solana Beach hotels be sure to check out the Inn at Moonlight Beach.