The BIG Little Lies California Road Trip - 30th July 2019 - Oceanside & North Coast Village

[smithlane]

Day 13

Apologies, it’s a bit of a boring one today!

No alarm today. I woke first of all at 7am from a train that kept sounding it’s horn then again at 8.30 from some workmen hammering around outside in the gardens
I got up at about 9.30 and chilled out on the balcony eating my very nutritious breakfast of a cinnamon bun

By 10.30 I was by the pool with Hope, Helen and Nick. Jim and Sam wanted to chill in the apartment out of the sun. I finally started reading the book I bought at the airport! Spent a lovely few hours just chilling, I also went to explore a little around the grounds

We went back to our apartments for lunch which consisted of a sausage and egg croissant for me then at about 1.30 we set off into town. Again just Hope and I and the Leans. Jim and Sam were having a seriously lazy day!

It was a nice 20 minute walk into Oceanside. It was cloudy out but still really warm, was quite nice actually to not be walking in the boiling hot sun

Oceanside itself isn't very picturesque with not a huge amount to do there, mainly restaurants, a cinema and some gift shops. We headed straight to the Asylum Surf Shop that I had spotted last night on our failed mission for dinner. They had some lovely bits in here but didn’t have the Billabong pullover I was after, I knew I should have bought it in Santa Cruz!

There was a gift store next door called Little Louie's so naturally went in there...
A Xmas decoration, 2 magnets and 3 postcards later we were done.

Hope then wanted to go to the bigger gift shop across the road as she’d seen they did the Lifeguard hoodies that she was after. She originally wanted a Malibu one but they didn’t sell them there so settled for an Oceanside one, $32. She passed her Lifeguarding course just before we came out so it seems fitting she get this.

We now walked back to the apartments along the beach.

We were trying to find Mark our surfing instructor for Thursday as we needed to pay him. He said he teaches from Lifeguard hut 2 but he wasn’t there, must be finished for the day as it was about 3.30 by now and his last lesson is 12.30. I emailed him and he sent us 2 invoices to pay by card so that was all good. This was $160 for each family. We’re all really looking forward to this, it will be hilarious if nothing else

The four of us chilled in the apartment for a few hours, me on the balcony reading my book. Bliss!
At about 5 we got ready for dinner, we were all starving by this point! The plan was to walk down to Ruby’s Diner at the end of the pier then go into town for a couple of drinks.

We went over to the Leans' first to check out their apartment. They had the most wonderful view of the beach and harbour from their balcony. So jealous

As we were all rather ravenous we soon got on our way. It was a nice walk down the beach and to the end of the pier.

It was a 40 minute wait for a table which didn’t go down very well as a few members of our party were starting to get hangry!
There was talk of ditching Ruby’s and walking into town but then we could have a 10 min walk and then a wait for a table there so decided to sit out on the pier until our name was called.

We passed the time watching the fisherman catch Mackerel for their dinner. Soon enough we were called to a table upstairs.
It was a table big enough for 12 but hadn’t been cleaned and was really wobbly so not a great start.
Had a beautiful view of the sunset though!

Ordered a round of drinks, cherry coke for me and corona for Jim.
For food I went with half grilled sandwich and a cup of chilli with a side of garlic fries. Jim had the seafood combo which was fish and shrimp and the kids a burger and fries.
As the sun was setting I kept popping outside to take some photos. It really is a beautiful spot.

The food left a lot to be desired, the fries were luke warm and the toasty was only ok. The others didn’t rate their seafood at all. Overly greasy and tasteless and not a patch on Bubba Gumps that they had in San Francisco.

The bill came to $90 each family which is ridiculously overpriced for what we had but I suppose you pay for the location.
However what did perk us up was spotting a dolphin out of the window. Really difficult to photograph but you get the idea!

We paid up then made a plan for this evening whilst walking. It went very dark very quickly!

I had to laugh at this guy photobombing Nick and Jim

Gulp

The kids didn’t want to come into town with us, just wanted to be back in the apartment with WiFi so Helen and I walked them back while Jim and Nick went to find a bar. We don’t mind them staying at the apartment as it’s like Fort Knox trying to get into the complex but we certainly didn’t want them walking back on their own as there are some salubrious characters around especially after dark!

On a side note I have to say the homeless situation in California is really apparent. Now don’t get me wrong I live in Greater London so I’m well aware of how bad it gets in towns and cities but it just seems so much more obvious over here. We have spoken to locals all the way down the coast and they all say a combination of high housing costs and not enough mental health services have contributed to it being so bad. Having said all that we have had no issues with the homeless harassing us it’s just a really sad sight to witness. Especially those who are so obviously mentally poorly.

With the kids safely back in the apartment we walked back into town. Getting our steps in today!
Jim had text to say they were in Pierview Pub so headed in that direction. We got asked for ID. Bonus! Although by California law they have ask everyone

The men were playing pool so we went to get ourselves a drink but we couldn’t see any spirits on the wall only beer and wine. As a primarily vodka or rum drinker this wasn’t good news so asked if they had any. Turns out they don’t have a liquor licence only for drinks that are fermented not distilled! How odd we’ve never come across this before but it makes sense as the supermarkets are the same. Anyway she said they do a vodka that’s fermented and is quite sweet so we both thought we’d try it with cranberry. I have to say it was very nice but not very strong, presuming because it’s only about 6%!

We only stayed for one drink then went back to the Leans apartment for another. We stopped at the liquor store to grab something to drink, I went with a bottle of passion fruit and blood orange vodka cocktail.
If only the pool could be this empty in the daytime

I really loved these works of art they had by each elevator in the complex.

We sat out on their balcony for a drink listening to the sound of the waves and chatting about the holiday so far. It was maybe the alcohol but I have really happy memories of this evening with Helen and Nick. I do love that we all get on so well
By 11.30 we retired to our apartment and went straight to bed

[megaflyer]

Thank you so much for positing your latest episode. I log on every morning hoping to hear more - best TR I have read in a very long time . Thank you 🙏

[Macca04]

Agree with Megaflyer, great trip report really enjoying it, thanks for taking the time to share.

[Goldia]

Sounds like a lovely day. I'm looking forward to seeing how you all get on with the surfing it's been a very active holiday with cycling, kayaking and now the surfing. You're an athlete!

The sunset looked great a shame the food didn't live up to it. A shame the bar you went to didn't have your usual tipple but still seems like you all had a lovely evening while the kids indulged in the Wi-Fi.

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by megaflyer

Thank you so much for positing your latest episode. I log on every morning hoping to hear more - best TR I have read in a very long time . Thank you 🙏

See more...

That's very kind, thank you so much! Day 14 is now up

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Macca04

Agree with Megaflyer, great trip report really enjoying it, thanks for taking the time to share.

See more...

Thank you so much Macca. I'm really loving reliving the holiday, its such a bonus that others enjoy reading it

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Sounds like a lovely day. I'm looking forward to seeing how you all get on with the surfing it's been a very active holiday with cycling, kayaking and now the surfing. You're an athlete!

The sunset looked great a shame the food didn't live up to it. A shame the bar you went to didn't have your usual tipple but still seems like you all had a lovely evening while the kids indulged in the Wi-Fi.

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Oh Abby I'm certainly no athlete as you'll find out when you read about our surf lessons . I can safely say that exercise is bad for me and that I shouldn't do any ever again
It's a beautiful spot for a sunset, just such a shame about the food!
We really had a great evening plus the kids got to chill out plugged into their various devices

[WileyCoyote]

A nice chilled day. A shame dinner was a let down and not cheap either
That’s such a shame about the homeless . Completely get what you mean. Must say on our trip this year we hardly encountered anything like that, only in Charleston. It’s so desperately sad. 😞
What a lovely way to round off the day on the balcony listening to the ocean with friends. These are the magical moments and memories !
And lol, photobombing guy. Priceless 😂

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

A nice chilled day. A shame dinner was a let down and not cheap either
That’s such a shame about the homeless . Completely get what you mean. Must say on our trip this year we hardly encountered anything like that, only in Charleston. It’s so desperately sad. 😞
What a lovely way to round off the day on the balcony listening to the ocean with friends. These are the magical moments and memories !
And lol, photobombing guy. Priceless 😂

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We certainly needed the chill day, it was nice to do not a lot.
Dinner was a real let down but the sunset photos and seeing the dolphin made up for it.
Oh really that's interesting to know, it seems its a real problem in California
The Leans definitely scored with their apartment, we loved hanging out with them there. I feel very thankful we get on so well!
I was cracking up when I was taking the photo as Jim and Nick were completely unaware he was there

[juliab]

Sounds like a really chilled and relaxed day.
Shame about your evening meal but the views of the sunset looked amazing.