Drive To Carlsbad Flower Fields

Saturday the 3rd

Tina wanted to go up to Carlsbad for the annual Tulip Fields tour so we packed up the dogs and headed north on I-5 to Carlsbad (http://www.theflowerfields.com/). We arrived to find the place absolutely swamped with cars and people. Well it was an absolutely beautiful day with temperatures in the high 60's and light fluffy clouds overhead.

After finding a parking spot we put the kids on their leashes and headed for the entrance, walking past numerous vendors selling hot dogs, strawberry shortcake and, yes, flowers. We got to the gate and found out there was a $10 entrance fee and , oh by the way, your dogs aren't allowed. Dang! Well it was too warm to leave the kids in the car so we took some photos from the parking lot, packed up the car and drove over to the small town of Carlsbad.

We had stayed here at the South Carlsbad State Beach Campground four years ago when we were coming home from Las Vegas with our 34' SeaBreeze. We were only able to walk a short distance into town at that time so this was a chance to check out the area in more detail. Carslbad is one of a string of small resort type towns starting with Oceanside just below Camp Pendleton and ending with Mission Beach jut north of San Diego.

We drove around Carlsbad and were impressed with its small town feel. Eventually we parked and went into a small deli for lunch. We both had a sandwich and drink. When we were done Tina looked at me and said, "I could eat at a place like this 3 or 4 days a week." I agreed, it was that good. Leaving the deli we walked across the street to a Farmers market and bought some veggies and strawberries for dinner.

Since we were on the coast, rather than go back to I-5 we decided to follow the coast south on Hwy 101. So we did. Leaving Carlsbad we passed through Palomar and Leucadia before descending on Encinitas a really stunning beachside town, slightly larger than Carlsbad with more resorts. From Encinitas on down through Solana Beach, Del Mar we arrived at Torey Pines, home of the famous Torey Pines Golf Course a major stop for both the PGA and LPGA.

Just south of the golf course is the Torey Pines Reserve (http://www.toreypine.org/) where we plan to go for a hike next week. Continuing south on 101 we went up and across the bluff and dropped down into La Jolla, home of the Scripps Oceanarium. We have a kayaking trip planned to see the La Jolla sea caves next week too.

Eventually we left the coast and headed inland to I-5 for the drive home. We had a really nice day on the road seeing a lot of small coastal towns and getting a better feel for the area, just in case we really want to move our winter home down this way.

To see all our photos, click on:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski