For the last few years my family and I have made it a tradition to take a road-trip to Southern California in the Fall. I grew up in Southern CA and love to see how its changed over the years. Each time we take the trip we make sure to experience a day at the beach. I enjoy searching for a different beach each year. The beach experience in the Fall is different than a Summer trip but just as fun. Last Fall the beach we selected was Oceanside CA.
Oceanside is located halfway between San Diego and Los Angeles. The beaches are beautiful and the people were so friendly! I like Oceanside since it was not as crowded as some of the bigger beaches. We played in the sand, the waves and even the cool play ground right on the beach.
The Oceanside Pier was our main focal point to visit. Growing up in Southern CA I have a love for piers and the activities all around them. Many families were fishing from the pier, beautiful sea birds were walking around and even a 50's style restaurant at the end of the pier. The pier is 1,954 feet long, extending about a quarter of a mile into the water making it one of the longest piers on the west coast.
The main street along the beach is called "The Strand". I honestly love the beach style of all the surfers with their boards, the tourists walking around and the beach cruiser bikes going by the local shops and restaurants. The Strand is 4 miles long and lined with palm trees. There are clean bathrooms and changing areas for swimmers or in the case of my kid wave jumping in his clothes.
We spent hours playing in the waves and sand. I could sit in the sand all day and watch my son with his big smile on his face jumping, splashing and getting covered in sand. I now know the joy my own Mom felt each summer when we went to the ocean.
For lunch we ate at The Tin Fish Restaurant on the Strand. I always have to get clam chowder in a bread bowl anytime I visit the beach. I loved every bite of it, when my son asked if he could feed the birds with part of my bread bowl I had to say no since I could not let the deliciousness be shared plus we should not feed wild animals.
After resting our bellies we decided to rent a surrey bike from Wheel Fun Rentals. I remember doing this as a kid with my family in Santa Barbara and wanted my own son to experience the fun of riding one by the ocean. I had more fun than I imagined I would. My husband did most of the pedaling on the bike and I was enjoying the view and giggles of my son. It was a perfect Fall day to be at the beach on a surrey bike. We rented ours a little later in the day saving us a bit of money of the rate.
The nice thing about Oceanside is the ability to use the beach even after dark. In the Fall it gets darker much earlier and we did not want our day of fun to stop. I went back to our car parked nearby to get a blanket to sit on and some snacks to watch the sunset over the ocean. We saw many families taking firewood to the cement fire pits on the beach and decided we were going to also have a bonfire. We had firewood in our trunk from a recent camping trip that was perfect for this. I was telling my husband how it was not good for gas mileage to have the wood in the trunk before we left on our trip and he replied with "You never know if we might need it on a road trip". He was so right and I was so glad to have it with us. Oh how I wished someone had been selling the stuff for s'mores on the beach!
