December in Escondido

A December 2003 trip to Escondido by dalefried

Escondido is a northern suburb of San Diego. The friendliest people in the world were here at the Lawrence Welk Villas, and the people of Escondido and San Diego were the nicest people also. High recommendations for this timeshare.

  • 9 reviews

Lawrence Welk ResortBest of IgoUgo

Hotel | "Lawrence Welk Resort, Escondido"

The resort is gorgeous, nestled in the mountains. The rooms are tremendous and beautifully decorated. The sliding glass door opened up to a beautiful patio with the golf course immediately in front of us, and the mountains on the left and right of us. The staff were very helpful and the guests were the friendliest people in the world! I visited in December, and most of the guests were senior citizens, but we had so much fun with everyone, especially on the tours. If you want to sight see in San Diego, it is an hour away, so I recommend going on the tours. Lenny, the bus driver is the greatest. Take the tour of Tijuana and he'll tell you all the reputable stores to go to.
  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by dalefried on December 23, 2003

Lawrence Welk Resort
8860 Lawrence Welk Drive Escondido, California 92026
(760) 749-3000

Fireside CafeBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

What a lovely restaurant with a roaring fireplace. We arrived at 6pm and were presented with a Twilight Menu with a choice of six entrees. It came with a salad and bread, all for only $11.95. We both ordered the breaded shrimp and baked potato. It also came with a vegetable. The portion was a good size too. They had a regular dinner menu also. We were very happy with the beautiful, romantic atmosphere, delicious food and reasonable price!
  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by dalefried on January 6, 2004

Fireside Cafe
Washington Boulevard Escondido, California

Mr. W RestaurantBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

This restaurant is on the Lawrence Welk property, so it is very convenient. We were seated immediately, but I can't say that the service was great. I ordered a Caesar salad and jalapeno poppers. The jalapeno poppers were really delicious, but the Caesar salad was just all right. You can't really ruin lettuce, I guess. My mother had some fish, and she said it was okay also. The price was average. I only recommend it because it is so convenient, not because it is great food.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by dalefried on January 6, 2004

Mr. W Restaurant
8860 Lawrence Welk Boulevard Escondido, California 92026
(760) 749-3253

Lorenzo's PizzeriaBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

This is on the Lawrence Welk property and is part of the general store and deli. There are tables and chairs on the pizzeria side so you can eat there if you like. It was only 6:30pm, and the pizzeria was dark. We had to order in the deli.

A medium-sized pizza pie was $13. A large-sized pizza in NY costs $8.95, and we couldn't buy it by the slice. I grew up in Brooklyn, so it was a poor imitation of what real pizza should taste like, and it wasn't cheap! This is convenient to have on-site, but I don't really recommend it.

  • Member Rating 1 out of 5 by dalefried on January 6, 2004

Lorenzo's Pizzeria
8860 Lawrence Welk Boulevard Escondido, California

This restaurant is within the Seaport Village complex. It is cute...it is supposed to be like a Hawaiian restaurant. The service was very good. We had a table by the windows, so you could see people walking, and the boats that were docked in the harbor. I had a Thai vegetarian noodle dish, and my mother had fish and chips. We both liked our dishes.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by dalefried on January 6, 2004

Buster's Beach House
807 West Harbor Drive Escondido, California 92101
(619) 233-4300

Wild Animal ParkBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "San Diego Wild Animal Park"

It is only about 20 minutes away from the Lawrence Welk Resort. What a lovely day we spent at this park. It is different from the San Diego Zoo because the animals are in a big preserve and wander around. The weather was gorgeous and all the animals were out. The Birds of Prey show was cute, but the Elephant Show was pretty lame. FYI: Bring your walking shoes, because everything is really spread out and there weren't enough signs guiding you to the right locations. Highly recommend this park, especially if you don't want to drive an hour to the San Diego Zoo.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by dalefried on January 6, 2004

Wild Animal Park
15500 San Pasqual Valley Road Escondido, California 92027
(760) 747-8702

Seaport VillageBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

It took an hour to drive from the resort, but it is so beautiful to walk around and shop in the unique, funky shops. There is a carousel for the children. You walk along the water and we saw a tremendous cruise ship docked. There are restaurants and bars here too. I have been looking for a crystal figurine for two years, and I found it there at the Crystal Palace store! It was on sale, and I was able to ship it home with insurance. I was so happy. This location has so many hard-to-find, unique items. We got lost driving back from here, but I'm so glad that we came. Parking is so expensive, though. It cost $1 every 20 minutes, and the first two hours are free with validation, but it still cost us $9!
  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by dalefried on January 6, 2004

Seaport Village
849 W. Harbor Drive, Suite D San Diego, California 92101
(619) 235-4014

Golf, Welk ResortBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Tijuana Tour"

The tour is offered by the timeshare. We were advised by other guests who have taken the tour, that it is worth the $43.00 price. The bus driver, Lenny, is very knowledgeable and gives you information on the whole way down in the bus. Our first stop was Calafia Hotel. It took about 2 hours to get there. You have to pass such poverty, it is a shame. The hotel is perched on a cliff and is surrounded by the ocean on three sides. There is a separate cost for the brunch. I think it was $9.00 USD. One margarita is included in the price. You can have unlimited coffee. The food (buffet) was very good, and plentiful. You can feel confident that you can eat anything here.

When we finished eating, we played Mexican Bingo and then we had a Tortilla Toss contest. You had to compete to see who can throw a tortilla the farthest into the ocean. You have to hope that a passing seagull doesn't catch it first! They give you time to walk around the beautiful property, and then it was time to go to the next stop, which was the Rosarita Beach Hotel. You can walk down the pier which stretches out really far into the ocean. It is a spectacular view. You can also go horseback riding on the beach. You can shop a little bit here, if you like. There was an art gallery, pottery and a doll shop.

From there we drove to Tijuana. Our driver gave us a list of reputable stores and gave us a wealth of information about prices. I was looking for a specific item, and he even walked to the store with me. He was wonderful. We had a great time there, and the other guests on the bus got some great deals on silver. We spent 1 1/2 hours in Tijuana, and the time flew by so fast.

The last stop in Mexico was to a bakery that is supposed to be awesome. They didn't have any chocolate, so I wasn't interested, but everyone else was raving about it. Our last stop was through Customs. You have to get off the bus and show proof of citizenship (driver's license was sufficient). It took about 5 minutes. Then we were back on the bus, but San Diego traffic stinks, so it took a long time to get back, but Lenny showed a cute videotape on the TVs on the bus, so it wasn't so bad. We had a wonderful time!

  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by dalefried on January 6, 2004

Golf, Welk Resort
8860 Lawrence Welk Drive Escondido, California 92026
(760) 749-3000

Pala Casino Resort SpaBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Pala Casino"

We were originally going to drive into downtown San Diego to see a cute show for our last night of vacation, but honestly, I hated driving so far, so we decided to go to the Pala Casino, which was only 20 minutes to the north. I live on Long Island, and we don't really have too many mountains, so I am not used to this dangerous driving with steep cliffs on one side and big mountains on the other and you can't see what is coming around the bend. My heart was in my throat during this part of the drive. I think you have to drive on this road (Rt.76) if you visit the Palomar Observatory. Then out of nowhere, you see the bright lights of the Pala Casino. You can park in the indoor parking lot. The casino is very nice; it is not small at all. My mother and I played the nickel slots and the money lasted a long time. I ended up winning $5.00. You can watch bands playing all night in the bar area. They also have special events, but I think it is only on the weekends. The next day, Saturday, The Nelson Brothers were going to appear, and in January, Regis Philbin and Susan Lucci were going to perform. We watched the band in the bar, and had a very enjoyable time. The drive on the way home was so scary because there were no lights on the road. Cars were passing me, so I guess if you are used to driving on mountainous roads, this shouldn't be a problem for you. There are several restaurants here also. This was definitely a good place to visit.
  • Member Rating 5 out of 5 by dalefried on January 6, 2004

Pala Casino Resort Spa
11154 Highway 76 Escondido, California 92059
(760) 510-5100

About the Writer

dalefried
dalefried
Medford, New York

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