If you are not into astronomy or winding mountain roads, you can probably skip the Palomar Observatory. My wife and I enjoyed the somewhat harrowing drive up Palomar Mountain and, while neither of us are big astronomy buffs, we found the telescope interesting –- we…Read More

If you are not into astronomy or winding mountain roads, you can probably skip the Palomar Observatory. My wife and I enjoyed the somewhat harrowing drive up Palomar Mountain and, while neither of us are big astronomy buffs, we found the telescope interesting –- we spent most of our time there trying to figure how it worked. Our 13-year-old son, however, was decidedly under-whelmed. It wasn’t as bad as the Griswolds driving 2 hours out of their way to see the world’s second largest ball of twine, but it may have been close in his mind. It probably had more to do with this being our last day of vacation, having to wake him up early so we could check out of the resort, and school starting in a few days.

It takes about an hour to drive there from Escondido. From I-15, drive east on Highway 76 about 25 miles and then continue on County Road S-6 for a winding and twisting 8 mile climb to the observatory. The drive on Highway 76 is fairly pleasant and scenic, passing farms and ranches (and some abandoned buildings). At one point, you enter the Pala Indian Reservation where you pass the HUGE Pala Casino. What’s interesting is that you see the "Entering Pala Indian Reservation" highway sign at one boundary of the casino property and the "Leaving Pala Indian Reservation" highway sign at the other boundary of the casino! Looks like they made good use of the land – the place looked packed. Once you get on S-6 the drive gets real interesting. It’s curves and hairpin turns rival anything we’ve ever driven in the mountains of the Northwest. The views are terrific but what made it fairly harrowing is that apparently everyone in Southern California who owns a racing motorcycle chose this day to ride up and down the mountain. The brightly colored Suzukis and Hondas were everywhere, like a swarm of bees, zooming by us, and making those racing bike turns where the driver’s kneecap is one inch from the road. There wasn’t a hog, touring, or dirt bike anywhere in sight.

Most of the motorcyclists were headed to the nearby Cleveland State Forest Park, so the final few miles to the observatory was a bit calmer. Even though the observatory is at 5500 feet elevation, it was still pretty hot (this was August – they advise in the wintertime that you need to watch for ice on the road). There is a spacious parking lot and small shaded picnic area. You proceed up a short walkway to the observatory which is open daily from 9 to 4. There is no admission charge. The "tour" is self guided, meaning you walk up the stairs and look through the glass windows at this, uh, technical thing. There are a few posters describing what you’re looking at. One poster described how Cal Tech (which runs the place), Cornell, and Jet Propulsion Labs vie for time on the telescope – I loved the comment that said if it’s cloudy on the night of your assigned time, that’s tough! When we arrived, there were perhaps a dozen people looking through the window and their reaction varied from fascination to "This is it?" One obvious problem is that since they only use the telescope at night, there isn’t anything happening there during the day. It seemed to me it would benefit things if there was a Bill Nye the Science Guy type person there to at least answer questions. But the impression is that the Palomar Observatory is a reluctant tourist attraction – they’d probably prefer no visitors but it’s kind of hard to ignore this big white dome on top of a mountain.

Back down the walkway, there is another building with a small sign saying "Gift Shop". Don’t pass this by. The gift shop is just one small room and surprisingly well stocked with astronomy books, photos, and posters as well as souvenirs (you NEED a Palomar Observatory Frisbee, don’t you?). But next to the gift shop is the unadvertised museum, a big room with lots of terrific photos of various heavenly bodies (no, not Marilyn Monroe) and phenomena. There is also a video playing continuously about the construction of the telescope and observatory. Creating the 200-inch mirror back in the 1930’s was an engineering marvel. I later found out that the company my grandfather worked for built the cradle that the mirror rested in as it was transported across the country by train.

Even if you aren’t enamored of technical things, the Palomar Observatory is an interesting diversion just for the drive alone. You could always go to the State Park instead. At the junction of the S-6 and S-7 (the road to the park), there is an eclectic general store and restaurant/bakery. It’s not often that you see Twinkies, star charts, and wind chimes sold in the same store. The restaurant offers homemade soups and sandwiches and while we didn’t have lunch there, we did enjoy an excellent giant oatmeal raisin cookie from the bakery.

Out and about in Escondido there are many places from the familiar to the family owned to try. Our favorite is Spires on Valley Pkwy. with home cooking and terrific service (Brande is our favorite server). For a quick breakfast on the go we like…Read More

Out and about in Escondido there are many places from the familiar to the family owned to try. Our favorite is Spires on Valley Pkwy. with home cooking and terrific service (Brande is our favorite server). For a quick breakfast on the go we like Petersons Donut Shop on Escondido Blvd. and 9th Street, they make donuts and speciality 24 hours a day.

After 10pm the only sit down place is Dennys (Center city and Mission) with a name you easily recognize and is always consistent. (Ask for Jake as your server, he's the best!) For a little more upscale we like Applebee's on Valley Pkwy. They have the best steak around (forget Sizzler, it has gone downhill over the years). And don't forget the white chocolate Blondie for dessert. It is to die for! Hop is another one to avoid. It used to be terrific but lately the food is never the way you order and the service stinks... you never see your server after you order. We recently found a liking to Styx on Center City, it is very good, reasonable prices, quality food. And by far the best pies and coffee is Marie Callendars on 13th and Center City.

The Chocolate Cafe is right next to Orfila Winery, close to the junction of highway 78 and 79 near Santa Isabel, not far from the picturesque town of Julian. All manner of chocolate and confections are sold, and they are made on the premises. A…Read More

The Chocolate Cafe is right next to Orfila Winery, close to the junction of highway 78 and 79 near Santa Isabel, not far from the picturesque town of Julian. All manner of chocolate and confections are sold, and they are made on the premises. A sign at the side of the building points to the rear, where one can look through the windows at the process of candy making. We ordered cocoa, which came topped with whipped cream and peppermint sprinkles—yummy—and drank it sitting in the shade of a tree at one of the picnic tables scattered throughout the large, landscaped lawn surrounding the property. Close

The Orfila Winery is a great place to stop for a while. We entered the large building through the door at the east and found before us a huge open area with a large selection of antiques and furniture. Bales of hay, pumpkins, and orange…Read More

The Orfila Winery is a great place to stop for a while. We entered the large building through the door at the east and found before us a huge open area with a large selection of antiques and furniture. Bales of hay, pumpkins, and orange accented floral arrangements reminded visitors of the time of year. At the rear west end of the building was a counter with an assortment of jams and preserves and accompanying crackers set out for tasting. There did not seem to be anyone about to man the station, so we had a few nibbles and then moved on to the front of the building for the main event—the wine tasting!

Jeff Cox had a good selection of wines set out—Pinot noir, Sangiovese, Merlot, Shiraz, Riesling, tawny port—and he served them in order. The first taste was free, but who could stop at one when there were so many other delicious wines to try. Four dollars would buy another four or five good size tastes and you could keep the glass which was etched with the Orfila Winery label. Make sure the driver just has the one free taste!

We chose to visit the children’s beach because we heard that one can see sea lions lounging on the rocks. Parking was the largest difficulty, and we visited in October—we heard from locals that mostly it is impossible to find a parking spot. Despite the…Read More

We chose to visit the children’s beach because we heard that one can see sea lions lounging on the rocks. Parking was the largest difficulty, and we visited in October—we heard from locals that mostly it is impossible to find a parking spot. Despite the number of cars lining every single street within 6 blocks of the seaside, there were relatively few people admiring the sea lions on the beaches. All along the waterfront there is a park where one could spend some time and have a picnic. Right at the shore are steep cliffs with thousands of birds vying for a spot in the ever-present holes in the cliff walls. There are several outfitters who take tourists out in kayaks for an ocean view of steep cliffs, however the water was pretty choppy and it looked pretty chilly to be out there paddling. The sea lions are not all that entertaining, mostly just lying there snoozing, but every once in a while one or more would swim about and give the audience on the cliffs above an opportunity to try to get them on film for posterity. Close

This resort is a great place to go. There is so much to do in the area. We took a bus trip to Mexico which was very informative & a lot of fun. There were other people on the bus that had done…Read More

This resort is a great place to go. There is so much to do in the area. We took a bus trip to Mexico which was very informative & a lot of fun. There were other people on the bus that had done the Hollywood trip a few days earlier & they enjoyed it very much. There were so many activies going on around the resort that you needed to spend at least 2 weeks there to so you can get everything in. Unfortunately we only were able to spend 1 delightful week there.

The Resort is a bit out of the way so having a car at your disposal is recommended. We did quite a bit of touring in the area as it is only 20+ miles to wine country & 42 miles to San Diego. Oceanside is quite a nice community to tour around in as well. There is a lot of shopping within a 50 mile radius which includes department stores like Wal-Mart as well as high end Factory Outlets.

The staff in the resort are very friendly & the concierge is extremely knowledgeable of everything to do in the area.

This is the best gathering of classic cars, from works-in-progress to priceless, museum-quality vehicles. From hot rods to the Edsel. This is a cool way to spend the evening. Classic music by a DJ from the doo-wop 50's and 60's. It runs every Friday night from April to…Read More

This is the best gathering of classic cars, from works-in-progress to priceless, museum-quality vehicles. From hot rods to the Edsel. This is a cool way to spend the evening. Classic music by a DJ from the doo-wop 50's and 60's. It runs every Friday night from April to September 5pm-9pm. And its free!! Close

Around town for night life there are some fun places to hang out. Pounders (on Grand Ave..) This is an awesome place to go to hear live local music... whether it be the blues to rock. The entire front wall opens to the street when…Read More

Around town for night life there are some fun places to hang out. Pounders (on Grand Ave..) This is an awesome place to go to hear live local music... whether it be the blues to rock. The entire front wall opens to the street when it's warm, and the beer is always cold. The Comstock is also a good choice for getting out of the house. Brian is the best bartender! North Bar is a smaller place with a lot of atmosphere. Ask for Irene here, she will take care of you. Close

In my search of a quiet place in Escondido for a getaway, I found some that should not be used by the unwary traveler. The motel 6 on Mission Avenue, and especially the Mt. Vernon on Mission. It gets at least two police calls a nite…Read More

In my search of a quiet place in Escondido for a getaway, I found some that should not be used by the unwary traveler. The motel 6 on Mission Avenue, and especially the Mt. Vernon on Mission. It gets at least two police calls a nite for trouble. It pays off to ask at the nearest restaurant (this case Dennys), how the area is before you go.Close