I've met very cool people on Twitter, I have a tweep (Twitter/peep) who's great, we mostly talk about food, places to eat and things to do. He usually mentions places in North County, especially in Encinitas, I soon realized I've never been there before! I know where it is since I pass it every time I drive to OC or LA but never been there in the 13 years I've been living in San Diego. Another thing I've never done is take the MTS Coaster from San Diego to the cities in North County....that's how a Day Trip to Encinitas idea was born!
The first part of the trip was to arrive at the Santa Fe Train Depot where I could grab the Coaster that would take me to Encinitas. The Coaster departed at 12:40 PM, cost $11 round trip and would take 45 minutes to get there.
The Coaster is very comfy, with good leg room and with some seats facing each other so groups of friends can sit together. They even have small tables, I'm sure commuters with laptops use them since wi-fi is available at no extra charge. Once you get closer to the coastal cities then you get to see very nice views of the ocean and beaches.
I arrived at Encinitas and went to El Callejon, a Mexican food restaurant where I met a member of the Geek Girls of San Diego meetup group since I added this excursion as a meetup in case anyone else was interested in being a tourist in our own city. By the way, this is a great meetup group, very interesting and smart ladies are in it...like me <grin>
My time was limited and my mistake was spending too much time at the restaurant, but don't regret it, the conversation was great! At El Callejon I had one taco al pastor and ceviche, the portions were just right to satisfy me without leaving me dying from eating too much...give me a lot of food I will eat it all!!
When we finally left the restaurant and went to the shops I realized I only had 40 minutes before I had to get back to the station for the 3:53 Coaster back to San Diego, so we made the most of it!
Coast Hwy Traders
Was in awe in this store! They have the best Day of the Dead collection I've seen anywhere, not even in Old Town have I've seen so much! While I was drooling over skulls, my Geek Girl friend was drooling over mermaids and I couldn't resist and bought a magnet of St Isidore of Seville, the patron saint of computers...AVG I don't need you anymore! Just kidding.
Whole Foods
We did a quick pit stop here and just had to take a pic of organic watermelon gherkin...what the hell are those?
Chuao Chocolatier
Another one of my tweep's suggestions, we walked a few blocks for the most amazing and delicate truffles. I am not one for delaying pleasure, bought two truffles and ate them within five minutes...at least I made them last 5 minutes!
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| I had one Wild Truffle and a Honey Orange one |
All these shops and so many more are found in Encinitas, CA walking through S. Coast Highway 101. I saw a knitting shop I didn't have a chance to stop at, several bookstores, restaurants, a historical school house and only got a glimpse of the beach when I was rushing back to the Coaster station.
Great trip, I will do this again!
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