This post covers our last trip of the year. We went to Carlsbad for four days because we had a few timeshare points left over that expired at the end of the year and there was no way in heck we were going to let them go unused. Plus, we like Carlsbad and the San Diego area. Because this was a short trip, I will just have a long post instead of breaking it up by each day.
Usually, we stay at the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort, because we can get an ocean view room. There was no availability for what we wanted, so we tried the MarBrisa Resort, located adjacent to Legoland and right above the Grand Pacific. We were upgraded to a two-bedroom suite which was nice. We had a view of a vacant field from our patio. Legoland is behind the bushes next to the field.
The room was nice with two bathrooms, a kitchen, livingroom, and small dining area. Plus, they made towel swans on our bed.
The sunset was nice from our patio, but I still prefer the ocean view. That being said, the MarBrisa suited all of our needs and I would stay there again if necessary.
We were right next to the Carlsbad Outlet Stores and visited (twice) to try and finish what was left of our Christmas shopping. We scored on several items that will be opened in the near future. If you’re looking for discounted shopping north of San Diego, this is the place. And of course, there is a link at the end of this post.
We also visited the Carlsbad Village for a little more shopping and walking around. We had a delicious lunch at the Naked Cafe. Luckily, that was a reference to the food and not the customers. Their logo was a woman in the yoga lotus position flipping you off with both hands. A little strong, but it’s their call. There is a clothed link at the end of this post.
Later that night, we had dinner at one of our favorite places to eat in Carlsbad, King’s Fish House. Even though it is part of a small chain, the food is outstanding and doesn’t feel preprepared like most chain food does. We highly recommend eating here if you are in the area. Check out the link at the end of this post.
The next day we had lunch at the Windmill Food Hall. What is this you ask? Well, here is the outside.
And the inside is basically a large food court with several interesting restaurants of varied cultures. You could eat there every day for over a week and not eat at the same place. We had the Mexican food at El Puerto Street Taco. Plus, they have the famous red robot that only cool people can stand next to. So Cindy is officially cool. See for yourself. Since their website is not working, I have included a link to them from Yelp. It’s at the end of this post.
With comfortably full bellies, we did a short hike on the North Shore Trail on Agua Hedionda Lagoon. It is a super easy walk of just over a mile with scenic views and a decent amount of wildlife.
Here is a squirrel that was eating ice plant. Yes, he was actually eating the ice plant.
A couple of Egrets looking for a seafood meal.
Very hard to see, but the gold color fish is a Garibaldi.
And here is the Loch Ness Monster vacationing in Carlsbad.
If you would like to try this hike for yourself, there is a link at the end of this post. The link for this hike is on a website named “AllTrails.” If you like hiking, I recommend downloading the “AllTrails” app.
On our way home, we stopped at Krispy Kreme to get Garrett some donuts. That’s our story and we are sticking to it. The “hot” light was on. That meant fresh donuts. We went inside and not only were the donuts hot and fresh, we each got a free one. What a great day! And we bought a dozen for Garrett too.
That wrapped up our really busy year. Our first trip of 2023 will be in the beginning of January when we will return to our Missouri house for a three month stay.
“You stay classy San Diego.”
LINKS