Oceanside, California: It was 73° in Oceanside and 103° in La Quinta today. Kinda ironic that we left when the weather turned "just fine" at home! (I will golf until it is 105-ish.) We had a little rain here overnight. Maybe it was rain, maybe it was misty drizzle from the sea? Not sure, but everything was wet outside when we woke and there was a bit of pitter-patter on the RV roof early morning. Not sure I could tell, as the train noise drowns out everything.
As DT rides his bike miles every morning for exercise, he has been scouting out the town for our next adventure. I wanted to walk out to the end of the pier, so we walked into town today (instead of cycling), basically following our bike route from yesterday. It was fun to have a slower look at the beach-side homes - nearly every one of them a vacation rental - near the shore. The sea was flat as a pancake today, so not too many surfers, not too many families near the shore with the tide in so high, not too many Marines jogging, and the fishermen (did not see a female fishing) were having little luck. It was about 1.5 miles to the pier from our campsite.
Not a lot of action on this pier, unlike other California piers with restaurants, amusement parks, and shops lining the wooden pilings. Nothing here, except bathrooms mid-way and a little gift/bait shop. Fishing poles were lined-up along the railings with bells attached to alert the lucky catcher. We saw only a few fish in buckets today and though the fishermen told us the name of the creatures, my face went blank... until they said the fish is sold as Sea Bream in restaurants. Ah ha!
But I had something to add to our itinerary today because our friend in Portland, Matt R, said his friend had just opened a pizza place in downtown Oceanside and we should drop in. We did, and so happy we did as Odie's Pizza serves up tremendous pizza on sourdough crust. So chewy and flavorful. We each ordered the lunch special - one slice and a salad. Dave had a slice of the Harvest Moon (veggie) and I tried the Rebel Rebel (plain cheese pizza). We each had Caesar salads, which were oddly offered with iceberg lettuce instead of Romaine.
The restaurant is in a new building, and has some outside seating. The place was packed at 1p. It's been a hot minute since I've enjoyed such a lovely slice of pizza. Congrats to Matt's friend!
We strolled a bit more around the downtown area - so many shops and restaurants. If you need a swimsuit or a surfboard, this is the place.
Again, we returned late-afternoon to our RV. I stitched and DT watched the Giants (and they actually won!).
Almost didn't make dinner tonight after our pizza lunch and chips & guacamole appetizers but... DT grilled boneless skinless thighs that had been marinating in Jacobsen Sea Salt Taco Seasoning and lime juice. We each had one soft shell street taco and that - with watermelon - was enough. Then it was time to watch the Dodgers.
We have a fun little adventure planned for tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Until my next update, I remain, your salty correspondent.
Campground Information: Oceanside RV Resort