Side Trips

Oceanside

For decades Camp Pendleton, the huge Marine base established in 1942, defined this northernmost community in San Diego County. Now a city of 170,000, Oceanside is forging an identity beyond the military, even to the point of nurturing a nascent gallery scene, anchored by the Oceanside Museum of Art.

Oceanside claims almost 4 miles of beaches and has one of the West Coast's longest over-the-water wooden piers, measuring 1,942 feet. The 1950s-style diner at the end of the pier, Ruby's (tel. 760/433-7829; www.rubys.com), is a great place for a quick and inexpensive lunch over the ocean. The wide, sandy beach; pier; and well-tended recreational area with playground equipment and an outdoor amphitheater are within easy walking distance of the train station.

Visitor Information -- Oceanside's California Welcome Center, 928 N. Coast Hwy. (tel. 800/350-7873 or 760/722-1534; www.oceansidechamber.com), provides information on local attractions, dining, and accommodations.

Exploring Oceanside -- One of the nicest things to do in Oceanside is to stroll around the city's upscale harbor. Bustling with pleasure craft, it's lined with condominiums and boasts a Cape Cod-themed shopping village. A launch ramp, visitor boat slips, and charter fishing are here. The Harbor Days Festival, held the third weekend in September, typically attracts 100,000 visitors for a crafts fair, entertainment, and food booths; call tel. 760/722-1534 for more details.

Probably the area's most important attraction is Mission San Luis Rey de Francia (tel. 760/757-3651; www.sanluisrey.org), a few miles inland at 4050 Mission Ave. Founded in 1798, it's the 18th and largest of California's 21 missions. You can tour the mission, its impressive church, exhibits, grounds, and cemetery; the cost is $6 for adults, $5 seniors and military, $4 for ages 6-18, free for kids 5 and under. Hours are daily from 10am to 4pm.

For a wide selection of rental watercraft, head to Boat Rentals of America (tel. 760/722-0028; www.boats4rent.com), on Harbor Drive South. It rents everything from kayaks, WaveRunners, and electric boats for relaxed harbor touring to 14- and 22-foot sailboats, fishing skiffs, and Runabout cruisers. Even if you have no experience, the harbor provides plenty of room for exploration. Sample rates: single kayak, $15 per hour; powerboat, from $60 per hour; and WaveRunner, $105 per hour. Boat Rentals keeps seasonal hours, so call for specific information.

Both surf devotees and curious onlookers will delight in the California Surf Museum, 223 N. Coast Hwy. (tel. 760/721-6876; www.surfmuseum.org). Founded in 1985, the museum has an unbelievably extensive collection that includes boards and other relics that chronicle the development of the sport. Many belonged to surfers whose names are revered by aficionados, including Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku and Bob Simmons, "father of the modern surf board." A gift shop offers unique, surf-themed items. The museum is open daily from 10am to 4pm; admission is free, but donations are welcomed.

Artists have begun converging in town over the last few years, drawn by cheaper rents and a slower pace than in San Diego. Galleries and studios are cropping up, including those at the collective known as Artists' Alley, located behind the 200 block of North Coast Highway (between Mission Ave. and Pier View Way). Meanwhile, the Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way (tel. 760/721-2787; www.oma-online.org), is in the midst of a multiyear project that will increase its size six-fold. With the March 2008 opening of the Central Pavilion, a glass-and-steel box space designed by Frederick Fisher, phase one has been completed. This building links the museum's current site -- Oceanside's old city hall, designed by Irving Gill in 1934 -- to a Gill-designed firehouse built in 1929. The second phase will repurpose the firehouse into an auditorium, educational facility, and offices. OMA is open Tuesday through Saturday 10am to 4pm, Sunday 1 to 4pm; admission is $8 adults, $5 seniors, students are free.

Oceanside Beach starts just outside Oceanside Harbor, where routine harbor dredging makes for a substantial amount of fluffy, clean white sand. It runs almost 4 miles south to the Carlsbad border. Along the way you can enjoy the Strand, a grassy park that stretches along the beach between Fifth Street and Wisconsin Avenue. Benches with scenic vistas abound, and the Strand also borders on the Oceanside Pier, which in turn is usually flanked by legions of bobbing surfers. Oceanside's world-famous surfing spots also attract competitions, including the World Bodysurfing Championships and Longboard Surf Contest, both held in August. Parking is at metered street spaces or in lots, which can fill up on nice summer days. Harbor Beach, which is separated from the rest by the San Luis River, charges $5 admission per vehicle. Farther south, admission isn't regulated; and after Witherby Street or so, parking is free (but in demand) along residential streets. Around the pier are restrooms, showers, picnic areas, and volleyball nets.

Where to Stay & Dine -- The moderate-to-expensive Oceanside Marina Inn, 2008 Harbor Dr. N. (tel. 800/252-2033 or 760/722-1561; www.omihotel.com), boasts a scenic location way at the mouth of the harbor, surrounded by water on three sides. It offers a quiet, nautical setting for those who want to stay overnight. Despite dingy hallways, the rooms -- most of which are one- or two-bedroom suites -- are spacious, light, and refurnished in an attractive, vaguely colonial-tropical style; some have fully equipped kitchens. An ocean-view pool and spa, complimentary breakfast, and romantic gas fireplace in every room make the deal even sweeter.

Several surf-and-turf harborside restaurant stalwarts are close by, including Joe's Crab Shack (tel. 760/722-1345; www.joescrabshack.com), Jolly Roger (tel. 760/722-1831; www.jollyrogerrestaurants.com), and Monterey Bay Canners (tel. 760/722-3474; www.montereybaycanners.com).

Elsewhere in Oceanside, you can get a side helping of history with your burger and fries at the original 101 Cafe, 631 S. Coast Hwy. (tel. 760/722-5220; www.101cafe.net). This humble diner dates from the earliest days of the old coast highway, the only route between Los Angeles and San Diego until 1953 brought the interstate.