Best known as the home of the San Diego Wild Animal Park, Escondido is a city of 138,000, founded near the site of a historic battlefield where U.S. forces were routed during the Mexican-American War. Escondido is surrounded by agriculture, particularly citrus and avocado (neighboring Fallbrook is known as the avocado capital of the world). Grand Avenue, old Escondido's downtown main drag, is experiencing a well-conceived renewal, with historic storefronts filled by new restaurants and an antiques district with a mother lode of finds. Two of the biggest are Escondido Antique Mall, 135 W. Grand (tel. 760/743-3210), and Hidden Valley Antique Emporium, 333 E. Grand (tel. 760/737-0333), each holding dozens of individual dealers.
This is also the site of the California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., an attractive 12-acre campus with postmodern architecture and two theaters, an art museum, and a conference center. Renowned symphonies, eclectic musical artists, Broadway road shows, and national dance companies are regularly scheduled here, often making the 45-minute drive to Escondido (along I-15 N. to the Valley Pkwy. exit) worth the effort. To find out what's playing and to get tickets, call tel. 800/988-4253, or visit www.artcenter.org.
In this heart of a major agricultural area, the farmers' market on Tuesday afternoons is unsurprisingly one of the county's best. It's held on Grand Avenue, between Juniper and Kalmia streets (tel. 760/745-8877; www.sdfarmbureau.org), from 4 to 7pm in summer and 2:30 to 6pm the rest of the year. Another attraction is Orfila Vineyards on the way to the Wild Animal Park. One mile east of the Wild Animal Park is the San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park (tel. 760/737-2201; www.parks.ca.gov); there's a picnic area, a half-mile loop trail, and a small museum that details the bloody clash of 1846 in which Californios loyal to Mexico and armed only with lances were able to repulse -- at least temporarily -- invading U.S. troops.
Visitor information is available at the San Diego North Convention and Visitors Bureau, 360 N. Escondido Blvd. in Escondido (tel. 800/848-3336 or 760/745-4741; www.sandiegonorth.com), open Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5pm.
