Life of a local:Carlsbad, Ca. a summer vacation destination and home.. how a local has fun.....

Carlsbad is known around the world as an international vacation spot... we have nice beaches, some fine dining, Legoland and not a long drive to either Disneyland or Hollywood to the north or San Diego and the Gaslamp down south...As a volunteer at the Carlsbad Visitor Center, I get a chuckle out of the travelers that ask what do we do if the sun is not out?... A fair question... and one that I always am drawn back to..
I will be posting the life of a local in the future..
If you are a local and would like to share your favorite regular Carlsbad outings.. let me know...
thanks,
Kendall

What to wear when traveling abroad...

Here is a site for you to make sure as you travel the globe you are respectful of the cultures that you are visiting... cant take credit for it.. but did want to pass it on.
http://www.journeywoman.com/ccc/default.html

We have been to temples of various religions and I am amazed at the lack of respect show by choice of clothing...
Please help stop the concept of the self centered ugly American...
again.. great site.

Turkey tour blog

Great Turkey travel blog from one of the other guests on my husbands trip!

also here are some of my husbands photos of the trip.

This is a great site.. the points guy

Today my husband set off for a three week adventure thru Turkey.. here is the link to the group that he is going with.. please note.. it sells out each year in less then a few days... Tangents Tour of Turkey

While looking at travel and flight info I came across this site.. and it is great... wanted to share.

The Points Guy.... shares how to get the most out of travel points...

I will be writing more over the next few weeks.. getting back into the swing of travel.. but for now..
enjoy.

Hacienda De Vega in Escondido

We were in Escondido and decided to check out Hacienda de Vega... We picked up the dining out magazine for summer and this was the only Escondido place listed.. we read about it and went on over..

The location is just on the outskirts of Escondido in an old (100 years) ranchero adobe.. in the middle is a pond, there is running water (kind of a waterfall) and another outdoor bar area.. all the seating in outdoors some covered some not.. there is also a very nice green area with yet another pond that I am sure they may use for special events.. The atmosphere was wonderful...

As we walked around to the tables we passed the bar/drink area.. my first eww.. there were flies landing on the half done margarita glasses, and on slices of cheese and the lemons and other fruits ready to be placed on drinks.. the flies also were landing on the rim of glasses after the salt had been applied.. not of this seemed to bother the bartender...alcohol can kill alot but the lack of hygiene was concerning.. 

When seated were were brought chips and a tray of four different salsas for dipping.. this was a nice touch.. 

My husband ordered the ceviche and I ordered lobster tostadas both off of the appetizer menu..

they were both very good.. Mine had a fair amount of lobster and a spicy sauce with avocado and lettuce.. 

for Dessert we had the churro with three sauces; Dark Chocolate, caramel and raspberry. Very nice but not remarkable...

The service was fair.. 

Overall, this could be a great restaurant.. but they just didn't take the extra time to be a great restaurant.. the prices on the main portion of the menu were too high given the level and quality of service and attention to detail.

There are other restaurants in Escondido and I would love to hear about them.. but this is the only one listed and it was just okay.