Beaches Closed to Fun in Oceanside

The beaches are closed to lingering, but it is still permitted to walk, run, surf and swim.

For now.

A1 and I wanted to see it for ourselves.

Yep, story checks out.  

Someone sitting down while using their phone was rolled up on and told to keep it moving.

And these guys playing catch were told to knock it off.

I do not envy the new role of life guards.

I looked both ways before quickly picking up contraband like shells and rocks for A1 to hold.

She still needs life experiences.

We are longing to be free as a bird once again...

but meanwhile we are as grateful as ever to live where we live.

Beach Lots Closed in Oceanside

All of the parking lots near Oceanside beaches are closed until further notice.

But this did not prevent people from coming to the beach, as you can see from the line of cars and the crowded sidewalks.

This sign does not seem to be helping people understand the concept of social distancing. 

It is confusing.  What don't people get?

One, two, three, four, five, six.  

Six.

Six feet.

Maybe the Count from Sesame Street needs to do a public service announcement.

As soon as we saw how busy the beach was we hightailed it out of there.

Our goal is always to be upstanding citizens and isolate ourselves, so going just one street inland for our walks has been helping, especially on the weekends.

There is a bike path next to the train tracks, near the transit center, which not only give us social distance but we get to wave at the trains as the pass through town.  

Borrego Badlands

As soon as we started the descent into Borrego Springs we were greeted with wildflowers.  

It isn't a "superbloom" this year, but I think any bloom is super.  

Even more super... bighorn sheep! 

I mean, wildflowers are great, but it takes no skills to find them. 

Bighorn sheep do not want to be seen.

We were fortunate that it is not a superbloom because there were not a lot of people around.  

We really just wanted to get outside, with lots of feet of separation, while we still can.  

We definitely found what we were looking for in the Borrego Badlands.

This baby needs to explore! 

Today was the day that Eric showed A1 how to throw rocks into gullies. 

Gravity is hilarious!

The Borrego Badlands is an area 20 miles wide by 15 miles long, very close to the Salton Sea.  

Millions of years ago this area used to be under the sea.  

The desert hills have managed to sustain that underwater feel.

The highlight of the day was this picture, when A1 found a big, bright red lady bug.

We cannot wait to return to Anza Borrego Desert.

So loving where we live.

Einer Brothers in Oceanside

Eric found this sidewalk stamp one block over from our house.  

I did a quick search for the company and became intrigued with the Einer Brothers.

Four Einer brothers started Einer Brothers Inc., a general contractor and engineering firm, in 1947.  They worked on big projects like the San Onofre power plant.

Their grandfather was a vintner (a wine maker) who moved to Escondido in 1851.  

One of the brothers, Richard, was the founder of Palomar Mountain Spring Water.  Another brother, Frederick Jr., worked on the construction of the Palomar Observatory.  In 1965 the brothers built the Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido, an Escondido icon, which Frederick's family still owns and operates.  (I love Holiday Wine Cellar!)

What a cool family and interesting players in North County San Diego history.

You just never know what you are going to find around Oceanside!

Oceanside Star ⭐️ And Sunshine ☀️ Theaters

In 1936,  Margo Theater opened to the public.  Then in the 1980s, the public wanted something else; the theater changed to Towne Theater, where adult films (films rated with a letter towards the end of the alphabet) were shown.  

Later it became a karate studio.  

Finally, it was bought by the city and converted into the live performance theater it is today.

 Star Theater, with its animated neon marquee, is an Oceanside icon.  It was built in 1956 by William Balch, one of seventeen theaters designed by the architect (although the only one that is still open).  At one time, it was the largest theater in San Diego county.  

I so wish I could have seen Oceanside in its heyday, which did not include the 80s and 90s...

I think it is amazing that Oceanside has held on to so much architectural history.

Bravo, Oceanside.  

Bravo.

Irving Gill in Downtown Oceanside

Irving Gill has been named the Father of Modern Architecture.  

He was born in New York in 1870, apprenticed there and in Chicago, and then moved to San Diego in 1893, bringing the east coast Arts and Crafts Movement with him.  His work can be found all over Southern California, including my favorite city, Oceanside!

Irving Gill designed the Walter Johnson Fire Station in 1929.

Then, five years later, he designed the public library and city hall (which is now the Oceanside Museum of Art).

I have always loved the colorful tiles in the courtyard. 

Continuing on with our Oceanside history scavenger hunt, we spotted the St. Mary Star of the Sea Church.

As you can see in the reflection of my glasses, the church is right across the street from Irving Gill's architecture.

I used to work at Pier View Coffee and had no idea that this building, the George P. McKay building, was completed in 1908.  The coffee shop used to be a general merchandise store, and the McKay's lived upstairs.  

Who knew that Downtown was full of so much history!  

Well, the Oceanside Historical Society did... and we kept putting off their Downtown History Walks, which used to be offered the second Saturday of the month.  

Ugh.  

Someone should invent a quote about not putting things off because you never know when a pandemic is looming in the future... I would do it but I am too busy.

Oceanside Sea Lions

Oceanside Harbor is looking very void these days.  

A scene like this, on such a beautiful sunny day, would have been unheard of just a few weeks ago.

And then you find little reminders about the current situation.

Lucky for us we can walk here, getting our daily dose of vitamin D in such an interesting setting (without breaking any current restrictions). 

The Marine Mammal Protection Act has provided sea lions (and all marine mammals) with social distancing since 1972.  The laws are extensive, but all you really need to know is that it is illegal for your actions to alter their behaviors.  So don't do it.

Many people call sea lions seals.
Although they are both pinnipeds they are notably distinct.

Sea lions are "eared seals".  They are also much larger, louder and more aggressive than seals, and so are so much to fun to observe.

Oceanside is addictive, the longer you use it the more you love it.