San Diego & Around - California - page 1597

Getting There & Away
Carlsbad is a stop on Coaster trains and Breeze buses ( www.gonctd.com ) . By car, take the
Cannon Dr exit from I-5 for Legoland, the outlet mall and other sights and lodgings. For
Carlsbad Village, take the Carlsbad Village Dr exit.

Oceanside

The largest North County town, Oceanside is home to many who work at giant Camp
Pendleton Marine Base just to the north. The huge military presence mixes with an attract-
ive natural setting, surf shops and head shops.

Sights & Activities

Oceanside Pier PIER
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; per hr/day $5/15)
This wooden pier extends more than 1900ft out to sea. Bait-and-tackle shops rent poles to
the many anglers who line its wooden fences. Two major surf competitions - the West
Coast Pro-Am and the National Scholastic Surf Association (NSSA) - take place near the
pier each June.
Surfers and would-be surfers can rent equipment from Asylum Surf ( MAP
GOOGLE MAP ; www.asylumboardshop.com ; 310 Mission Ave; surfboards 3hr/full day $20/30, wet-
suits $10/15) and take lessons from Surfcamps USA ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ;
www.surfcampsusa.com ; 1202 N Pacific St; lessons per person from $55;

) .

California Surf Museum MUSEUM
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.surfmuseum.org ; 312 Pier View Way; adult/student/child $5/3/free, Tue
free; 10am-4pm Fri-Wed, to 8pm Thu)
It's easy to spend an hour in this heartfelt museum of surf artifacts, ranging from a timeline
of surfing history to surf-themed art and a radical collection of boards, including the one
chomped by a shark when it ate the arm of surfer Bethany Hamilton. Special exhibits
change frequently along different themes (eg women of surfing).