An alien welcome at Oceanside

As Chris was working most of the day I took myself off to Oceanside aboard the Sprinter train. Being a train fanatic I travelled the whole length of the line from San Marcos to the eastern terminus at Escondido then all the way west down to Oceanside and finally at the end of the day back to San Marcos.

First time I’ve travelled on this train, we’ve seen it many times whilst here on previous visits but we’ve always had a car so there was no need. Interesting collection of passengers; some who seem to be riding the train all day, others eccentric or just plain odd. Like the woman who was travelling with a parrot in a hold-all. The parrot had pecked a hole in the side of the bag and was balefully watching proceedings with a beady eye. At $3.00 for a day ticket it was a bargain and provided an interesting insight into the particular group of people who frequent public transport.

We’ve been to Oceanside many times in the past. Always in sunny weather. Not so today as it was with a cool breeze. Still, that did not prevent me from enjoying many miles of walking along the beach and harbour and treating myself to fish and chips at the Harbor Cafe. I FaceTimed Susan from the end of Oceanside Pier, we walked along the pier on a balmy June evening last year. A bit different today. The pelican was in residence on the pier railings.

I was going to stay for the Sunset Market but saw signs saying the market had been cancelled owing to the weather forecast. I suspect that meant that the sunset part of the market was going today be missing owing to the cloud.

This evening we went in what has become a “must do” event, a bit of a craft brewery tour. We visited a couple of places within walking distance: the Mason Alehouse where we had a flight of 4 different beers and the Newtopia Craft Cider House. I have to say I enjoyed the cider more than the beer.