I almost forgot to finish our south coast trip! This is only 9 miles down the road from South Carlsbad State beach – I think we are definitely coming back down here. Again a narrow campground that hugs the coastline bluffs. Dave always does a great job getting us great campsites! Plus we got to see our nephews – Derek and Sean- three times and that is definitely a plus. And Lucky too, of course!
San Elijo is a smaller community and not far from Del Mar. It has pretty much everything you need, including a nice farmer’s market. It seems pretty well off with lots of boutiques and small restaurants. Derek took us to Del Mar in fact for a very nice dinner at Jack’s in Del Mar.
We also went to Cabrillo National Monument which is very weird because it is right in the middle of Loma Point Naval base! You drive through an open but guarded gate and past the National Cemetary. The side roads are usually blocked with a guarded gate. Carrillo has a nice lighthouse (two actually, one old one that is too high on the bluff to b useful and a new one on the water). There is a lot of military information here. For example, they had information about various military planes and ships. This area played quite a role in WWII protecting San Diego from Japanese subs. I never knew a Japanese sub made it into San Francisco Bay before being driven out!
The other very cool thing we found was the San Elijo Lagoon and Ecological Preserve. This was pretty substantial with multiple trails and one crazy trail called Annie’s Trail ( no we did not try it). It is a slot canyon with a crazy angle up and down. No thanks! There is a very informative Visitor’s Center run by the water district. We went on a couple trails and saw so many birds!
This was a relaxing end to our So Cal beaches tour. We went to Panorama City to see Aunt Chris and John before heading home. Back to real life.