My Travels

 An innocently stated statement of "I want to go to Legoland" was the impetus for an extended family trip down to Carlsbad. I wasn't able to stay as long as the rest of the group but was able to check into the Springhill Suites San Diego Oceanside/Downtown hotel. Despite the "san diego" in the hotel name title, this hotel is in San Diego like Laguna Niguel is in LA. I did find the hotel very charming and the location is great. Great corner where the ocean and pier meets the downtown night life spots. Coming in late, I was still able to find eateries open (huge plus). The hotel did have the breakfast options fully operational. The hotel was packed from a local soccer game going on in the area. I would definitely come back to this area. Compared to my Chula Vista/Imperial Beach trip last year, this one was better in terms of food access and beach conditions. Legoland wasn't operating at full capacity. Some of my favorites like the churro cart was not operatin

 I returned to Santa Maria for another car repair job. This time around, the government rate got me into a one bedroom suite at the  Fairfield Inn & Suites Santa Maria . I still sometimes get turned around trying to find the entrance of the hotel but you can't beat the rate. This particular trip was a quick overnight since I was able to schedule a tow with AAA. Other than visiting the local Costco, I pretty much stayed indoors due to WFH obligations. Dining Cha 101 - I opted to "see" what a boba place would be like in Santa Maria. Located on 340 E Betteravia Rd Unit E Santa Maria, CA 93454, I ended up ordering the mango michelada. It seemed a safer choice. It was fine but I wouldn't go out of your way to get to this place. Al Pho - Located on  1201 E Main St Ste B Santa Maria, CA 93454, some would say eating at a vietnamese restaurant would be a bad idea. I ended up enjoying my meal (pho) and summer rolls. It wasn't quite the same style as in Orange County but