"Restaurant Week" at Old California Restaurant Celebrating 30 Years of Great Dining Don't miss a wonderful chance to enjoy nine evenings of dining at North San Diego County's premier dining destination.  September 20th thru 28th.  Prices range from $10 to $30 per person and include up to three choices for appetizers, entrees and desserts. Only Nine Tasty Nights I have eaten at many of these restaurants and never been disappointed in the quality of the food or service. If you get stuck at a favorite eatery every time you stop at Old California Restaurant Row, this is a great opportunity to try something new. Reservation are definitely required.  For information and menus, go to www.oldcalrestaurantrow.com and click on the Restaurant Week link.  The 16 participating restaurants are liste... 09/18/2008

I never fail to learn something when I attend my local Toastmasters meeting.  We had two great speakers today at our meeting in San Marcos, California.  The first had us practice our laughing skills in various forms.  I didn't know there were so many defined types of laughter -- such as the belly laugh, the courtesy laugh, the hyena laugh, the snorting laugh, and many others all demonstrated by our speaker. Sue did a fabulous job of warming us up for our next speaker.  Sue completed her tenth speech today qualifying her as a "Competent Communicator" in the Toastmaster realm. Debra enlightened us about the "Cool Communities Shade Trees Program."  She emphasized how much trees can save us in energy costs per year -- either by providing shade from the warm summer sun or a barrier to chilli... 09/10/2008

There are many subdivisions located in San Marcos but very few with as much open space as the Valley Knolls subdivision just east of the Twin Oaks golf course adjacent to the 14th fairway. Valley Knolls is a community of 3 and 4 bedroom single levels homes with over 20 acres of low maintenance common area.  There is a short secluded walking trail, a large community pool surrounded by a very large park area. There is plenty of space to get out with family and friends and have a wonderful summer picnic.  Of course this IS Southern California so picnics can be enjoyed all year round.  The parks and trails are shaded by eucalyptus, pine and sycamore trees. 09/04/2008

Q:  How are you?  A:  (given by a resident in a senior park)...... Super!  And getting better all the time!  I stopped into the office of a senior mobile home park in San Marcos in search of answers proposed by a prospective buyer.  When the staff person inquired as to the health of one of the residents who walked in, his answer was "SUPER!"  He went on to explain to us that he learned long ago that however you answered that question was a self-fullfilling prophecy.  How right he is!  What a great answer to have up your sleeve anytime we're asked, "How are you?" 09/03/2008

Be careful and don't be fooled by the title of Proposition "O". Based on the title of this proposition, you might believe that passage of this act would manage growth and protect neighborhoods in San Marcos. The truth is that if Prop O passes, growth will not be managed at all. It could be controlled by developers with large amounts of advertising capital.  The City of San Marcos' tough planning and environmental review process could be side-stepped by big developers. WHO'S OPPOSED TO PROP O??? Jim Desmond -  Mayor, City of San Marcos  San Marcos Firefighters Association Karen Haynes - President, CSUSM John O'Neill - Chair, San Diego County Taxpayers Association Robert Bowen President, San Marcos Mobilehome Residents Association Rod Jones - Chairman of the board, San Marcos Chamber of C... 09/03/2008

California State University at San Marcos has been growing steadily in North San Diego County since it was founded in 1989. The enrollment of only 280 full-time students in 1990 has grown to 9000 students enrolled in 2008.   The athletic program was established in 1998 and has grown tremendously to include Baseball, Softball, Golf, Soccer and Track & field. CSU San Marcos contains three impressive colleges and a nursing school. College of Arts & Sciences College of Business Administration College of Education School of Nursing CSUSM has interesting architecture and in nestled on a hillside with views all the way to the ocean.                                                                                                                                                                    ... 09/02/2008

Recently, I had some out-of-area friends call me and want me to accompany them to a local real estate auction.  They wanted to buy some investment real estate in our beautiful San Diego locale.  I've attended auctions with clients in the past, and have a good idea what to expect.  My friends promised to send me a list of the properties that they were interested in and planned to come down the weekend before the auction to preview the homes.  Can you get good deals at an auction?  Absolutely!  Are there steps you should take before going to the auction?  Without question! The type of auction they were considering is one where hundreds of homes are auctioned off in a day.  The event takes several hours.   The rooms is usually crowded with lots of people -- some are first time attendees an... 09/02/2008

I never thought that I would use Youtube, let a alone create a Youtube video.  Prior to today, I had never even used the video function on my camera. We had a nice little visitor this afternoon so in addition ot taking lots of photos, I changed the mode on the camera and took a little video. 09/01/2008

This afternoon I noticed something unexpected outside our dining room French Doors.  Fortunately my husband and I had just been out taking "blogging" photos, so the camera was close at hand.  You never know exactly who might drop in when you live in San Diego County.  Beep!  Beep!  Perhaps the visitor was hoping to teach my cats some lessons about wily coyote! 09/01/2008

A tucan, a rabbit, a couple dancing.....nope According to sculptor Robert Freeman, his sculpture, which greets students and visitors to Cal State University San Marcos, is not intended to represent anything in particular.  Instead, Robert Freeman would like viewers to interpret the sculpture in their own way. Paid for by an anonymous donor, the sculpture was unveiled in a well attended dedication ceremony on August 18th. 09/01/2008

If you have a bug problem in your house, you have probably called exterminators or tried your own bug traps to get rid of the pesky critters. But this is just a temporary solution until more bugs come in to be caught. The real way to get rid of bugs is to stop them from getting into your home in the first place. While you may think you have closed off all access points to your home, one place you may not have thought off is your clothes dryer vent.   It would make sense that you don't think of the clothes dryer vent, as it's not even a part of the dryer that's in your house. It's the end of the line for the air that is coming out of your clothes dryer and it's on the outside of your house.   The vent portion of your hot air extraction system is usually a small plastic piece that has a h... 09/01/2008

The San Marcos Grand Summer Festival had two stages with wonderful live music, a classic car show, plenty of great food and lots of local businesses showing off their expertise. The City of San Marcos was well represented again with a large open booth that was full of maps of what San Marcos will soon look like.  The City had information on all of their projects including the San Marcos Creek Project and the University Village Project. "No on O" was another booth with representatives explaining why the wonderful projects that the City of San Marcos has planned may be in jeopardy. Proposition O, if approved would be an economic disaster for the City of San Marcos. The Classic Car show was a big hit again will all of the festival goers.  I had to snap a few shots!   For your Real Estate n... 08/31/2008

While relaxing after a long day showing property, I was sitting out on our deck in San Marcos and noticed the sky take on a wonderful color.  After all the rush and stress of the day this really helped me STOP and enjoy. We are very lucky to be able to live where we live.  The weather, if you can call it that, is generally wonderful.  I know that some prefer the change of the seasons but since I am a native Californian, I have not had the pleasure.  I can ski in the morning and still get in an afternoon surf session. I am sure it is not the greatest sunset ever but it sure fixed my focus. 08/30/2008

San Marcos, California is a essentially a college town, it has Palomar College which is a  junior college and has been in the community for many years, and now it has the University of California San Marcos. This is a community that is growing with many new business and builders building in the area. But I have strayed from the point. Where can you go for the night life in this college town? The best we can offer up is enjoying the movie theater that is located off of Restaurant Row, then there is a restaurant in Lake San Marcos that does offer entertainment --- a live dinner theater. It is very challenging to find clubs that offer, dancing. There is an English pub that is off of San Marcos Blvd, that offer a robust game of darts. For entertainment San Diego is the place to go, It is on... 08/30/2008

******UPDATE****  THIS WILL NOW BE AN OVERLAY AND NOT A AN AREA CODE SPLIT ****** 760 is the largest area code in the state of California so it is no surprise that it will soon be split.  The new 442 area code will affect most of the cities in North San Diego County.  The cities affected include: Borrego, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Escondido, Fallbrook, Julian, Oceanside, Pauma Valley, Pendleton, Ramona, San Marcos, Valley Center, Vista, and Warner Springs.   According to the CPUC, the start of mandatory dialing will not take affect until May 16th, 2009 but permissive dialing will begin on November 8th, 2008. Because of the perceived economic harm the the affected cities, the CPCU has agreed to take additional public comment at two Public Participation hearings.  The times and locations of th... 08/29/2008

The Grand Summer Festival in San Marcos will be held August 31 from 9 am to 5 pm on Via Vera Cruz, near Old California Restaurant Row. Once again, the Classic Car show will be sponsored by Dalton's Road House, which is located near the 78 and Nordahl.  In addition to the two stages of live music, there will be a beer garden and hundreds of vendors!  A fun filled day for the whole family!  The admission cost is FREE!!  There will be two stages of live entertainment to include the acts listed below: Salt Creek, Country Rock Band: 12-2 pm Backwater Blues Band, Blues/Rock and Roll: 2:30-5 pm The Moondawgs, 50s, 60s Rock and Roll: 10 am-12 pm Cover2Cover, playing all types of music from the 50s to current: 1 pm-5 pm 08/27/2008

Old California Restaurant Row began as a Fruit stand in the early seventies by Los Angeles transplants Jim and Vera Eubank.  The first full service restaurant. Gentleman's Choice, was built in 1978 by Jim Eubank.  Soon after the success of the restaurant and because of the central location of San Marcos, which is between the City of Escondido and the Coast, many more restaurants followed.  Today there is no shortage of variety at Old California Restaurant Row in San Marcos with almost every type of cuisine represented.  Dining aficionados throughout San Diego and North County will have an unprecedented opportunity to experience nine nights of delectable dining at 16 restaurants, when Old California Restaurant Row holds its first-ever Restaurant Week from September 20 to September 28. Ce... 08/27/2008

While we have great hiking trails, tasty restaurants, and enjoyable festivals, we are very close to the World renowned San Diego Wild Animal Park.  The Wild Animal Park is the sister park to the famous San Diego Zoo but the layout is completely different.  The animal enclosures at the Wild animal Park are many acres in size, which allows the animals to be seen in a habitat that is much closer to their natural surroundings. I highly recommend a season pass, which allows unlimited access to the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park. As you can see by the photos below the animals are a great attraction but the landscape can be equally as beautiful. There is no way that you can get out of the park without marveling at the size and presence of the gorillas! 08/25/2008

There will be two initiatives on the November ballot that are specific to the City of San Marcos. While the two initiatives are very important, one could have detrimental long term effects for the citizens of San Marcos.Proposition "O", if approved would take away your representative government as it relates to city planning. The decisions made to make amendments to the general plan are not taken lightly. Your elected city government spends a great deal of time and energy when making a determination on amending the City's general plan and to ask each voter to be this diligent in reviewing mountains of documents and reports to make their decision is ridiculous.An independent analysis by Seifel Consulting suggests that this proposition could result in significant legal cost in addition to... 08/24/2008

In the city of San Marcos, a favorite son of the area, Jim Eubank has a vision for a large vacant lot adjacent right off what was then a 2 lane road, San Marcos Blvd, now a major thoroughfare. A real restaurant row. That was in the 60's. By the late 1970's Jim vision would come to life. Now managed by his children, Restaurant Row  still has some of the original restaurants dating back to when it was first opened, like the Fish House Vera Cruz, Bruno's and Katsu's and they are still thriving today. Dining at Restaurant Row covers the gambit from American favorites to the new trendy 'fusion' cuisine. International in its scope, California Restaurant Row is sure to have your favorites. So be it, Mexican, Italian, Indian, Chinese or even the all- american hamburger, it's all there. With cha... 08/23/2008