Best Southern California Surf Spots

California is chock full of great surf spots from San Diego to Orange County. Here are a few of the best spots in San Diego and North County. Make sure you check out one of these awesome surfing beaches next time you’re in Southern California, you won’t regret it.

Blacks Beach: This beach located in the northern part of La Jolla is actually known far and wide as one of the best surf breaks in the entire country. People flock from various corners of America to get a piece of the action all year round, but this is not for the faint at heart. The water is rough, the hike down is a bit of a challenge, and the cliffs have falling rocks on a regular basis. Windansea: This is another of the famous San Diego surf spots. People don’t surf here as much as they once did though. This beach became popular in the sixties for its historical significance in the progressive surf movement. Many of the most famous surfers got their beginnings at Windansea. Beacon’s: Though it might be a bit of a challenge to get here because of the steep cliffs guarding the coast, this beach in Leucadia makes for a great day of surfing. Anyway, the steep steps do not stop the surfers from getting their daily fix. The beach itself is pretty rocky and it doesn’t make much of a case for sunbathers, but the surf is awesome. Grandview: This is one of the more popular surf spots located in Leucadia. If you plan on sunbathing a bit, you might find yourself squashed between the cliffs and the seaweed during high tide, but the majority of the beachgoers spend their time in the water so this doesn’t pose much of a problem. San Elijo State Beach: Located in Encinitas, this state beach and campground is beautiful, easily accessible and has a great surf break. This isn’t the best place for novices because of the reef, but it can pose an interesting challenge for the adventurous.

If you head to the heart of San Diego, there are many other intermediate surf spots in Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, and Pacific Beach, CA, as well as plenty of places to stay along the coast. Be sure to stop by one of these great beaches on your next trip out to the west coast. And be warned, many people who come for a vacation never look back.

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I need activities and some good places to stay. If you have any good ideas, let me know. Thanks.

trying to figure my options out. im deciding between:
Humboldt State University
San Jose State
CSU Fresno
Mount St. Mary’s College

I really really love Humboldt because of the location (rural, surrounded by redwood forests). i love the community (there is some kind of fair going on every weekend whether it be apple harvesting or 4/20 celebrations). i also love that the student body is liberal and the town filled with hippies. BUT it does have the stoner reputation which im afraid will make future employers iffy about hiring me.

SJSU is my parents ideal choice for me because its only 50 minutes away and i could visit every weekend. BUT its REALLLY boring and san jose is not the best college town.

CSU Fresno is the largest one (over 25,000) and its a typical campus with football obsessed people. BUT i HATE Fresno because its boring with farms and climate that will give me a heat stroke.

MSMC is PRIVATE but its mostly ALL GIRLS except for people in the nursing major (mine). and its CHRISTIAN which will really piss me off because im a practicing Jew and my grandma said she would kill me if i went to a christian school. but its in LA which is a great city with a lot to do.

please give me your two cents. thanks 🙂

I am looking for an integrative health practitioner in Humboldt Co. California who is knowledgeable in the possible psychological symptoms and the political issues surrounding Lyme.

Skiing and Little Kids

Hello from snowy Squaw Valley where all, or seemingly all, of the kids in California are spending their vacation. If your ski week is coming up, a few refresher suggestions may be in order. If you only ski once a year, or just rarely do a vacation rental, it’s easy to forget the little stuff.

1. Plan to pack. If you only ski (or travel to the beach for that matter), once a year, this is one case where making a list of the necessities makes sense to use to pack each year. How many miles from town does it become impossible to turn back and start again. In this year’s example, I’d estimate it was about 25 miles out that my husband realized that his ski boots were still at home. We remembered almost all of the stuff for the children’s skiwear only to remember that we forgot the parents’ stuff. This is very important if you want to be out there as an example to the kids to enjoy the snow and the skiing. The ski boots weren’t left in the basement, or even on the floor of the garage, they never even made it to the pile we accumulated to cover all the potential exigencies of a snowy holiday.

Also, remember the stuff you need to move from the ski condo/house to the ski slopes. Snow boots to walk through the snow and the slush, use of plastic sleds to carry all of the little ones’ equipments (as surely, you will be the valet for all of the multitude of equipments for you and your kids) I actually saw a mom who had a small shopping basket on wheels where she carried all of her three children’s ski equipment.

Even if there is only one child, it is often too much weight and too many pieces to carry for a dad or mom who is in good shape and can carry many pounds. And, prepare for temperature variation. It’s even easier to forget things when you live in a climate like ours in Northern California, where it’s never really hot nor really cold. It’s hard to imagine what three below is like, say nothing to 95 above.

2. Pack some mustard. Unless you have good confirmation with the owners or the management as to what is stocked at the house, add to your bag of groceries the basics you’ll need for a week. It’s hard to part with six bucks for a bottle of salad dressing when plenty of oil and vinegar is back at home.

3. Rent skis and boots if necessary in your hometown if you’re driving to ski. There’s nothing worse for kids and more fatiguing for adults than to start a ski day with a one hour trip for ski fitting. Rent at home, save money, and use your time on the slopes.

4. Plan for babysitting or for lots of in-home down time if you’re traveling with small children. Ski schools start at age three in most places as kids younger than that do not have the physical coordination required to properly teach them to ski. Even if it starts earlier, your kid may not be ready. Be fully prepared to not ski, or trade off days with your spouse. Either way, you may regret spending a lot of money to ski so little. Just keep it in mind when planning the ski vacation and set expectations. Also look for other recreational activities, like dog sledding, sleigh rides, a kids’ bungee jumping area, interior rock climbing gyms, or an area to build snowmen. Plan and figure out all the possible ways to enjoy the trip, away in the snow rather than focus on that fact that it’s a ‘ski’ week. Focus on the family down time and just enjoy the break. My little two-year old son and I had several hours of rambling around the village where he was the mayor of the village and an ambassador to all of the many dogs.

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My family is considering going on vacation to California this summer for a week, but we don’t know where to go. If anyone knows one of the best cities to visit and things to do there, I’d greatly appreciate it!

thanks!