Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.
Every so often my family comes out from Colorado to visit and to see my father Jim, who lives in an assisted living facility in Escondido. Jim’s wife Hazel passed a number of years ago, but he has been doing very well. They had six children — getting four of us together is more than we could hope for.
When Patrick and Sheila Corey flew in from Portland, Maine for a week-long visit, we finally had a good excuse to revisit some of our favorite San Diego spots — and a few we had been meaning to get to. Over several days we made it out to the Safari Park in Escondido, Birch Aquarium in La Jolla, the USS Midway downtown, Queen Califia’s Magical Circle, the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park, and a handful of our favorite local places for food and drinks in between. Showing visitors around a place you love has a way of reminding you why you love it.
Last Updated: July 17, 2026
Escondido is about 30 miles north of downtown San Diego and one of San Diego County’s oldest cities. Located roughly 15 miles inland from the Pacific coast, it enjoys a warmer, sunnier climate than coastal neighborhoods — far less of the May-gray and June-gloom marine layer that blankets the shoreline for much of late spring and early summer. Its rugged hillsides and Mediterranean climate support thriving avocado and citrus groves, and the area has long been a haven for those seeking more space and sunshine than the coast allows. During our RV travels in the summer of 2020, we spent time here getting repairs done on our Newmar motorhome and reconnecting with family — and in the process, rediscovered just how much this inland gem has to offer.
Last Updated: May 2026
We still had a property in San Diego that we had rented the past couple of years. Our tenants moved out, giving us a great opportunity to make renovations and put it on the market. We changed our travel plans and based ourselves in Escondido — the closest RV park to the house in Rancho Santa Fe. Southern California is an amazing place and it was wonderful to be back after a two-year hiatus. Great year-round weather without mosquitoes, black flies, tornadoes, hail, or hurricanes — just fires and earthquakes. It’s easy to see why so many people live here and pay the insane cost of living.
