Day Trip down to San Diego via Historic US-101

sopas ej · #1 Posted **Dec 7, 2020, 8:22 AM**

About three years ago, I saw this postcard on the internet:

hippostcard.com

The image is dated from 1937. It intrigued me. In my lifetime, US-101 has always ended just south of downtown Los Angeles, at the East LA Interchange, where driving south, you have the choice of going eastbound on the 10, eastbound on the 60, or southbound on the 5.

US-101 in San Diego County was bypassed by Interstate 5 in the 1960s, and eventually decommissioned. In the late 1990s or early 2000s, there was an interest to designate the old route of US-101, and some north county cities started putting up signs along parts of the route:

Wikimedia Commons

The City of San Diego also has signs like this along its portions of what used to be US-101.

And then a few weeks ago, I saw this picture on the internet:

sandiegohistory.org

The image dates from 1961. It inspired me to take a little road trip/day trip down to San Diego, but going by way of old US-101.

I've driven down to San Diego many times, but always on the 5 (a few times by using Interstate 15). The 5 is obviously a fast way down to San Diego, but you miss out on going through the coastal towns of San Diego County.

So on Saturday (12.5.2020), my partner and I drove down to Oceanside via Interstate 5, and then took the old US-101 route into San Diego. And I took some pics.

Oceanside... Jarheads and Surfers.

Photo by me

Photo by me

"What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a pelican go fishing before??"

Photo by me

Photo by me

Carlsbad.

From Wikipedia: "In the 1880s a former sailor named John Frazier dug a well in the area. He began offering his water at the train station and soon the whistle-stop became known as Frazier's Station. A test done on a second fresh-water well discovered the water to be chemically similar to that found in some of the most renowned spas in the world, and the town was named after the famed spa in the Bohemian town of Karlsbad (now Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic).

To take advantage of the find, the Carlsbad Land and Mineral Water Company was formed by a German-born merchant from the Midwest named Gerhard Schutte together with Samuel Church Smith, D. D. Wadsworth and Henry Nelson. The naming of the town followed soon after, along with a major marketing campaign to attract visitors. The area experienced a period of growth, with homes and businesses sprouting up in the 1880s. Agricultural development of citrus fruits, avocados and olives soon changed the landscape. By the end of 1887, land prices fell throughout San Diego County. However, the community survived on the back of its fertile agricultural lands.

'The site of John Frazier's original well can still be found at Alt Karlsbad, a replica of a German Hanseatic house, located on Carlsbad Boulevard." You can buy the water from the well.

Photo by me

Photo by me

Leucadia and Encinitas.

Photo by me

Photo by me

Fletcher Cove Beach Park, Solana Beach.

Photo by me

Photo by me

Just one pic of Del Mar. It's of course known for its racetrack by the sea, and Amtrak even stops near the racetrack. We just kept driving through.

Photo by me

Entering San Diego and Torrey Pines State Beach. And of course here's that bridge from the old photos.

Photo by me

Another old photo of it, from 1952. Very small though.

library.ucsd.edu

Photo by me

Photo by me

La Jolla Shores neighborhood of San Diego. Not to be confused with La Jolla Village, where most of the tourists go.

Photo by me

Photo by me

VW with Mexican plates.

Photo by me

Baja California.

Photo by me

Photo by me

Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego.

Photo by me

First.

Photo by me

Photo by me

Second.

Photo by me

Third.

Photo by me

Alas, it was SoCal's last Saturday before a state-mandated stay-at-home order banning even outdoor dining in all of southern California because of spiking COVID rates and increases in ICU hospitalizations. We certainly enjoyed our last Saturday night eating out for at least 3 weeks. Hung out for a bit, chatted briefly with our waiter, and then drove back home.

jg6544 · #2 Posted **Dec 7, 2020, 5:49 PM**

Nice pics. Next time, try the train. It's faster.

OhioGuy · #3 Posted **Dec 7, 2020, 7:05 PM**

Looks great!

sopas ej · #4 Posted **Dec 8, 2020, 1:11 AM**

Thanks for the comments!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jg6544

Next time, try the train. It's faster.

The train is actually slower; Amtrak takes 3 hours from LA Union Station to Downtown San Diego. I've driven from South Pasadena to downtown San Diego in just under 2 hours (710 to the 5 all the way down). South Pas to Oceanside is only about 90 minutes.

IconRPCV · #5 Posted **Dec 8, 2020, 2:08 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Thanks for the comments!

The train is actually slower; Amtrak takes 3 hours from LA Union Station to Downtown San Diego. I've driven from South Pasadena to downtown San Diego in just under 2 hours (710 to the 5 all the way down). South Pas to Oceanside is only about 90 minutes.

Try that during traffic, that under 2 hours at 80mph can turn into 4 hours at 20mph; great pics none the less.

The train is great because you can have a Stone IPA or two while you watch the coast slide by.

sopas ej · #6 Posted **Dec 8, 2020, 2:32 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by IconRPCV

Try that during traffic, that under 2 hours at 80mph can turn into 4 hours at 20mph; great pics none the less.

The train is great because you can have a Stone IPA or two while you watch the coast slide by.

It's never taken me that long to get to San Diego; probably the longest it's taken me is 2.5 hours; maybe it depends on what part of LA you leave from, and what time of the week? And I guess it also depends on what part of San Diego you want to get to, too.
It's usually trafficky on the 5 through Commerce and into Norwalk, but then after you get through Santa Ana it opens up, and past the El Toro Y traffic often picks up even more. It helps to be able to use the carpool lane too. And I assume once the 5 Freeway widening project is done through Norwalk, the traffic will flow better (for a bit until traffic patterns become "normal" again).

If you're coming from the Inland Empire, I can see how taking the 15 to SD can be really trafficky.

For me, it's always been going to Santa Barbara where on a good day, you can get there in under 2 hours (sometimes even only 90 minutes), and other times it can take between 3 and 3-and-a-half hours, sometimes close to 4 hours. And then going HOME from Santa Barbara can also be a mess. For me leaving from/going back to South Pasadena, the drive through the SFV can be a nightmare.

But anyway, the point of this particular drive I took was to take it easy and enjoy the coastal towns that Interstate 5 bypasses.

xzmattzx · #7 Posted **Dec 9, 2020, 4:09 AM**

Nice pictures. So which was your favorite town in along the highway?

sopas ej · #8 Posted **Dec 9, 2020, 2:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Nice pictures. So which was your favorite town in along the highway?

Thanks!

I know I took most of the pictures in Oceanside (mainly surfers hehe), but I think Carlsbad is a cute town. The funny thing is, it's right next to Oceanside, but it has a completely different feel/vibe to it. But I guess that's true of many places. Solana Beach was nice too. Del Mar is also nice. I liked La Jolla Shores too... not as touristy as La Jolla "proper," and not pretentious like La Jolla either---hehe one gets the "plastic surgery" vibe in La Jolla "proper".

jg6544 · #9 Posted **Dec 9, 2020, 6:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Thanks for the comments!

The train is actually slower; Amtrak takes 3 hours from LA Union Station to Downtown San Diego. I've driven from South Pasadena to downtown San Diego in just under 2 hours (710 to the 5 all the way down). South Pas to Oceanside is only about 90 minutes.

Brentwood to downtown San Diego; never less than 3 hours. The 410 is always a mess around LAX and the the 5 starts to jam up once you hit the SD suburbs. Unless I need a car in San Diego, I always take the train.

Besides, I hate driving.

badrunner · #10 Posted **Dec 9, 2020, 8:11 PM**

It does take longer but it's worth taking the train, just for the scenery and the experience. The Surfliner is one of the most beautiful train routes in the country. Actually, it's usually cheaper to take Metrolink down to Oceanside and transfer to Coaster to SD. The only problem with taking the train is that you'll want to rent a car once you get there

. But it's worth doing at least once.

KennyDubz · #11 Posted **Dec 9, 2020, 8:33 PM**

Let's think about this logically, before we make suggestions that he should take the train. He owns a car, why would you ever take a train that requires more time and money?

If he took the train, he wouldn't be able to stop off along the route document the trip and replicate the scene of his 1930's postcard.

Train tickets would cost him $80 per person, round trip.
Base fare Uber from S. Pasadena to Union Station is $26 round trip.
Base fare Uber from Santa Fe Depot to Hillcrest is $16 round trip.

Train (fixed route, schedule, unable to document the 101 route) = will cost at least $202.
Car = 300 miles round trip (includes coastal route, with stops and crusing around miles).
Car with 25 mpgs = 12 gallons of fuel = $35 of California priced gas.

KennyDubz · #12 Posted **Dec 9, 2020, 8:40 PM**

I love the Then and Now replication of the postcard you were able to do!

LAsam · #13 Posted **Dec 9, 2020, 10:05 PM**

South Orange County and North San Diego County are so beautiful that it's hard to believe they are real at times. I suppose if you lived there you'd get used to it... but as a Southern Californian who lives outside those areas.... I haven't grown used to it! Thanks for sharing and giving me the urge to drive down there this weekend!

IconRPCV · #14 Posted **Dec 9, 2020, 11:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KennyDubz

Let's think about this logically, before we make suggestions that he should take the train. He owns a car, why would you ever take a train that requires more time and money?

If he took the train, he wouldn't be able to stop off along the route document the trip and replicate the scene of his 1930's postcard.

Train tickets would cost him $80 per person, round trip.
Base fare Uber from S. Pasadena to Union Station is $26 round trip.
Base fare Uber from Santa Fe Depot to Hillcrest is $16 round trip.

Train (fixed route, schedule, unable to document the 101 route) = will cost at least $202.
Car = 300 miles round trip (includes coastal route, with stops and crusing around miles).
Car with 25 mpgs = 12 gallons of fuel = $35 of California priced gas.

But you couldn't look out the window while drinking a Stone IPA.

Buckeye Native 001 · #15 Posted **Dec 10, 2020, 5:55 PM**

Kinda regret not doing that drive when I lived in Orange County.

edale · #16 Posted **Dec 10, 2020, 7:35 PM**

Nice photos, thanks for sharing. I really like the whole North County area of San Diego. Spent the Thanksgiving holiday there last year and got to explore all of these little cities. I actually ran the 5 mile Thanksgiving Day race in Oceanside (partly in the rain...it poured basically the whole day last thanksgiving), and I recognize some of these photos from that route! There's also a nice dog beach in Del Mar that my dog enjoyed.

destroycreate · #17 Posted **Dec 10, 2020, 8:17 PM**

Really glad you enjoyed your time down in my home city. It's amazing to me now that I live in LA, how many Angelinos write off San Diego and never go down there.

I've lived in many places and traveled all over, and I must admit now that I'm older with more perspective, San Diego really is one of, if not the "finest" city in America all around.

San Diego is also quite underrated in terms of how many little village centers and walkable neighborhoods there are. While San Diego does lack the glamor, cosmopolitan-vibe and dynamic energy of LA, I would argue it's got far more charm. There's little charming or quaint about LA, as much as I love it.

EastSideHBG · #18 Posted **Dec 10, 2020, 8:45 PM**

Nice!

sopas ej · #19 Posted **Dec 11, 2020, 2:36 PM**

Thanks for the comments!

Quote:

Originally Posted by KennyDubz

I love the Then and Now replication of the postcard you were able to do!

Thanks! That was the inspiration for this particular drive after all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KennyDubz

Base fare Uber from S. Pasadena to Union Station is $26 round trip.

Actually, to save even more money, we could take the Metro Gold/L Line from South Pasadena to Union Station for $1.75 one way and then transfer to Amtrak. And the car I drive gets 40mpg highway, so I really saved on gas hehe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Really glad you enjoyed your time down in my home city. It's amazing to me now that I live in LA, how many Angelinos write off San Diego and never go down there.

Even my partner and I have concluded that we've been liking San Diego a little bit more and more. We would generally drive north from LA for day trips/long weekends. Years ago, what turned us off to SD was the general conservative politics and vibe, and like you said, for a big city it's not as cosmopolitan as you would think it would be, in terms of ethnic diversity and cuisine.

We've always liked walking around La Jolla, and downtown SD has become more interesting over the years. We would also visit Old Town San Diego, Hillcrest, and would go into Coronado for some of the restaurants and the views of downtown SD.

But we've been liking San Diego more and more as we've begun exploring more of it here and there, and the weather is PERFECT; we kept commenting about it as we sat there eating ice cream, and hiked along the beach. Back in January of this year we explored Ocean Beach for the first time, and we liked it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by destroycreate

While San Diego does lack the glamor, cosmopolitan-vibe and dynamic energy of LA, I would argue it's got far more charm. There's little charming or quaint about LA, as much as I love it.

I wouldn't say that it has more charm than LA. LA has some very charming and unique areas... I mean I think this is pretty charming: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...507e78b4_b.jpg
(Not my photo)

There are charming areas and not so charming areas of San Diego. The newer areas in northern San Diego tend to look like generic California suburbia; many years ago as a senior in high school, when picking which UC campuses to apply to, I didn't think of San Diego because I thought the immediate surroundings of the UCSD campus were bland and boring. It's not far from La Jolla Village, which does have character, but I just wasn't into the UCSD campus. But my partner and I do think San Diego is a pretty area.

sopas ej · #20 Posted **Dec 11, 2020, 3:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by badrunner

It does take longer but it's worth taking the train, just for the scenery and the experience. The Surfliner is one of the most beautiful train routes in the country. Actually, it's usually cheaper to take Metrolink down to Oceanside and transfer to Coaster to SD. The only problem with taking the train is that you'll want to rent a car once you get there

. But it's worth doing at least once.

My partner has taken the train down to San Diego before; I never have. But he did indeed say that it's a beautiful ride. I figured it would be, as parts of the rail line go very near the freeway down there, as well as the old US-101 route that we just recently drove. I've taken the train to Santa Barbara from LA and that is a very beautiful ride along the coast.

We've taken Metrolink as far south as the San Clemente Pier station, which is really a beautiful ride, and cool too because it lets you off literally right on the beach/at the pier.

And yeah, once you're in San Diego, driving a car really is the best way to get around the city. We've taken the San Diego Trolley from Old Town San Diego into downtown SD, and that was convenient, but they really should expand the Trolley system to other areas of San Diego.