I came from Sacramento to San Diego State University in the early 90's. I was 18 and had been to Disneyland and a California Angels baseball game. At 18 that makes you the local expert of all things So Cal among your peer group. We were sports fans so a chance to see Tim Salmon and Chuck Finley far out of town and far away from our parents was something not to be passed up. I was on a road trip with my best friend as we toured college campuses. Basically, the tour consisted of 20 minutes at Long Beach State, just to say we had seen it, and then on to our obvious and eventual pick SDSU. I figured my due diligence was completed even though the examination of Long Beach and its surrounding community was far from thorough.
As an Aztec, I rarely ventured far from the college area except for trips to Pacific Beach to "study". The sunshine and "scenery" formed the integral building blocks of my college education. One day a friend said he needed something he could only find at the Carlsbad outlet mall. Nike, Izod, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Samsonite? What could he possibly need that could only be attained so far away? The possibilities were limitless. When you're young, a 30-minute drive seems like you are driving from Montezuma Mesa to the Canadian border. I needed to see what treasure my buddy was so eager to discover. Laser focused on the task at hand... we took to the road. That day I saw an outlet mall, my roommate got 2 for 1 on an already 50% marked down pair of Vans shoes... and my impression of Carlsbad was set in stone. I could now go back and tell my dorm-mates about all the riches of the North.
15 years later, Christina and I were married and moved to north county. No... not the great land of the outlet mall.... but much further far inland to Rancho Bernardo north county. 4 years after that we moved back to Sacramento with our new daughter and spent time with family and old friends who were also new to parenthood. When it was time to begin kindergarten, we decided to move back to SD for good. A friend asked if we had ever checked out Carlsbad? "You mean the land where brand names are sold at wholesale prices directly to the customer?" I asked her. She told us the quality of schools and housing prices were similar to RB. After a quick Redfin and Great Schools check we discovered she was spot on. We ended up in La Costa Valley and couldn't be in a better place for our family. With access to Encinitas, Moonlight Beach, restaurants and activity along PCH we quickly realized that living 4 miles from the ocean is life changing. 10+ degrees cooler than inland with a nightly ocean breeze. We used to think we would regret not being closer to San Diego but figured a 30-minute drive wasn't a big deal. After 5 years I think we've only left the area a handful of times. Now if only the Carlsbad Premium Outlets would bring back The Sharper Image and Kinney Shoes... my 90's memories would come full circle.
Call 760-456-7605 or email encinitasmobilenotary@gmail.com for appointments with Aaron or Christina Kuykendall of Encinitas Mobile Notary. Convenient and affordable mobile notary services in North County San Diego.
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