Harbor Days 2008

Oceanside’s Harbor Days is an annual two-day celebration that is free to the public. It is a family-friendly event which attracts an estimated 40,000 people each year and seems to get better and better every year.

This year’s Sat. and Sun. event started on Thursday with the Thespian students from El Camino High School decked out in pirate costumes storming the Sprinter Train from Oceanside to Escondido. On Friday, professional pirates from various local pirate guilds created fun and mayhem at the Coaster Station.

I myself started early on Saturday morning, with a Civitan pancake breakfast. After this I strolled past the kids fishing from the pier, each child hoping to win first place in the Harbor Days fishing derby. Trophies were awarded to first, second and third prize winners with everyone receiving a fishing pole. Everyone was a winner!
Next I went to Pirate’s Cove and as I approached it I could see the magnificent Spirit of Dana Point.. The Spirit of Dana Point is a traditionally built replica of a 1770s privateer employed during the American Revolution. She is classified as a 118-foot’ topsail schooner, with a sparred length of 118 feet and 5,000 square feet of sail. Her design, known for speed, precedes the Baltimore Clipper, enabling these vessels to be used for smuggling, the slave trade, and privateering. I was as excited as the eight year old boy running next to me to explore this ship.
And just when I thought this was going to be the highlight of my day, the British showed up. After some taunts back and forth, the real battle began. The pirates, led by Captain Jack Sparrow (Orange County actor Vince Bartolone, aka Captain Jack) came out the victor of this battle. Captain Jack captured the attention of many festival attendees, including me and stole the show.
I walked past the belly dancers and watched for awhile in hopes of bumping into Captain Jack Sparrow. I did find him at the main stage where he was posing for pictures. I watched the pirates pillage for awhile then headed for the venders and food. I was hoping to not eat too much and partake in the buffet dinner at the Jolly Rogers which offers the opportunity to eat dinner with the pirates. Not eating too much turned out to be harder than I initially thought when there were so many wonderful vendors offering such an array of dishes.
Next I meandered down to the beach and caught some of the participants building their boats for the Nail N Snail race. I wanted to make sure I was back in time to watch these sail when they were done building. Of course many of them sink and it was all fun.
After this, I went to see the Marine Corps Static Display, Navy Static Display, Oceanside Fire Department Display, and Oceanside Police Department Display. Wow! What a wonderful group of people who strive to protect us and keep us all safe. I felt a great deal of admiration and appreciation for these young men and women.
After walking all day I worked up an appetite and did mange to feast the buffet dinner at the Jolly Roger which brought laughs and fun for everyone, as the pirates took over the Jolly Roger restaurant for a dinner show.

Two New Restaurants in Oceanside

I love to eat and try new things, so when a new place comes to town I am frequently one of the first in line to check it out. Harney Sushi officially opened to the public on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at the corner of Mission Avenue and Cleveland Street Downtown Oceanside. This is an award-winning place where experimentation mixes with celebration, where fine dining service and knowledge fuse with beaming personality and style. Harney Sushi Oceanside conveys the same ultra-hip vibe of Harney's popular San Diego restaurant but with all new elegance and a modern "green" design. The new Oceanside restaurant features clean contemporary lines paired with a palette of select reusable and recycled materials. Its 3,500-square-foot interior and 425-square-foot patio offer seating for 185 and include both sake and sushi bars, a VIP room, built in DJ booth, 600-gallon fish tank, waterfall backdrop, and an ethanol fireplace all which set the tone for amazing food and great service. Harney calls this their “funk shui.” It is always as fresh as it gets and imaginative as you want. Check out there web site and you'll see this is not you traditional sushi place. Harney Sushi

The Breakwater Brewery at Coast Highway and Seagaze is scheduled to open this weekend, July 19. The head brewer is Kirk McHale, former head brewer of Pizza Port Carlsbad. He's won numerous awards for his brews. I've also heard he's going to have some mead available as well as yarrow, dandelion, and hibiscus ales! I'm really looking forward to visiting the place when it opens. Their website is not up yet, but look for it soon.

California Welcome Center

The California Welcome Center helps visitors get the most out of their vacation by offering local, regional and statewide visitor information. We have more than 100,000 visitors each year from all around the world that come into our center in Oceanside, California for information to assist with their vacation plans. We have complimentary brochures and maps available for attractions and events throughout the state of California. Stop by and shop for unique souvenirs and gifts. Check your e-mails or print driving directions from our courtesy computer. Receive information on accommodations, dining, shopping and attractions. We have an outstanding group of volunteers, and could not keep our doors open without them. They have a wealth of knowledge from living in the area for many years and can provide information on many of the fun things to do in the area. We are open from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm seven days a week. Clean restrooms available. We hope to see you soon!

History of Oceanside

HISTORY OF Oceanside's first inhabitants were the Luiseno Indians who were part of the large Shoshonean tribe. They inhabited the San Luis Rey river valley area, originally named, "Rio San Luis Rey de Francia," after St. Louis King of France by the Franciscan friars who passed through the valley in 1769. The Mission San Luis Rey de Francia was established in 1798, four miles up river from the coast. The Indians who were gathered at the Mission were called "San Luisenos" by the Franciscans, later shortened to "Luisenos". The Luisenos were hunters and food gatherers until the friars taught them farming and other trades. The Indians were instrumental in building the Mission compound as they provided the labor. The Indians soon adopted the Spanish language and customs. Among these padres was Father Antonio Peyri who planned and oversaw the construction of the Mission's many buildings which included three churches, the last of which still stands and was finished in 0ctober of 1815. Mission San Luis Rey was the largest building in California when completed and was the most prosperous of the missions In 1834, formal secularization took place. All the Mission properties were confiscated by Pio Pico, governor of California, and sold for $2,437.50. During this period, the Mission buildings fell into disrepair. In 1893, Father Joseph Jeremiah 0'Keefe arrived to restore the Mission. By 1912, when he retired, restoration in great part was complete, but, still continues today. A township, known as San Luis Rey, which was west of the Mission, was established in the early 1870's and was largely inhabited by a group of English settlers, by 1884, San Luis Rey had a post office, stores, a hotel, and a weekly newspaper, The San Luis Rey Star, which later moved to Oceanside. In 1881 the United States Government conducted a survey of the Southern Pacific slope and in 1882 a railroad was laid from Los Angeles to San Diego through Colton, Temecula, Fallbrook and down the coast. Andrew Jackson Myers relocated to the San Luis Rey township in 1881. In 1883, he applied for a Homestead Grant on the Oceanside mesa and he was allotted 160 acres. Cave J. Couts, Jr. surveyed the town site and J. Chauncey Hayes sold the town lots. Myers is known as the founder of Oceanside as he owned the first land and was said to built the first house. J. Chauncey Hayes was not only the real estate agent but Justice of Peace and the editor of his own newspaper, The South Oceanside Diamond. When he drew the petition for the first post office the name "Ocean Side" was used, but later changed to "Oceanside." By 1887, the Bank of Oceanside was built on the comer of Second (Mission Avenue) and Hill Streets and also a grand hotel, the South Pacific, located on Third and Pacific Streets, near the present pier. A wharf company was formed and soundings were made at the location of what is now known as Wisconsin street. The wharf was made entirely of wooden pilings, the first pile being driven May 12, 1888. On July 3, 1888, Oceanside was incorporated with a vote of 74 to 53. The founder of the city, A. J. Myers, was the first to vote. The population was about l000. In the winter of 1890-91, the wharf was destroyed by a storm and Melchoir Pieper, the proprietor of the South Pacific Hotel, salvaged most of the lumber. He took the pilings to his hotel on Third Street where he kept it until the city appropriated funds for a new pier in 1893. Not only donating the lumber, through his efforts, Pieper was responsible for the pier being located at Third Street. This second pier was the first of five built at the Third street location, including the one recently completed in 1987. In the 1890's Oceanside had three hotels; the South Pacific, the St. Cloud and the Tremont, two drug stores, two livery stables, two blacksmiths, a hardware store, a bakery, a harness shop, a lumber yard, a barber shop, a newspaper, a school and the Oceanside Bank along with many other businesses. There were six churches: Christian, Congregational, Baptist, Episcopal, Holiness and Methodist. Like many towns, Oceanside's prosperity relied much on real estate booms and busts. The railroads played an important role in the continuing development of our city. During the boom years the trains brought thousands of prospective buyers. This continued until a highway was paved between San Diego and Los Angeles through 0ceansidc before 1920. In the 1920's the city prospered. Tent City was established, street lights were installed, a new golf course was laid out and a grand new theater, "The Palomar', was built. Our slogan for the time was, "Oceanside, California’s Pride." Many noteworthy visitors enjoyed our shore, including Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. A number of movies were filmed here during this decade. This prosperity soon changed and we felt the grip of the "Great Depression." A dramatic change occurred with the purchase of the Santa Margarita y Los Flores by the U. S. Government for a military base. The building of Camp Joseph H. Pendleton created a boom to end all booms in our sleepy little town. In no time workers flocked to downtown for food and lodging. It was common to see thirty or forty people waiting outside restaurants to eat. The community geared up for war in a big way by supporting the workers and troops, We continued to urbanize into the 1950's bringing us to a population of 20,000 in 1953. Our growth has continued steadily ever since and is the topic of much controversy today as we have almost 150,000 people. Written by:KRISTI HAWTHORNEPresidentOCEANSIDE HISTORICAL SOCIETYhttp://oceansidehistoricalsociety.org/