The OC Register has a story about traveling north county's stretch of Hwy101, here is the part about Leucadia:
LEUCADIA
Driving south, you can follow the old 101 route inland or cheat a bit like me and stick to the coast as the road wraps past the towering gray hulk of the Encina Power Station. Despite the lure of the sand and sea, I am always happy to get past this stretch and pull into Leucadia, my favorite spot on the entire drive.
Officially a neighborhood of Encinitas, Leucadia has a coastal funkiness, some of it endangered. Many of the area's signature 100-year-old eucalyptus trees are being torn out, leaving a little less shade on the streets named after Vulcan and other ancient gods.
For those in the right mood, there is no better place to stay on the highway than the Leucadia Beach Inn, a 1920s, Spanish-style court hotel that has been lovingly restored. The simple tile-floor kitchenette rooms, too near what used to be a not-as-busy highway, are clean and freshly painted.
"We're the number-two rated hotel in the area on Hotels.com, after La Costa," bragged the desk clerk as he handed me a brochure. With a base price of $69 a night, you won't confuse this with the luxury resort nearby, but the bills won't look the same either.
Nearby is Bamboo2U and Tikis Too, selling hand-carved Polynesian god tikis. Better yet, buy a lime-green or orange Adirondack-style wood lifeguard tower chair like the ones displayed on the shop's roof.
Pannikin Coffee and Tea is housed in a retired 1888 Santa Fe Railroad Depot painted bright yellow. On this visit, "Opae E," a gentle Hawaiian song sung by the late, great Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, is playing. A place that picks you up, then eases you back down.
OC Register Hwy101 story.
Best part of the article,
ReplyDeleteThe epicenter of north San Diego County tourism, a jumping-off point for Legoland, is a nice town. There are nice hotels and nice beaches. Maybe it is all just a little too nice for this trip. In Carlsbad, many of the charming vestiges of old Highway 101 have been erased.
This writer gets it. Carlsbad has been gentrified to the point of no return. Don't let it happen to Leucadia.
I couldn't agree more. Preserving Encinitas makes economic and environmental sense.
ReplyDeletePreserving Leucadia shouldn’t’ mean letting cars rip through our town on the current deadly crappy and ugly roadway.
ReplyDeleteRemember not even 60 years ago, N. Coast Hwy 101 was a 2 lane road. The current roadway destroyed the true good character of Leucadia "Isle of Paradise" or "Place of Shelter."…. And turned it into Slaughter alley.
I am all in favor of saving the good things in Leucadia like the Trees, Pannikan and funkyness.
I would sure like it to be safer for people walking and biking to the beach and to the local shops, and return some of the “Place of Shelter” to the area.
I agree.... bike more and drive less!
ReplyDelete"Remember not even 60 years ago, N. Coast Hwy 101 was a 2 lane road."
ReplyDeleteThat was before there were so many people living here!
The Pannikin does nothing for Leucadia. It sucks and sucks and sucks money from the community and gives NOTHING in return. Screw them!!!
ReplyDelete