I agree with everyone else, go to Disneyland.

Don't forget comfy shoes and lots of sunscreen!

Have fun!

I believe that there is a rule that if you are in Southern California on a visit you MUST go to Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo. There are a lot of other great places to see but for a short visit Disneyland and San Diego Zoo would be my suggestion.

I, like Nelli, grew up in Oceanside/Vista and I would agree, Disneyland and the Wild Animal Park are the two that I would go to. The AMTRAK train will take you to LA and it is easy to get around, much better than driving (IMO).

Please do the pier in Oceanside, it is beautiful, they re-designed it when I was a kid and added the restaurant and a couple small stands. Originally it was a fancy sea-food restaurant, but that, like many things, changed over time.

If your standing on the peir facing the ocean and look to the left (south) you will see an outdoor auditorium, that is where they filmed the "cheer competition" for the original "Bring it on" (when they were in "florida"..lol). Also the house that the instructor from TOP GUN lived in for the film, where Tom Cruise drives up from the beach to when he asks if he can shower before they eat, that is like 1-2 blocks south of the pier also.

It is fun to walk to the end of the pier and eat at Ruby's! or even at the Ruby's at the outlet mall in Carlsbad.

I live in Canada, but Oceanside is beautiful! I can't remember for the life of me what the name was, but I went to this one restraunt that had prawns the size of your fist, and awesome oyster shooters!!!

It was a while ago when I went to Cali, so they were currently building Disney adventure, but I enjoyed Disneyland - and from what I heard, you can get a pass for both parks in one.

I also really liked Universal Studios!!! Lots of attractions, I watched Jim Carey filming Liar Liar and Eddy Murphy getting his makeup for The Nutty Professor (can't remember if it was 1 or 2).

Cool Cool cool!

Also, if you like antiques, go to Temecula - they have a street filled with AWESOME antique shops.

I think that restaurant went into the ocean one year during a bad storm. They then rebuilt and extended the pier, putting Ruby's on the end.

All of Southern California has really been used for various movies. When I went to college, it wasn't uncommon to see tv shows or movies being filmed on campus or know of past tv shows/movies. Various beach locations are always popular, etc.

Just wanted to say hello and thank you all so much for all the helpful information! We did in fact go to Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo, as that was the consensus opinion. They were both awesome and we were very glad we went. We also spent a day in Hollywood, visiting the Kodak theater and Hollywood and Highland area. We drove up into the Hollywood Hills and also up and down Rodeo Drive and through all the fancy- schmancy homes in Beverly Hills. There we were, sitting at a stop light in Beverly Hills in our little Chevy rental van and we were surrounded by Rolls Royces, Bentleys and a Ferrari. I'm not sure if it was the van or the fact that I was taking pictures out the windows that made us look like tourists. We hung out around the condo one day and then had a pool/beach day. We were absolutely exhausted but had a wonderful time. The flower fields in Carlsbad were breathtaking. Laguna Beach was really pretty, too.

Traffic wasn't really as bad as we thought it would be. There was a ton of it but usually people make it sound like you sit on the highway for hours and hours on end and we didn't run into any of that. We did have a hard time getting used to the fact that motorcyclists do not actually drive in a lane but rather on the line dividing the lanes. That was new to us.

We stayed right at the base of the pier in Oceanside in the new Wyndham Resort. We purchased time share (or vacation ownership as they now like to call it) several years ago with Fairfield and they changed into Wyndham over the last year or two. The resort was beautiful and we loved the view of the pier and the water. Just breathtaking.

Definitely a beautiful place you all call home! The mountains, the water, the blooming flowers......sigh

Thanks again for all the helpful comments and suggestions. They really helped us to make decisions regarding our itinerary.

P.S. I'm ashamed to say that Wienerschnitzel was one of our favorite stops while we were there.

Glad you enjoyed it JGO! That's why I live here...and have been to Wienerschnitzel many times over the years...but not since I started my new "journey!"...do miss those chili dogs! Oh and the motorcycles...nothing new here...I pull my mirror in on my truck when traffic is slow...too many close calls! I live less than 4 miles from where you stayed! Also traffic from Oceanside up to Los Angeles and orange county usually isn't too bad...it's when you are in Los Angeles or heading from Oceanside south to San Diego on a week-end late morning/afternoon.