Travel: Heading west to explore outdoor adventure

Editor’s note: This story column is part of Gary Bennett’s series of stories on travel, called “Inside 5.” He is using Pahrump as the middle on a map, drawing a circle around the town and extending out no more than a five-hour drive.

Well, we’ve gone north and we’ve gone south. Now let’s go west. If you can handle all the people it’s not a bad drive. For me, it is about four-and-a-half hours.

I go the back way over to Baker and get on I-15 southbound. Stay on I-15 and follow the signs toward San Diego. Get off on Highway 76 and go west to the ocean and you’re there!

Oceanside - a great beach community located in the northern-most part of San Diego County and just south of Camp Pendleton with lots to do. I like to golf at Oceanside Municipal Golf Course, which is very reasonably priced with great staff. Fred Wood is the pro there, and I have known him for many years.

There is a plethora of restaurants and places to stay. I like to camp and located a few miles inland is Guajome County Park and it is quiet and nice.

Other activities include fishing (fresh and saltwater), hiking, biking, sightseeing, whale watching, boating, surfing, an indoor shooting range and much more. They host an annual surfing championship every August. Also, there is a 3,000-mile bike run that takes place in June and starts in Oceanside.

They have a nice but small airport if you choose to take your airplane over. Yeah … I’m not going to fly mine over either. Oceanside is located about halfway between San Diego city and Disneyland. So while you are there if you choose you can reach out and see even more.

Also, they have a great light rail system for public transportation that is both affordable and easy to use. I visit there on a regular basis. It is one of my favorite places because there is so much to do and … it’s “inside five.”

Gary Bennett is a freelance writer living in Pahrump.