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by travelprone
Carlsbad, California
June 4, 2002
A recent revamping of the central courtyard around which most shops are clustered has been executed (the place got pretty run-down there for a while), with a central fountain and colorful landscaping making eating outdoors at one of the congenial tables a pleasant way to lunch, or eat a luscious gelato. Browse The Third Bird, a shop with unusual coral sculptures, hand-painted Spanish fans, colorful candles, and assorted other off-beat gift items. Check out Beads, Crystals and More, or Heaven on Earth for Yoga, Feng Shui, Tarot, and astrological "material". These shops embody the spirit of the 60's that has not totally faded from the coastal Encinitas scene.
More conventional, but still in tune with this spirit, is Pacific Eyes & T's,for beach wear, and some other restaurants offering Italian (Pino's Cucina Italiana), Vietnamese (Kim's), and Japanese (Sakura Bana Sushi). Further north up the street are lots of other slightly funky shops dealing in used paperbacks and used clothing, as well as second-hand furniture and antiques, but The Lumberyard capsulizes the downtown Encinitas shopping scene and epitomizes its odd flavors.
From journal Coastal Encinitas, Highway 101 South