7:00 AM – This is about the earliest I can stand to get up in the morning but it’s my favourite time of day because the waves are uncrowded. I’ll usually roll out of bed and get ready to go surf my favourite morning spot, Pipes. Typically, a small group of my friends meet down in the parking lot for some banter before paddling out.
9:00 AM – Ironsmith Coffee is one of my favourite coffee shops in North County. It’s located at the start of downtown Encinitas. They serve an exceptional cortado and their pastries are equally as good. I’ll typically spend an hour or two here in the mornings to send off some emails and get some work done.
10:30 AM – In the middle of the day, I’ll usually go to Lou’s Records to see if they have anything new since the last time I was there. It’s the perfect time of day to go since that’s when the wind starts picking up, making the surf not as clean. It’s right near my house and I love to spend an hour there looking at what they got in the night before.
11:30 AM - By now, I’ll be looking to run some errands and start getting things done. For groceries, I have two favourite markets in the North Country San Diego area. One of them is called Lazy Acres and it’s in Encinitas. My favourite part of this market is the rescue beehive you can visit in the middle of it! The bees have a glass wall you can see through and a tube out the top of the building so they can come and go as they please. You can also bring your own container and buy their honey in bulk.
The other market is called Cream of the Crop and it’s in Oceanside. This is a small natural foods market with almost no plastic on any of their produce. They also have a lot of small things that makes sustainable living easier such as produce bags made from cloth and bar shampoo.
3:00 PM- Hopefully, by this point, I’ve gotten a few responses from the emails I sent out in the morning so I’ll take a few hours in the afternoon to spend at my home in Carlsbad on my computer doing work. Here’s a shot from an afternoon in my backyard doing some work.
5:00 PM - Cardiff Reef for sunset is one of my favourite places to surf. If you can get over the terrible smell, you can always score some fun waves. I prefer Cardiff on a high tide, but at the end of the day, there are no bad waves only bad surfers!
6:30 PM - As soon as the sun goes down, I get hungry! My favourite casual dinner spot in North Country is in the heart of downtown Encinitas, Taco Stand! Taco Stand can occasionally get outrageous lines but if you catch it at the right time it’s a real treat! My typical order there is two Baja tacos and horchata.
8:30 PM - At this point, I start looking forward to getting into bed. Most nights I’ll light a candle and spin a few records to get myself in that sleep mindset before I drift off.
Interview by Braeden Alexander - Discover Elsa's work on her site here.
