During our trip we wanted to try out Hodad’s Ocean Beach which was featured on Guy Fiery’s show. We ordered and walked down to the beach and ate at the free picnic areas next to Ocean Beach. Hodad’s was in the middle of building their outdoor dining area. Everyone in my crew had a fabulous time but I was in a bad mood- couldn’t quite recover from the cold and the aggressive sea gulls. This is what I learned from observing my crew have fun without me (as I sat there shivering, taking one for the team)
- Hodad gives you generous helpings of fries and onion rings. We ordered Frings which is fries and onion rings. Should’ve ordered a half Fring because we literally could not eat it half of it because we had all ordered a burger too.
- Do not feed the birds. The sea gulls here are unusually bold. They will fly onto your table while you are sitting to get some human food. They took chips out of my cousins bag while he was holding it when he was little. They scared me and pooped on my cousin’s jacket while we were there (thank goodness for baby wipes)
- It’s San Diego’s Venice Beach. The street Hodad’s is on is full of smokers and people with tattoos. I saw a guy dressed as a girl playing an instrument for tips, people getting drunk, and people blasting music with questionable lyrics from speakers attached to their bodies. It’s not perfectly family-friendly but it is fun to see the surfers try their hand at the waves. It’s edgy quality is what makes it different to the more polished La Jolla.
- Bring sand toys, wear layers, flip flops, and bring changes of clothes and bags to put your sandy shoes and clothes in after. Visit on weekdays when there is less crowds. We went on a Tuesday afternoon in February and it was a little chilly but the kids ran around half naked and had so much fun they didn’t even notice the cold.
- Check out the Pier it’s pretty.