OCEANSIDE, Calif. — For decades, a lot of tourists overlooked Oceanside. It was the blue-collar city that operated in the shadow of Camp Pendleton, a beach town without the frills found farther south in Del Mar and La Jolla.
But maybe that reputation has reached its expiration date. It certainly feels that way now when you stand downtown, flanked by a pair of shiny new hotels, watching the sun set beyond the old wooden pier and deciding whether to eat vegan, tacos or barbecue at the weekly street fair.
“It’s a beautiful beach city. It was a matter of time,” said Harrison Dwelley, 33, who has just taken over from his parents as co-owner of South Oceanside’s Beach Break Cafe on the Coast Highway.
