Rocking Horse Pub (Nanoose Bay, British Columbia)

The Rocking Horse Pub 2038 Sanders Road, Nanoose Bay, British Columbiam, Canada.  Located just south of Parksville on beautiful Vancouver Island.  www.rockinghorsepub.ca  phone 250-468-1735.  This was a great find, it is located on a 5 acre equestrian centre in the country.  The house was originally built in 1972 and in 1977 it was converted to the Rocking Horse Inn and an extension was added.  It has gone through several changes over the years.  When you enter the pub is to the right and the resturant is to the left and is adorned with beautiful antiques.  Out back there is a beautiful patio area and also extends on to the grass looking out to natural area of the ranch.  The pub has a English pub look and feel to it.  The sit up bar is beautiful and seats about 8 people and stands about another 8 people.  There are 5 picnic style tables around the inside perimeter of the pub with 6 round tables with pub  arm chairs.  They have one country style table that seats 8 people.  There is one pool table and 3 flat screen TV'S.  The food was very good, I had the steak and Guinnes pie which came with home cut fires.  My wife had the Chicken Medetrainian Salad that came with black olives, feta chese, sun dried tomatoes, cucumbers mixed greens with a beautiful balsamic vinagerette dressing.  She said that it was very good.  There is a fire place with a wood stove insert that actually burns logs....not a fake one!  The serivce is very good, and the regulars very friendly.  I learned alot about fishing, crabbing and prawn fishing, if you are in the area maybe drop in for lunch and get a few tips before you head out on the ocean.  This place is well worth the time to stop in.  When I was there a British Sports club car dropped by with 10 old sports cars.  There is lots of paking aswell!  Great find!!

Pacific Beach Shore Club (Pacific Beach, California)

Pacific Beach Shore Club, 4343 Ocean Blvd. Pacific Beach, San Diego California, USA.  www.pbshoreclub.com  This is a very popular bar and well located.  It is right on the beach right across from the life guard station.  It is located on the second floor.  There is a set of stairs in front when entering from the beach.  There are two bar areas when you enter.  The bar on the left has a 10 person sit up bar and along the two walls with windows there is bench seating facing the windows.  Just about everyone sits on the table area and feet on the seats facing in.  There are also two large picnic style tables in the middle.  There are 25 different types of beer on tap!  The bar on the right has several booths and 3 picnic tables. They have the same style sit up bar as the other side.   There are 25 TVs through out!  For lunch I had the  Lobster burrito which was very good.  My wife had the 2 grilled mahi tacos and black beans and they were awesome!.  This place was packed by 1:30 pm You would have thought that it was 11 pm instead.  Lots of people were drinking these Red Bull smoothies!  If you are ever in Pacific Beach you have to go here for sure!

Bon Vin (San Diego, California)

Bon Vin, a wine shop and wine bar.  542-5th Avenue, San Diego, California, USA in the Gaslamp Area. www.bonvinsandiego.com  It was fairly quite when we were there.  They sell wine from California, France, Italy and Spain.  There is a tasting room in the back and a sit up bar where we sat.  In front there are comfortable chairs to sit and enjoy a glass of wine.  To go with our wine we had a cheese plate with three different types of cheese.  Bon Vin is located in an old heritage building. The plaque on the front of the building offers this information about the building:
The Lewis Brick Block, Stingaree Hotel 1887.  Known as the Lewis Brick Block, the upper floors were referred to as the Stingaree Hotel in reference to the area's red light district.  The main floor was used for cigar and tobacco shop, billiard hall and revival center.   This Victorian building is characterized by decorative b rick arches over the second story windows and stepped brickwork along the roof line.
It is a very nice relaxing place to have a glass of wine, some cheese and let the day slip by.

Coronado Firehouse Bar and Grill (Coronado, California)

Coronado Firehouse Bar and Grill 126 Orange avenue, Coronado, California, USA.   www.coronadofirehousebarandgrill.com  This is a Coronado Historical Landmark as it was the site of the first fire house in Coronado in 1892. Obvious fire dept theme. Sit up bar with its checker plated face plates, seats 25 and is 45 feet long. They have roll up garage doors at the front to open it all up,  with side walk patio. 20 flat screen TVs through out the bar. The food was very good, I had the pizza, which was very good!  My wife had the chicken salad and said it was very good.  Our friend had a burger and he too said it was very good. All of the food had fire fighter themed names. They have a nice patio area in front and it is a very relaxing place to enjoy a drink and something to eat. With 14 beer on tap, a large selection of craft beer and the usual beer as well as a nice wine selection you can't go wrong.  Very wide open feeling here and mix that with all the sunshine it is all good!! Two thumbs up!!

Pacific Beach Alehouse (Pacific Beach, California)

Pacific Beach AleHouse 721 Grand Avenue, Pacific Beach, San Diego, California, USA   www.pbalehouse.com .  I can't tell you about the main area of the alehouse as we sat upstairs in the Sky Bar area.  The bottom picture shows the inside of the main part of the alehouse.  Upstairs was great, sitting up there in all the sunshine!  They brew their own beer on premise and have seven of their beer on tap.  Happy hour is Monday to Friday 3-6pm where they have $ 3.00 house beer and well drinks.  The sit up bar up top holds 6 people.  A covered area, for those who have to watch them selves in the sun is just beside the bar.  On the roof top they have 2 flat screen TVs so you don't miss anything.  A full food menu is available but we did not try any of the food, just the wine!  It is half a block from the beach, very modern and upscale.  There is glass on top of the walls surrounding the bar to cut out any breeze.  The glimpse I had of the main area....it looked pretty nice, but we were n a hurry to sit up in the sunshine.  The service was very good.  I would go here again if I had a chance!

Lahaina Beach House (Pacific Beach, California)

Lahaina Beach House, 710 Oliver Avenue, Pacific Beach, San Diego California, USA.  This is a really cool place.  It is right on the beach with a large patio area on the front facing beach and ocean!  I love the rules that they have posted on the wall.  Check out the photo (click on the photo for and enlargement).  Inside this place has a cottage feel to it.  There are two sit up bars that can each 8 - 12 people.  They boast 13 different beer on tap. There is a full kitchen and you can sit and watch your food being cooked....if that is what you want to do.  In the back of the bar they have several rectangular tubs with bottled beer on ice.  This is a great bar patio for watching people walk by on the beach.  When the weather is nice the patio seats are very hard to come by, so If you get a seat don't let it go!!.  This place is a two thumbs up for sure.

Hennessey's Tavern (Carlsbad, California)

Hennessey's Tavern, 2777 Roosevelt Street, Carlsbad, California, USA   www.hennesseystavern.com  Est 1976, This is an Irish theme bar if you haven't figured that out. The sit up Bar seats ten and extends through the wall to the outside area and that section also seats ten. They serve 10 different beer on tap. Very good service 4 waitresses. 2nd sit up area is opposite bar facing pub area and seats 10.  Through out the bar there are 10 TVs. . Food and drink specials through out the week. "Grady" the bartender when I was there was great.  He had a genuine smile on his face and really took pride in his job.  The food here all looked really good when I saw it coming out.  I tried the thin sliced potato chips, kettle cooked with sea salt and vinegar.  They were very good.  There were quite a few people here having lunch from all ages (no kids under 21).  The out side area is neat with a covered area that goes around the walls and covers about 6-8 feet deep with the center area open.  They have a gas fire pit in the middle as well as the front patio area.  I give this place two thumbs up.  Say hi to Grady the best bartender in the San Diego area!!