Back from Oceanside, CA

[ali8780]

I'll second that observation. My in-laws live in Oceanside (father-in-law is a retired Master Gunnery Sgt, you could probably walk through Pendleton's back gate from his front door in under an hour) so I've made annual trips out there since 1970. Have seen some real changes over the years. My son, is stationed in Pendleton, and he and his family live in San Clemente, so we're getting to see a bit of that town as well. Nice little Irish pub in San Clemente, unfortunately, the name escapes me.

So what was it like in the 70's?

[Piper]

So what was it like in the 70's?

Much smaller, for starters. Back then when you stepped out of my in-laws back door, all you could see was scrub brush and hillsides to the horizon. Now all you see are houses. The neighborhood was almost exclusively military, now there are a couple of old retirees, like my father-in-law. The rest are younger couples with little kids, largely Mexican immigrants. There are quite a few higher end developments on the other (east?) side of El Camino Real.
The downtown area was typical of any small town that grows up around a military base. It hasn't changed all that much, but it does seem to be timeworn. Retail development in general in the surrounding area has exploded. With all the shopping centers now in the region, there's an embarassment of riches compared to 30 some years ago
Another change, that our family notices anyway, is there is a much smaller Japanese presence in the area. My mother-in-law is now jealous of my wife's access to Japanese grocery staples out here on the east coast.
Of course, the same can be said of any area. We live in the same small town that I grew up in, the changes here have been just as great, if not greater over the same period.