ARRIVE IN STYLE: The Golden State boasts some truly interesting ways to reach a restaurant. There's the wee funicular railroad at Capitola's famed Shadowbrook and there's the Top of the Sierra in Mammoth, which is reached by a gondola ride. Various theme parks have their open-air trams, and the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway climbs, climbs, climbs up San Jacinto to the Peaks Restaurant. But what if you wanted to park your boat for a few minutes, for a sandwich and iced tea? Without walking too far down a pier or along a boardwalk? Could such a thing happen? Could, and does, at San Diego's water-close Paradise Point. The lagoon-laden resort has opened its Dock & Dine program, meaning any captain feeling peckish has a place to park her or his vessel before heading inside for craft and catch cuisine at Tidal or an easy-breezy, view-nice lunch at the Barefoot Bar & Grill.
HOW TO ACCESS: Getting to the restaurants via the water means using the resort's private marina. Docking is free for people heading inside to dine, so no stress there. And there's no stress in deciding where to eat that day, with your on-boat companions: Not too many eateries invite patrons just to pull on up and dock for a couple of hours.
OTHER DOINGS... at Paradise Point include the Sunday Fun Day Summer Concert Series, the Scenic Bay Cruise (as well as a bevy of water sports), and a s'mores package (the resort boasts 15 fire pits). But if you do happen to own a boat, and you are fond of Pacific-adjacent dining, it is hard to resist the lure of the unusual arrival. If you've already gotten to a California restaurant by tram, cable car, and gondola, should "boat" be next on your list? It truly seems to be the most California of all conveyances, save, of course, the car.
