Two nights in a gray Suburban

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Carlsbad:

When Mike and Sarah Smith and their two young children pulled into the parking lot at Carlsbad High School—one of several evacuation centers in the San Diego area-- they looked like a family that could use a good night’s sleep, a shower and some good news.

“We’ve been sleeping in the car the last two nights,” said Mike Smith. “I think we’re getting a little smelly.”

The Smiths were chased out of their 5-bedroom house overlooking Eagle Crest Golf Course in Escondido early Monday morning and have been on the run since. They considered heading to Escondido High, but it was too close to the fire lines. Qualcomm Stadium didn’t sound much better.

“After we saw the results of Hurricane Katrina, we decided the stadium was not a viable alternative,” Smith said. “So we headed for the coast. “

After searching for hotels from North San Diego County to Irvine, they gave up and settled for a beach parking lot in Oceanside Sunday night and a shopping center parking lot in Carlsbad Monday night. Their gray Suburban hasn’t been luxurious, but at least the kids — Ryan, 11, and Emma, 8 -- have their own row of seats.

“We’ve tried to treat this as a vacation,” he said. “On the bright side, the waves have been fantastic the last two days.”

Smith still doesn’t know the status of his house, but said he’d rather be in Southern California than his previous two residences, England and San Jose. “We left England because of the rain and we moved from San Jose for a little better lifestyle,” he said. “It’s still a great place to be, even if they’ve got fires.”

-- Dave McKibben