Weekend Escape: San Diego County : Del Mar Without a Car : Can Two Auto Addicts Survive as Pedestrians in Low-Key Beach Town?

Angelenos are totally addicted to their cars.

So imagine me, a native, planning a weekend jaunt sans auto. The mere thought gives me separation anxiety. After all, we don’t go anywhere without our wheels. Not to the neighborhood supermarket, not to a nearby friend’s house, let alone a weekend 90 miles and 2 1/2 hours away from our City of Angels.

And call me old-fashioned, but I wanted to ride the rails. Taking the train somewhere seemed romantic and adventurous. So I persuaded my friend Amy--a die-hard New Yorker who moved to Los Angeles five years ago and is hopelessly addicted to her car phone--that we should throw caution to the wind and leave our automotive security blankets behind. Our destination was the historic village of Del Mar, whose development at the turn of the century as a seaside resort engendered the building of a train station 18 miles north of downtown San Diego.

Although Del Mar’s famous “where the turf meets the surf” horse racing track draws hordes of visitors each year for the late-summer racing season, we decided an off-season trip would be a more enjoyable and low-key vacation.

We bought our tickets in advance at Downtown L.A.’s classic Art Deco Union Station, and like breezy weekenders of a pre-freeway era, hopped the train bound for Del Mar on a recent Friday night. As soon as we boarded the 6:25 p.m. San Diegan, we realized our first mistake: not arriving early enough to find two seats together. Our second rude awakening was discovering that paying extra for first-class tickets meant nada. It didn’t guarantee reserved seating, as one would expect. Sure, the seats in the so-called “Custom Class” are a bit wider and the legroom marginally better, but it’s not worth the extra $12.

The only seats we could find together were in the last row, where we were forced to sit face to face and knee to knee with two other passengers. To two work-weary souls who just wanted to read and talk to each other, the loud and chatty guys who wanted to flirt sent us bolting for an alternative seating arrangement. We ultimately found two seats together after a sweet teen-ager offered up hers. We discovered that people on trains are a lot friendlier than the often-cranky drivers on the freeways.

When we arrived with too much luggage, we decided that instead of schlepping six minutes up the hill to our hotel, we would call a taxi. One of our other “slips” was choosing an out-of-town restaurant to dine in Saturday night, which required a 20-minute cab ride. But, those notwithstanding, we kept to our weekend pledge to be car-less.

A chummy cabby took us up to our historic B&B;, the Rock Haus Inn, a 1911 white clapboard house overlooking the Pacific in a hilly, wooded residential neighborhood two blocks from the beach. We had discovered the inn--which bills itself as “Del Mar’s Only Bed & Breakfast in the Village,” on an earlier visit when we stayed at the plush L’Auberge Resort and Spa on the beach.

Since we would be arriving after dinner Friday, our innkeeper, Doris Holmes, left our key in the brochure box at the front door. We had booked what we thought would be the best of the 10 guest rooms, the Huntsman, because it was the only unit with a fireplace and one of two with its own entrance. After surveying the other rooms (six rooms in the main house share three bathrooms--no thanks!), we agreed it was the pick of the lot despite the lack of an ocean view, which most of the others had. Although the decor was kind of hokey--done up in the red, white and green colors of a traditional fox hunt, with a plaid goose-down comforter--it wasn’t nearly as contrived as the theme-decorated rooms like Top O’ the Rock, the Whale Watch, the Cabana, the Court Room or the Wren’s Nest.

The main drag, Camino Del Mar, winds along a ridge of sloping hills set against the ocean, boasting blocks of attractive shops, restaurants and a historic library in a Craftsman-style home--a reminder of what the village must have looked like in earlier days. The Art Deco Del Mar race track and fairgrounds--which attracted Hollywood’s elite when it opened in 1937 at the height of the Depression--is about a mile north of the hotel.

On Friday night, we had a delicious dinner at Il Fornaio, located on the top level of the Del Mar Plaza--a classy collection of eateries and shops that defies the mall concept with its innovatively designed spaces, lighting, waterways and outdoor patios with spectacular ocean views.

Sitting on the restaurant’s patio, sharing pizza, pasta and salad and breathing in the fresh sea air, Amy and I agreed we had found the perfect way to begin our weekend. The next morning, instead of eating at our B&B; (breakfast is included), we had brunch at an informal restaurant on the beach, Poseidon, which friends from L.A. had recommended. Other than being overcharged for two beers we didn’t order and mediocre food, it again was a great setting for just relaxing, reading the paper and people-watching. Sunday, we had a much better culinary experience at the Rock Haus, where, in the glass-enclosed sun room overlooking the ocean, we ate a self-served breakfast that included three kinds of home-baked breads, cakes, fresh fruit, cold cereals and freshly brewed coffee.

After our Saturday brunch, we took a walk north on Camino Del Mar to an open-air green market, which was teeming with locals buying and selling produce and fresh-cut flowers. We bought a bunch of fragrant white clover for the room (such a bargain at $1.50), then walked several more blocks to the Del Mar Cycle Works, where we rented bikes for our day. Then we headed north on the old Coast Highway. The weather could not have been more beautiful, the scenery more breathtaking, as we pedaled along the highway with the startling-blue Pacific at our side.

By the time we made it back to Del Mar and returned our bikes, it was nearly dark--but not too dark to prevent us from joining the crowd of locals and tourists that gathers daily in the park on the bluffs at the foot of 15th Street for the ritual of watching the sunset.

We returned to our room to get ready for dinner. This is where we cheated again and called a cab for the out-of-town eatery, Delicias, in the exclusive enclave of Rancho Santa Fe, just northeast of Del Mar.

After a costly cab ride through the winding back roads of polo fields and glorious horse ranches, we arrived at the restaurant, whose country elegance perfectly reflects its affluent clientele. Seated on a partially enclosed patio with a Santa Fe-style hearth blazing, I had delicious grilled free-range chicken with Delicias fries. Amy equally enjoyed the grilled tuna au poivre with charred tomato salsa. Our sweet and attentive waiter forced us to eat something decadent for dessert that was exquisitely chocolaty. We ended the evening at the movies with a lousy, mindless comedy.

The next morning, after a light breakfast at our inn Sunday, we bought a $12 tennis-and-spa pass at the L’Auberge Del Mar hotel, played 1 1/2 hours of tennis on courts overlooking the ocean, took a sauna, and then checked out of the inn, leaving our bags to pick up later. We walked to the Cafe Del Mar just down the road and feasted on great grilled chicken breast sandwiches while sitting on the tree-shaded patio of the unpretentious ivy-covered restaurant.

With only a little time left before our departure, we went to a great bookstore and coffeehouse, Esmeralda, at the Del Mar Plaza, where we hung out until it was time for the train back. Speaking of which, you might want to think about taking the train to Del Mar sooner rather than later. There’s talk that Amtrak may abandon its direct service to Del Mar later this year, in favor of a more modern station to be built in nearby Solana Beach (five minutes north). The argument is that the Del Mar station is inefficient . . . ironically due to inadequate parking.

Eller is The Times’ movie editor.

Budget for Two Train, round trip to Del Mar: $86.00 Two nights, The Rock Haus: $297.00 Dinner, Il Fornaio: $39.02 Brunch, Poseidon: $30.48 Dinner, Delicias: $72.50 Lunch, Cafe Del Mar: $19.00 Spa, L’Auberge Del Mar: $12.00 Bicycle rentals: $40.00 Taxis: $24.00 FINAL TAB: $620.00

The Rock Haus, 410 15th St . , Del Mar, Calif. 92014; tel . (619) 481-3764. Winter rates: $75-$135. (Two-night minimum in summer only.)