Things to Do in Escondido

When twin sisters Izzy and Coco Tihanyi decided to pursue a career that combined their passion for surfing and their love of the ocean, their calling came in the form of starting Surf Diva. Before long, they were on course to becoming a lauded school for coed surfers in California and Costa Rica. Augmenting the pair's teachings is their team of certified instructors, all graduates of their school's intensive training program and certified in CPR and first aid. Committed to their expertise in surfing, many of the instructors also hold down careers as firefighters, paramedics, and snowboarders, granting them the combined know-how to put out beach bonfires with a casual backflip.

The team's instruction ranges from coed group lessons and competitive coaching sessions to two- or five-day women’s weekend surf clinics. When they're not teaching surfing, crew members commit themselves to alternative teaching programs in yoga and standup paddleboarding, helping surfers to conquer the water with their bodies as well as with their very buoyant hearts. The twins' Costa Rica program also helps women and families hone boarding skills abroad while becoming fully immersed in the Costa Rican culture.

Through innovation and a passion for creation, Eleanor Burns revolutionized the process by which quilts are made. She cast off the shackles of scissors and templates for a more visceral approach that combines the ripping and stripping of fabric with an assembly-line approach to sewing. The new process brought an exciting speed to an activity once known for taking months and causing anyone who attempted it to grow a 4-foot beard. To spread the word and bolster the quilting community, she released her first book, Make a Quilt in a Day––Log Cabin Pattern.

Thirty years and 100 quilt books and patterns later, she continues to promote the art of the quilt and to improve the efficiencies of quilt construction. Along with a staff of fellow seamstresses, she began Quilt in a Day to further spread her message through simple and social classes filled with thorough and accurate instruction. Beginners can register for classes or attend a demo day, where refreshments fuel entertainment and scraps of fabric fly.

At the age of 7, Darcy Edwards would shout for her pony, Fiddlesticks. She still remembers rides on the back of her diminutive steed, though she now has more than 25 years of experience and a forest of colorful ribbons and medals to show for her abilities. In lessons she works to pass on the skills she has accrued in western, dressage, and jumper riding. Darcy, who has been profiled in California Riding Magazine, teaches equestrians of all ages the importance of grooming techniques and accounting for daylight savings time when riding off into the sunset. She also leads day camps for young children in hopes of sparking their equine interests, just as Fiddlesticks sparked hers.

Award-winning artisan and sculptor James Stone draws upon 27 years of craftsmanship and artistry to teach his students the ways of transmogrifying ordinary glass into masterworks. During hands-on demonstrations, James leads groups of up to six pupils in wielding 2,300-degree torches that turn brittle glass into malleable liquid ready to be shaped into art or slathered onto injured windows. Each day, the ovens also churn out tumblers and sculptures available for sale, and the studio routinely takes orders for custom projects and ornaments.

Every Christmas morning, Jo Davis would run to the tree, eagerly searching her packages in the hopes of finding one large enough to conceal a horse. Jo never discovered a horse, pony, or even a poor man’s horse—a cow—underneath her family's tree, but she pursued her dream of riding by taking lessons and attending summer camps throughout high school. After that, she worked as a wrangler at the summer camp.

Today, Jo directs her own riding school, H&W Riding, at the Hoofs and Woofs Animal Rescue Ranch, a nonprofit rescue center for horses, cats, and dogs. Amid lush vegetation and rolling hills, Jo conducts lessons and camps with the ranch's four lesson horses: Ranger, Charlie, Tonka, and Lil' Dude.

Having spent her early years on an alfalfa ranch, Sabrina Fortyune of Vineyard Trail Rides has spent most of her life around livestock, and developed a special appreciation for horses at a young age. That equine enthusiasm never abated, and today she can look back on a three-decade career as a professional horse trainer and competitor, working with breeds ranging from arabians to quarter horses. Riders in search of a relaxing jaunt can head out into the surrounding countryside on a trail ride among oak trees and ponds more peaceful than the ocean during a shark conference.