Things To Do In Vista

Each arena at The Paintball Park brings in fresh equipment every season to keep paintballers on their toes. Barricades, bunkers, trenches, and tall trees provide ample cover for firing off shots at opponents, ducking from overhead fire, or meeting to discuss how to get the pizza-delivery man into the fortress unharmed. Games of elimination battles give players a chance to take out the other team while sprinting between the wreckage of tanks and helicopters.

Each of the Paintball Park's paintball fields has a distinct feel. Running beneath dinosaur sculptures lends to a carefree sensation, and trying to find an entrance in endless, gray castle walls evokes the sense that one is an ancient warrior who left his keys somewhere.

As riders grip their boards and plunge into wavy planes, they’re almost certain to coast past the open jaws of a shark—but they won’t get bitten. The shark’s toothy sneer is part of a mural painted on one of the custom ramps in the Aura Skateboarding, which is one of the newest indoor skateparks in the country. Designed and built by Jim Bell, the competition-style street course sprawls within a private indoor skate park that hosts skaters, BMX bikers, and wheeled-suitcase riders. Visitors can drop in with single-day passes or secure monthly or annual memberships that include discounts on daily skate sessions, camps, demos, concerts, and contests. Accompanying family members can pass the time in the lounge area with pool, board games, and toys or relax on comfy furniture as they surf the free WiFi.

Praised by 92064 Magazine, creator Ben Hansen and his six-member company show the many musical uses of household items and junk with Street Beat: A Theatrical Drum and Dance Show. The players transform trash cans into percussive instruments and pay a chorus of vacuum cleaners to sing "Oye Como Va," helping them churn out a jazzy fusion of African, Cuban, and Latin beats. Hip-hop moves and breakdance acrobatics accompany the musical barrage, making for a stomping jubilee for the senses. The show also beats down the fourth wall and does the worm on it by beseeching participation from the all-ages audience, who are encouraged to protect themselves by wearing shoulder pads made out of xylophones.

In the middle of The Wave Waterpark, people lie upon colorful rafts that float gently down the lazy river. It’s a serene way to soak up some rays and keep cool. But in the center of the lazy river, separated by raised concrete and a foot bridge, an adventure awaits: the Flow Rider. This simulated surfable ocean wave dares visitors to try and hang ten without falling off their boards into the safe, if rollicking waters.

These two attractions represent the broad spectrum of activity at The Wave, a family-friendly destination equally suited to mild-mannered relaxation, adventurous fun, or something in between. Other rides include a tangle of waterslides, such as the Slam Dunk, an enclosed-tunnel body slide with plenty of twists, and Rippity’s Rainforest, a kid-friendly playground gushing with fountains and waterfalls.

From April to September, lifeguards teach swim lessons in the park’s competition pool for kids as young as 6 months, as well as adults. The Wave is also an ideal spot for birthday parties, with rental cabanas that can fit as many as 30 people or one enormous birthday clown, and a Surf Spot Grill that refuels revelers with burgers, burritos, and pizza.

The idea for California Fruit Wine was hatched in 2009, when a friend of Alan and Brian Haghighi introduced the twin brothers to small batches of homemade fruit wine. Since those first sips, Alan and Brian have continued to help wine drinkers break free from grape-based conventions, utilizing such fruit as pomegranates, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and pumpkins as the foundation for an ever-growing arsenal of flavors. The winery fills glasses with unique bouquets, and—like the microbreweries throughout Vista Business Park—buys its ingredients from vendors up and down the west coast rather than growing them or stealing them from the refrigerators of napping bears. California Fruit Wine's spacious facility, which is stocked with a stage, bar, and pool table, can also be rented out for parties and private events.