Get Out Weekend Planner

The great outdoors beckons in Camp Pendleton and beyond from May 12 to 18.

Take your favorite four-legged mate on a cruise, bask in the sun while enjoying free barbecue or enjoy jazz by the moonlight. Or if that all sounds too laid back, there's always the Encinitas Sports Festival. Bike, run, swim, or, hey, do all three in a triathlon. Why not?

By the way, we know this is called “Get Out,” but there's one event on the list you don't have to leave home to be part of. Just a little curveball for a nice May weekend.

CLOSE TO HOME

• Where/when: Building 20845 Vandegrift Blvd., Camp Pendleton, 10 a.m. Friday.

• Why go: Giveaways and activities are all part of the Family Fun Festival, which will include an appearance and book signing by author Allison Sweeney of NBC's Days of Our Lives and Biggest Loser.

• Price: Free.

TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF FELLOWS

• Where/when: Country Store, MCB, Camp Pendleton, 11:30 a.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Tuesday.

• Why go: Celebrity author —he of Monster Garage fame and Sandra Bullock infamy—will appear Friday, while  will stop by to discuss  It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace. After a stint in Iraq, Barcott co-founded an international aid group.

• Price: Free, but must purchase book for signing.

• Where/when: Your house, Oceanside, Saturday.

• Why go: No, we're not showing up unannounced. But when your postal carrier comes around on Saturday, he or she will be prepared to do you a favor: If you want to hand in some extra cans or boxes of food that won't spoil, leave them for the carrier. As part of Stamp Out Hunger day, the items will be distributed to local food banks and pantries.

• Price: Free.

• Where/when: Moonlight Amphitheatre, 1200 Vale Terrace Dr., Vista, 5 p.m. Saturday.

• Why go: The Moonlight Jazz Festival benefits programs at the Mottino YMCA in Oceanside. Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band performs, along with local high school jazz groups.

• Price: $20-$25.

• Where/when: , 330 N. Coast Hwy., Oceanside, 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

• Why go: Locos por Juana performs. The Grammy nominees mix rock and hip-hop with cumbia, champeta and salsa, with some reggae and ska thrown in for good measure.

• Price: $15.

• Where/when: MiraCosta College, 1 Barnard Dr., Oceanside, 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

• Why go: Enjoy a program of Handel and Brahms as the San Diego Master Chorale nears the end of its 50th anniversary season.

• Price: $20.

BEST BETS, A LITTLE FARTHER OUT

• Where/when: , 400 B St., Encinitas and MiraCosta College's San Elijo campus, 3333 Manchester Ave., Cardiff, Saturday and Sunday.

• Why go: If a triathlon, walk/run and bicycle tour are your idea of fun events to go to—for some of us it's exhausting just typing those words together—try the Encinitas Sports Festival, which features all three in one weekend.

• Price: Entry fees vary.

• Where/when: Hornblower Cruises, 1066 N Harbor Dr., San Diego, 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

• Why go: Does your pooch like to stick his head out the car window and feel the breeze in his fur? Then he just might love taking a cruise for “Pet Day on the Bay,” a fundraiser for the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe. Tours also leave at noon and 1:30 p.m.

• Price: $10-$20, pets free.

• Where/when: Kit Carson Park, 333 Bear Valley Pkwy., Escondido, 11 a.m. Saturday.

• Why go: The Escondido East Rotary Club hosts a Military Appreciation Barbecue, including games, raffles and live music. 

• Price: $5-$10; free for active military and dependents.

• Where/when: Ski Beach, Mission Bay, Ingraham Street and Vacation Road, San Diego, 7 a.m. Sunday.

• Why go: Celebrate Israel's Independence Day with a fundraising walk/run and bicycle ride, followed by a fair featuring performances and a chance to win a trip to the Holy Land. 

• Price: Free.