A Pacific Cruise : Avenida del Mar stroll takes in oxtail, ocean views and dining at San Clemente pier.

For a pleasant day at San Clemente, start at one end of Avenida del Mar and end at the other. The street is the old heart of the town, and it offers great ocean views.

LUNCH 1

The menu at Ja Grill includes a “chat Jamaican” glossary. Among useful words and phrases listed are irie, as in “It irie,” meaning “It’s OK” or “It’s first class,” which one could say about Ja Grill’s food. On the ceiling of the modest room are posters of Bob Marley and island destinations.

More important, you might ask, “What dey pon di menu (What’s on the menu)?” Lunch fare includes Ja Wrap Up Chicken (jerk chicken in a tortilla, $5.50), escovietched fish (red snapper pan-fried, then sauteed with herbs and spices, $7.50) and ackee and salt fish, the Jamaican national dish involving cured cod ($9.50). Among other possibilities are curry goat ($8.50) and oxtail ($9.50). It all goes down well with Red Stripe Jamaican Lager.

EARLY AFTERNOON 2 3 4 5

Best of Britain carries . . . guess what? But besides the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh merchandise, the shop offers Mexican ceramics and a book on “French Tea.” Despite decades of residence here, owner Pauline Duck remains a British citizen.

Stanford Court, an antiques and decorative-arts center across the street, expanded recently, all the more to drool over. There are more antique stores on Avenida del Mar south of Ola Vista; they include San Clemente Antiques, which specializes in European Art Deco items, and Penny n’ Sue’s.

The Paradise can provide a midshopping respite, most notably in the form of fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate, but also espresso drinks, Italian-style ice cream, fresh-baked cookies and both G- and X-rated chocolates.

You can resume shopping down the block at the Clothing Exchange, where one sign reads “Buy-Sell-Trade”; another cautions that all sales are final: “No refund, no exchange.”

On Sundays, vendors of all kinds line the avenue’s sidewalks for a farmers market.

MIDAFTERNOON 6

For those on foot, the walk from town to the pier is an easy downhill jaunt (which means an uphill slog for a few blocks on the way back).

The pier itself is not among the shorter municipal projects. And be warned: A sign stipulates “No bikes, dogs or undersized fish.” You can watch surfers negotiate waves from almost directly above their point of takeoff.

Take a swimsuit, sunscreen, towel and maybe a good book and spend the rest of the day relaxing at the beach. Ever notice all the different shapes people come in? Every so often, you can count the number of rail cars as the Amtrak goes by.

LATE AFTERNOON 7

The pier-side view of the coast from the Fisherman’s Bar and Oyster Bar is spectacular. Its Sunset Hour (4-7 p.m. Monday-Friday) features $2 food specials and bargains on tropical cocktails named for local surf spots such as Trestles, T Street and Cottons ($2.75, otherwise $4.25).

The Cottons is made with Myer’s rum, triple sec, pineapple and orange juice, and 151 rum; according to the menu, “Nixon would have loved it!” (Former President Richard Nixon’s Western White House was at San Clemente’s Casa Pacifica.)

Appetizers any time include a sourdough loaf ($1.50), chowder ($3.25) and a bucket of clams ($7.25).

Among desserts, a slice ($3.50) of mud pie or peanut butter pie is enough to feed four.

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1. Ja Grill

129 Avenida del Mar, (714) 492-2500.

11:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Sunday.

2. Best of Britain

127 Avenida del Mar, (714) 361-0631.

10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

3. Stanford Court

106 Avenida del Mar, (714) 366-6290.

10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.

4. The Paradise

114 Avenida del Mar, (714) 498-5535.

9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

5. Clothing Exchange

174 Avenida del Mar, (714) 366-2777.

10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday.

6. San Clemente Pier

End of Avenida del Mar, (714) 361-8219.

4 a.m.-midnight.

7. Fisherman’s Bar and Oyster Bar

611 Avenida Victoria, (714) 498-6390.

11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-1 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday.

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Bus: OCTA Bus No. 91 runs along Avenida del Mar with stops at El Camino Real and San Clemente Pier.

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Parking: There is street parking on and next to Avenida del Mar and paid parking in a lot next to the San Clemente Pier.