NORTH COUNTY -- Thousands of protesters gathered in Oceanside and Escondido on Wednesday to protest increased taxes and government spending.

The largest of the North County demonstrations was in Oceanside, where people carrying anti-tax signs filled the Civic Center Plaza and nearby streets. After some brief speeches, the crowd moved down Pier View Way to the beach lining the entire length with people.

"I'm here because I'm fed up with the lies," said Charlotte Dunnigan, a mother of four children from Oceanside.

At the beach near the Oceanside Pier, protesters emptied bags filled with sand, which symbolized the tea of the Boston Tea Party held in 1773.

In Escondido, a crowd estimated by police at 500 stretched along North Escondido Boulevard from Woodward Avenue to near West Valley Parkway. Protesters carried signs that read, "Socialism Not the Change We Need" and "Don't Tax Us, Bro."

The events were organized by anti-tax organizations, such as the North County-based Stop Taxing Us group and local GOP clubs.

Another vocal, sign-carrying crowd estimated at thousands gathered at Temecula's Duck Pond at the corner of Ynez and Rancho California roads.

Organizers said "Tax Day Tea Party" events were planned in about 2,000 cities nationwide.

The national Tea Party events -- fueled by conservative commentators and on the Internet through social networking Web sites -- were held to protest the Obama administration's economic stimulus package and budget proposal.

Organizers said the administration's budget will lead to record deficits, higher taxes and slower economic growth.

Opponents of the Tea Party events said Obama's policies would only raise taxes on the richest Americans, while giving tax breaks to the middle class. They also point out that the record national deficits began under the Republican-led Bush administration.

Local organizers also took aim at Proposition 1A, a measure on the May 19 special election that would impose a state spending cap in exchange for extending the sales, income and vehicle license taxes recently raised by state lawmakers.

Earlier in the day, about 50 people gathered in front of a Valley Parkway post office in Escondido as residents scrambled to mail their tax returns to meet Wednesday's filing deadline.

Escondido resident John Bulat said he was protesting "uncontrolled spending with no accountability."

"And it's not just Obama, it's the other guy, too," Bulat said, referring to the fiscal and monetary policies of President Barack Obama and former President George Bush.

Mimi Gerjets of San Marcos said taxes are just one of the ways government is excessively involved in the lives of citizens.

"Some of us have to work this much of the year just to be able to pay our taxes," she said.

Many of the signs protesters carried targeted the president, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco. But the criticism from protesters was also aimed at politicians and government in general.

"Our representatives are doing what they want and not what we want," said Rocky Kuonen, 64, of San Marcos, who was carrying a sign that read, "Obama is as phony as a $3 bill."

At the southern end of Temecula's Duck Pond, political leaders, including Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone, gave speeches to call attention to examples of government waste and to urge defeat of Prop. 1A.

Rick Reiss, one of the organizers of the Temecula event, wore a President Obama zombie mask. Reiss smiled as he looked at the masses gathered at the park and crowds packed at the corners of Rancho California and Ynez roads.

"I'm just blown away by this thing," he said, adding that he expected maybe a couple of hundred people would attend the rally.

The protests in North County were largely peaceful.

Escondido police Sgt. Doug Sams said protesters slowed traffic and created a spectacle, but otherwise caused no problems.

Oceanside police Sgt. Walter McWilson said that the protest involving an estimated 2,000 people at the city's Civic Center downtown went, "very well."

The only trouble reported by police was a 26-year-old troubadour who jumped into the Oceanside Civic Center fountain with a small acoustic guitar.

The man, whose name was not available Wednesday, was arrested for violating a city code that prohibits wading or swimming in a public fountain, Mc Wilson said.

"From what I understand, a friend told him about the event," McWilson said. "He went down to check it out, and once he was there he figured it was a nice opportunity to gain a little attention for himself."

Staff writers Colleen Mensching, Aaron Claverie and Sarah Gordon and wire reports contributed to this story.

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.