So on Friday, I was so excited that I was going to have 4 days off of work. 4 days!! Monday being Memorial Day and Tuesday being an extra day off to "save money" for the company. I have plenty of paid time off so I was happy to take the extra day off. However....friday at work all of a sudden I got a sore throat. No way! Seriously, I just got over a 3 week cold. This cannot be. Well I woke up Saturday morning and it was definitely a cold. Not cute. So I spent all weekend (and most of Monday) sleeping off this rude cold.
Today (Tuesday), I decided I'd had enough of my house and bed so I decided to venture out on a drive. I live in Orange County. Besides the hiking posts, I don't think I've done anything on Orange County yet.
Being that it was such a beautiful day, I decided to do some of the beaches. I started at the nearest beach to where I live which is Laguna Beach. It was still a little cloudy but still nice.
Heading North on Pacific Coast Highway, the next stop is Crystal Cove State Park.
A must stop is the Shake Shack! Located on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It's on the left (if you are driving north on PCH) right before Crystal Cove State Park.
This is the historic district of Crystal Cove. They are currently renovating some of the cottages within this district. You can rent one of the updated cottages per night. Right on the water. Amazing views and some movie history as you'll see a few pictures down. http://www.crystalcovebeachcottages.org/
Does this view look familiar? Check out the cottage on the left.
Up close. Well, it may not look like much now. But this was the cottage used in the movie Beaches! Seriously! I know, it's not so cute now but still pretty cool. And who knew it was located in Orange County! I believe this is one of the areas that will be restored once more funds are available. Hopefully they restore it to it's old movie star days!
**They also filmed scenes for the movie at the Balboa Fun Zone! Balboa Fun Zone is a waterfront amusement park located on Balboa Peninsula.
Next stop is Corona Del Mar. Located in between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. Mainly residential with amazing houses and amazing views. From PCH, take a left on Poppy Ave. This dead ends at a beutiful view. Make a right at the dead end onto Ocean Blvd. State Beach is on the left. Tons of celebrities live in this area. I didn't want to be a stalker so I didn't take pictures of the amazing houses around this view. But stop by and you will see. :-)
Wow!
Check out the top floor of this house! I wonder what it looks like from the water!
Last stop of the day was Balboa Island. Continue going North on PCH. Make a left on Jamboree Road which turns into Marine Ave. Marine Ave. is the main street of Balboa Island. Very cute little beach town. Quaint restaurants and beachy shops surrounded by cute (million dollar) houses. Lots of people drive golf carts around since parking can be tight and not plentiful.
A MUST have while on Balboa Island: A Frozen Banana or a Balboa Bar! Yummo!
This path surrounds Balboa Island making a really nice walk!
This path surrounds Balboa Island making a really nice walk!
From Balboa Island, you can take the ferry (by car or walk on) over to Balboa Peninsula where you can access Balboa Pier/Beach and Newport Pier/Beach. Also on Balboa Peninsula is the Balboa Fun Zone which is a boardwalk/waterfront amusement area.
There is also another way to get to Balboa Peninsula without taking the ferry. From PCH continue going north and make a left on Newport Blvd and merge onto Balboa Blvd.
Normally, I would continue driving North to Huntington Beach which is a few miles north of Newport Beach but I didn't have time since I got a late start. Most people would probably start in Huntington Beach and go south to Laguna. But since I live south, I went backwards! Huntington Beach is a fun busy beach. If you make a right on Main Street, that is the central hub. Tons of restaurants, bars and beachy shops. On the beach you can rent beach cruiser bikes. When I lived in Huntington, I used to ride my beach cruiser from Huntington to Newport. It's a nice fairly flat ride. My favorite part of living in HB was utilizing my beach cruiser! If you live in HB you must own one! :-) Huntington is great for people watching too. Crazies!!
So if you are in Orange County, you must check out the beaches. Even if you just do a drive by. Have a nice casual Southern California day!
**Check out Newport Harbor Tours to see where your favorite celebrities live and hang out. Some celebrities you will hear about are: John Wayne, Dennis Rodman, Dean Koontz, Jean Claude Van Damme, Michelle Pfeiffer, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Shirley Temple, Bette Midler and more! Check out their website! www.seeing-stars.com/live/newportbeach.shtml
Movies to See:
Beaches of course!!! ha ha.
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4 comments:
ha ha I took pictures of those ridiculous houses so you can call me a stalker! But seriously, did you see the one with the slide that starts from inside the house and goes to the pool? Who lives like this????
ha ha I took pictures of those ridiculous houses so I guess you can call me a stalker! But seriously, did you see the one with the slide that starts from the 3rd story of inside the house and goes to the pool? Who lives like this???
Ok so maybe I have taken some pictures of those houses....haha. Just not this time. Is the one you're talking about the Spanish one that takes up the whole corner? OMG ridiculous. Isn't that where Tiger's is too?
I guess you can call me a stalker!
beach bikes
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