Laguna Beach

We just spent a very enjoyable week in Laguna Beach, which is about an hour south of Los Angeles. I used to come here on surf and dive trips with some of my high school buddies many years ago and, remembering how pretty it was, decided to show Rita this stretch of Mediterranean-style California coastline. As you can see from the photos above & below it really is a world away from LA. Didn't hurt that the weather cooperated too...lots of sunshine for the holiday weekend.


On the cliff walk looking back up towards our rental villa



A view of the main beach at Laguna at the height of the holiday crush. It's not intimate but boy is it pretty on a sunny day.

We drove up to Disneyland the day after we arrived...about a 25 minute drive away, hoping to beat the crowds by going mid-week before the LA schools let out for the summer. Well, we almost timed it right. Wasn't too bad in the morning but it got really crowded by the time we bailed around 5 PM (it was open till 9 that night). It was a fun day, but the admission price of $72 a pop means we probably won't be going back any time soon. I can't imagine how a young family with a couple of kids can afford the place.

We were able to get together with a couple of old high school friends of mine and their wives - Frank and Maureen Davis and Dan and Joanne Ashbrook. I go back a long way with these two, and we spent very enjoyable evenings with each...relaxing, getting re-acquainted and generally enjoying each others company.

On Monday Dan's son John hosted all of us for a short cruise around Huntington Harbor to see how the rich folks live. The photo below is a glimpse of the expensive boats and homes that line the waterway.




On our last day we walked around the harbor at Dana Point...another pretty area just south of Laguna and just north of Doheny...names that our surfer sons should recognize quite well. Dana Point is named for Richard Henry Dana, who came here in 1835 and who later wrote about his experiences (and the area) in his book Two Years Before The Mast. Saw this little schooner beating back into the harbor to its berth at the local Maritime Museum and got a quick photo.




Later we drove a couple of miles inland and revisited the little town of San Juan Capistrano. Didn't go to the mission this time, but wandered around the old city which is historic in its own right. The "Los Rios" historic district down by the railroad station was a relaxing place to meander, so that's just what we did for a couple of hours. Many of the well-known California cities trace their origins to one of the missions that the Spanish established back in the 18th century. Pueblos grew up around them, and later cities. San Juan Capistrano is pretty typical in that regard. Only difference is that it retains its small-town, colonial charm while some of the larger cities have swallowed up most of the original settlement. Some have been preserved - Old Town San Diego comes to mind - but others have been sacrificed to progress and development.




The Rios adobe - the oldest continuously occupied home in California. Built in 1784, the current occupant represents the 10th generation of the same family to live here.

Leaving today for a drive up the coast to San Simeon...planning to visit Hearst Castle tomorrow.