Day 4
This day was super hot. For me to say that means it was a true scorcher! The kind of day that leaves you sweaty just standing there. The sun was strong, and the concrete was smoking hot. In other words, my favorite kind of weather!
This day was August 19! We were celebrating our first date anniversary, and decided to replay it with a coffee date, like that we went on in 1996. Just in a different city, an almost seventeen year marriage, a mortgage, and two kids under our belt. 🙂
My husband took us to Verve in downtown LA. This place was pretty swanky in an interesting part of town. It looked like an up and coming area; reinvented for the hipsters. The coffee was great, and our pastries were pretty good, too. We enjoyed all the folks hanging out there with their dogs, and even got to watch a fashion shoot across the street.
As soon as we finished breakfast, we swept up the girls to head to our first destination along the way to Laguna Beach. An art installation in the city of Watts, The Watts Towers. This is a place my husband and I never got a chance to see on our last trip to LA so we made sure we squeezed it in on this trip. So glad we did! What an awe-inspiring sight!
The installation is currently under renovations but there is so much of it still exposed to see. It is so large, I wasn’t expecting how big it was. The intricacy of the spires and decorations left me with so many questions. Especially where it is, in the middle of a neighborhood. The story behind these towers is simple yet complex. The simple side of it is that they were created from steel and mortar, adorned with various items like shells, glass, porcelain, anything really, created all by just one guy. One! A small Italian immigrant man, Simon Rodia, who lived in this spot in Watts. One day he had an epiphany to start building a large structure for people to visit, so he did. The plot of land changed hands many times after he was older; first selling it to his neighbor. His house inside even burned down, but now the structures belong to the city as an artistic treasure. Which it is. A definite must see!
From Watts we started on our path to Laguna. We decided to change-up the map to ride along the Pacific Coast as much as possible. This ride was amazing! We got to see Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and tons of coastal state parks. Along the way, around Corona del Mar, we happened upon our favorite candy shop of all time, See’s Candies. So, of course, we had to go in to get a ton of chocolates. The folks inside gave us so many samples to try that I swear I gained five lbs during this stop! I know, I could’ve said no, but it’s See’s Candies! C’mon! We bought a good-sized box of our favorites to share before we got to our hotel, but we didn’t even put a dent in it.
Laguna Beach, guys, is the coolest place. After driving down oceanside Highway 1 through their center, which was filled with art galleries and shops, we arrived to our hotel, the Pacific Edge. We were just blown away. We had booked a room in the ocean front building, ocean facing, and it was way more than we could have expected from its website. Standing on our balcony, the view was literally an oceanic postcard. The soothing sounds of the waves was something dreams are made of… My gosh it was truly dreamy.
Our stop in Laguna was not just to hit the upscale beach, it was my husband’s birthday the next day. We planned a beachy birthday to celebrate. Doing whatever he wanted to do, which was relax a lot and go out to eat. It was a great idea after being in LA and what was coming up after this. The only odd thing about this beach was that it wasn’t a very large span of beach from the edge of the buildings to the surf. Though the surf was the best my kids played in because the waves were huge; the ocean was so active! We spent a good long time on the beach before heading out to dinner.
We took a few looks around the center for a fun place to eat. We had done a little research beforehand so we knew we wanted to go to one of two places. We checked on their wait times, and opted for Tortilla Republic. SO MUCH GOOD! The salsas were delicious, not spicy, just delicious. The kids got the kids enchiladas. My husband got the carnitas, and I got the chicken enchiladas. Everything was so good, but that dish of carnitas might have been the best carnitas we have had in a long time. The drinks were pretty great, too. We got a few cocktails; top shelf margarita, a luxe margarita, a pineapple mojito and a cerveza.
I left there so full, but of course, this crew wanted an ice cream. Luckily, we had seen a gelateria a few doors down. We walked over and the line was out alley way of the building! I honestly did not have even a taste, but the ice cream looked amazing. They had signs everywhere stating it was authentic gelato, and there was a swarm of people waiting. It had to be good, right? The consensus from my family? That it was amazing! So glad!
After this we took a walk to grab some snacks and wine for the next day to have in our room. Checked out some windows of the art galleries as we headed back to the hotel. We got to our room feeling so relaxed and happy. Such a great feeling. My husband and I hung out on the balcony for a little bit. Listening to the waves crash as the moon lit the ripples of the ocean. Seriously, it was so beautiful it seemed fake!
Day 5 coming up with the best lazy beach day ever and the big man’s birthday!
Valeria Out Loud 