Hey Everyone!
Ahh Day 5!
We had planned day five as our first full day of doing nothing. No driving. No sightseeing. Just beach bumming all day long and eating! It was my husband’s birthday, and we let him choose the itinerary. We definitely needed to have a beach day together.
I woke up the earliest; set all the birthday decorations up as quietly as possible. Which means, I fumbled everywhere but was quiet enough that no one heard me. 🙂 I’m clumsy. Then I snuck out of the room to the balcony to let everyone wake up on their own. The morning started off grey, though we were assured by the front desk crew from the night before that the sun would make its way through by mid-morning. I heard my husband wake up then the two chickens followed. They were rambunctious, shouting birthday salutations. They were so excited to see the decorations; it was a sweet way to make our favorite man in our lives feel special, and a great start to our day together.
We grabbed breakfast at the Orange Inn next door to eat on the deck outside of our hotel building. Our hotel had a super cute area set up with decking and flowers/succulents with glass fire tables and big comfy seats. This was a great way to start the day! hahah
As we were eating the sun came out! Ahh, the glorious Southern California sun. It is cheerful, bright and HOT! Woah, Mamma, it’s hot! And I loved it! Definitely have to say that I could move to So Cal, if I was a millionaire that is, and be extremely happy with the weather. Everywhere we went the locals would share how it didn’t rain much or how it was always sunny. I felt like they were all trying to send me a message of not leaving. :)~ But alas, my kids are too little. I am way too poor, and I will just have to deal with the Atlantic Ocean maybe two months out of twelve. hahah
We spent all day at the beach. The kids really enjoyed the active surf there. Or I should say getting thrashed by the waves. Some waves rolled in at 15 feet! Super awesome. We had access to boogie boards from the hotel, which we figured would make it a little bit easier to maneuver the waves, but not really. Everyone had more fun jumping the waves, getting carried to the sand, than anything else. We got lounge chairs on the furthest point to the right of the hotel, which was perfect. A nice family sat near us, who were very friendly and we shared a lot of stories. Our room was so close that we didn’t need a cooler, just ran up for a new drink whenever we needed one. Which gave us a moment to cool off too.
It was a perfect day. 🙂
After being at the beach for five hours, we hit up the hot tub and pool area for an hour or so before our dinner reservations. This pool space isn’t that great, I mean, you are on the beach literally from the other side of the wall so the pool doesn’t have to be all that great! Though the hot tub was HUGE! The kids ended up having a great time swimming as they were the only ones for most of our time there. I had fun too. That hot tub was so hot, that I think it melted the salt off my skin way easier.
I am not sure what anyone else’s experience is with the Pacific Ocean swimming, but I have only swam in it twice in my life… Costa Rica and this trip. In Costa Rica, I didn’t think the water felt different. It was refreshing, yet warm. Just perfect. Not that it isn’t in California, it’s that just walking through Venice Beach a few days earlier (we had walked along the shore and let the kids splash around), the salt from the water was visible and a nuisance on my skin. Also here in Laguna, I felt that the water was overall saltier than normal. Like it left a film of salt on your skin that you could feel, grainy, that had to be scrubbed off. Anyone else?
We got ready for my husband’s birthday dinner out! I had made reservations for the Driftwood Kitchen months in advance. The restaurant was beautiful. A nautical theme as you walk in, which gives way to a bar that overlooks the dining room. The dining room is a beautiful glassed in deck along the ocean. The location was perfect, too; two minutes from our hotel room door! We started off with drinks and roasted Brussels Sprouts. Yes, that is my favorite food. Yes, I know it was his birthday not mine, but he ate most of them! Then he got the lobster spaghetti a la carbonara. I ordered the grilled chicken. Our oldest the butternut squash gnocchi and our youngest the chicken and fries. Then we surprised him with cake. Everything was very good. We had a great night on the closed in deck with the sunset. My husband was very happy with everything, all day. That is all I could ever ask for.
Oh, one thing.. We had sat next to a table of older folks, who were like ten years older than us or so. No kids, just four sun burned adults. They were tipsy, loud, but super funny about it. They were singing some 80s songs throughout the night, between themselves and what not, not for the restaurant or anything. BUT, because I am way too friendly, I talked to them on our way out. We had a great time talking then I made a reference to the singing. Well, then I made a request randomly for Toto’s Africa, and one of the guys actually sang it for me!! And he was great! So awesome. I never laughed so hard with a stranger.
Overall, I would say this was a fantastic day with beaching, good food and laughter. Our kids had a great time talking about all their favorite parts of our trip so far…but the best was yet to come!
Day 6 is up next..our drive from Laguna Beach to Anaheim, with two truly amazing stops along the way!
Valeria Out Loud 