I had nearly finished planning our epic summer vacation through Oregon and California (hitting Redwoods, a lighthouse, San Fran, and Disney) when I realized that we couldn’t go across the country and not swim in the ocean!! So, I added two more days on to our trip to hit a beach near Los Angeles before our reservations at Disneyland.
As is my nature, I did A LOT of research to see what beach area may be best for us, and ultimately I decided on Laguna Beach. I got the impression that this area – a former artists’ colony – would be more relaxed and casual. I am definitely more comfortable in an “offbeat” atmosphere over anything “glam.”
So I am happy to report that we had an amazing and relaxing time at beautiful Laguna Beach and would definitely go back. It also hosted a very special reunion for me!
First of all, to visit Laguna we flew into Santa Ana John Wayne airport (SNA). Although we drove from Oregon to San Fran we decided in the interest of time to fly from San Fran to LA area. SNA is much less crowded and stressful than LAX and if you can get a flight in there instead I recommend it.
Where we stayed:
In Laguna Beach we stayed at The Tides. The staff was super friendly and it felt really “homey.” I love these kinds of places. It was charming and clean. Our room even had a kitchenette. And the salt water pool was really nice with a BBQ area, a bar area, and outside fireplace. As for location, that was awesome as well, being about 2 blocks from the beach and close to several restaurants and a grocery store. Please use this link to their website to check out photos and prices because I was too busy enjoying it all to take many photos here!!!
Also, this place will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the setting for a special reunion. One of my friends from my hometown has lived in California for 20+ years. When I was going to be near her on vacation, I asked if she wanted to meet us and she said YES! I had not seen her in 20 years!!! Well then my other good friend who lives in Memphis got a bit jealous of this reunion and wanted to fly out as well. So when friend #2 confirmed her trip, we decided to keep it a surprise. To put our surprise plan in action, friend #1 and I are sitting and relaxing at the Tides pool when friend #2 comes strolling up. I couldn’t even look that direction as I knew I would lose it. It ranks up there with coolest surprises of my life to have been a part of this. How often as an adult to you genuinely get to surprise another adult in a good way??!! The three of us had not been together for more than 20 years!!!
Where we ate:
The restaurant I most want to recommend from Laguna Beach is Lumberyard. As usual on vacation dinners, we ordered a feast all around, and everything was good. Also, we had kids with us and somehow this place – with live music – worked for everyone and we felt like it was a fun adult outing as well as OK for kids. As we parents know it is not always the case to have all of this together with good food!!
I wish I had more to say about Laguna Beach, but we just did beach and pool time here (plus the fun reunion!!) and I didn’t plan or seek out additional activities, which was nice since much of our vacation was jammed packed with plans. Watching my kids in the Pacific for the first time was just amazing, even with the seaweed and rough waves (we are used to Lake Michigan!!) and I am happy to have found a home away from home at the Tides for when we return to Laguna Beach someday.
Next Post: Disneyland!!!