Laguna Beach

We met up with a friend of a friend (who we actually knew from North Carolina! Small world) in Laguna Beach for breakfast. A colleague had suggested a park that was right on the beach there, only a minute before our friend suggested the breakfast spot about 100 yards away. So we had to go.

The drive down was very scenic, as we had to drive through some mini-mountains to get there. We started getting the hint that this was an artsy town from the numerous art schools, and galleries and shops we passed. We also passed two different County parks (where we can use our annual pass!) that looked like they hiked through the pretty hills, so consider this Part I of at least two posts about Laguna Beach!

The playground equipment itself wasn't anything crazy unique. There was one infant swing and one regular kid swing. The structure did have a neat couple of tunnels and bridges, a couple of lookout spots, and our little guy's favorite: a steering wheel. Oh, and the soft landing below was sand. Next time we'll bring buckets, but we did find a shovel someone had left behind and M had fun making little anthills everywhere.

When we first arrived the day was overcast and even a little sprinkly, so the equipment had some small puddles on it, but nothing that was a game stopper. When we returned after breakfast, the sun was out and all traces of water were gone, and the place was hopping. Lots of kids playing and parents chatting, in addition to the people walking dogs, playing volleyball and strolling in the surf. Nearly everyone had a cup of coffee from one of the local cafes (there is a Starbucks across the street, too).

For breakfast we headed to the Cliff. The view of the beach and cliffs were great, and there was a glass screen to keep out the breeze. The omelets were really tasty (don't forget the back of the menu - we almost did). This is a relaxed atmosphere and at 9AM on a Saturday in February we among only a couple of occupied tables, so no worries with the toddler.

Quite a pleasant day! And we'll be back to check out the artsy shopping and food downtown, and the trails I mentioned above. AND hubby got us tickets to the Pageant of the Masters for Valentine's Day, so we'll be back this summer!

 

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