Saturday, June 19, 2021
I woke up early in the morning to shop at the nearby Farmers' Market (next
to our Fire Station). Inna and I walked over and examined all the stands. We
purchased German Rye Bread, pre-sliced Sourdough bread, Grapefruits,
Tomatoes, Burrata cheese, tzatziki, blueberries, strawberries, and
raspberries.
Finished with shopping, Inna and I walked to Heisler Park and stopped for
breakfast at Moulin Bakery on the way back home. We ordered the following items:
- Boris: Pain au Raisins, Mocha
- Inna: Apple Turnover, Latte
- Alex: Croissanwich, Mocha
It was busy on Saturday, and we had difficulty finding a free table.
Eventually, Inna found one, and we sat down for our breakfast.
After breakfast, we drove to San Clemente, dropping Alex off at Trestles so that he could surf there. Alex planned to surf for two hours, so
we planned to pick him up at 3:15 p.m. While he was surfing at Trestles
(Uppers), Inna and I were enjoying the beach at San Clemente.
Inna encouraged me to surf there, and I managed to surf for 30 minutes on my
Wavestorm 7' board. I even caught 3 nice waves.
After we picked up Alex at Trestles (San Onofre Parking Lot), we decided to
try eating lunch in a new restaurant. Inna found a highly rated Maison Cafe in Dana Point, and we drove 15 minutes there (instead of our usual
Nomad's Canteen).
When we arrived, we asked to be seated outside and ordered the following
items:
- Appetizer: Rillettes (Salmon, Capers) with 4 toasts
- Boris: Cavatelli pasta with homemade sausage, Honey Basil Lemonade
- Inna: Duck Confit, Honey Basil Lemonade
- Alex: Tagliata (Steak, medium rare), Honey Basil Lemonade
- Dessert: The Cookie, Mousse
The dishes were simply outstanding! I liked my freshly made Cavatelli pasta with sausage, and Alex raved about his Tagliata steak.
The desserts were also fabulous. We definitely need to return!
Inna planned a dinner later in the evening, but we were too full to eat
anything after Maison Cafe.
We did enjoy another walk on the beach and to Heisler Park to view the
gorgeous sunset.
While at Heisler Park, we observed a few surfers catching the last remaining
waves after sunset.
Sunday, June 20, 2021
Happy Father's Day!
In the morning, at around 8:00 a.m., Alex surprised me with a few freshly
baked pastries from Moulin Bakery, including Pain aux Raisins and Apple Turnover, in addition to Chocolate Hazelnut Tart, Tarte Tatin (apple), and Hazelnut Choux.
After drinking green tea with pastries, Inna surprised me with new,
comfortable sneakers.
After breakfast, we decided to drive to San Clemente so Alex could surf
at Trestles. We
arrived at the San Onofre Parking lot at around 10:00 a.m., where we dropped
off Alex. We returned to San Clemente Pier, where we quickly parked our car
and brought our chairs to the beach.
At first, we toured the San Clemente Pier, observing all of the fishermen and
the large crowds of people waiting in line for breakfast. We continued toward
the end of the pier, watching many fishermen and surfers in the distance.
Many large waves crashed against the pier, but very few surfers could ride the
waves as they were all close-outs.
We decided to get some coffee and walked across the street to
Caterina's Gelato. I ordered a mocha, and Inna ordered a latte. We sat
outside, enjoying the beautiful, cloudy day in San Clemente.
We returned to our beach chairs overlooking the San Clemente Pier when
we finished our drinks. Many surfers were not in the water, but the waves
looked smaller and offered fewer opportunities to surf.
We decided to stroll along the beach and noticed far fewer rocks than the day
before. We arrived around 12:50 p.m., folded our chairs, and returned to our
van. We drove back to pick up Alex at the Trestles parking lot. He had an
excellent session at Trestles, though he had a few cuts and bruises.
We decided to head to Nomad's Canteen in San Clemente for lunch. While at Nomad's, we ordered the following items:
- Grande Guacamole (to share)
- Alex: Jaco Poke Bowl
- Boris: 805 Blonde (draft beer), Carne Asada Quesadilla
- Inna: Mango Margarita, Carne Asada Tacos
Afterward, we walked to the nearby Active Culture Yogurt shop, where
Alex selected a large multi-flavored yogurt with multiple toppings. He really
enjoyed it.
We also walked around some of the local shops in San Clemente and found many
interesting Mexican Restaurants. Next time, we will try eating there instead
of Nomad's Canteen.
We returned home to Laguna Beach and rested for a bit. In the evening, we
decided to watch the sunset at Heisler Park. While there, we watched a few
surfers ride large waves. The sunset was lovely, but the heavy cloud cover
made it less spectacular.
Alex and I stopped by Whole Foods to purchase yogurt, beef pastrami, milk, cereal, apples, and
freshwater. Meanwhile, Inna stopped by Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant and got us a table.
Alex and I joined her in 10 minutes and ordered the following items:
- Seasonal Guacamole with Chips (to share)
- Alex: Chicken Tortilla Soup, Lemonade
- Boris: Traditional Margarita, Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Inna: Seafood Enchilada, Lemonade
We really liked our food at Carmelita's. The Guacamole and Chips were much better than the ones served
at Nomad's Canteen!
After returning home, we enjoyed some green tea with the remaining Moulin pastries.
Monday, June 21, 2021
I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and decided to walk to Heisler Park while listening
to my Audible Defiant Courage audiobook. As I approached Rockpile Beach, I noticed a few surfers in the water and
large waves striking the rocks. I recorded some short video clips and
photographed a few surfing moves.
When I returned home, I ate a breakfast of yogurt topped with blueberries
and raspberries. After breakfast, I drove Alex first to Rockpile Beach to
see the waves for himself and then to Thalia Street, where he decided to
surf.
I picked him up at Thalia Street again at 11:30 a.m. Alex was tired after 3
hours of surfing the bigger 5-7 foot waves. Inna and I decided to walk to
Thalia Street to get our afternoon exercise and enjoy the fantastic sunny
weather at Laguna Beach. On the way back, we briefly stopped by Whole Foods to purchase a few small items for lunch.
Alex made his own lunch - pasta with cheese - while Inna made me a delicious
omelet with beef pastrami.
After my workday, I drove to Thalia Street for a short surfing session while
Inna baked chicken thighs in the oven (for dinner). Surfing at Thalia Street
was not the best - waves were sometimes large but primarily disorganized. I
didn't catch anything.
When I returned home, we ate dinner. After dinner, Inna and I walked to
Heisler Park to watch the sunset, while Alex stayed home and was tired.
While at Rockpile Beach, we watched many advanced surfers tackle the large
7-10 ft waves.
Many rides looked spectacular, and I shot hundreds of photos and recorded
many videos with my Canon G7x Mark II.
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
I woke up early, at around 6:30 a.m., and decided to walk to Heisler Park for
my daily morning exercise. I put on my wireless earbuds and resumed listening
to
Defiant Courage by Astrid Karlson Scott. How was Jan going to get to Sweden?
On the way there, I observed many people walking their dogs and large waves on
the beach. At Rockpile Beach, plenty of surfers were trying to ride waves,
many quite successfully.
After returning home, I showered, ate a small breakfast of yogurt,
blueberries, and raspberries, and prepared for my 8:30 a.m. meeting. After the
meeting, I stopped by
Moulin Bakery for a small cup of delicious mocha with a snippet of Valrhona
chocolate.
During lunchtime, Inna and I walked to Heisler Park. On the way there, we met
with Alex, who was returning from Thalia Street. The wind at Thalia Street was
quite strong, so Alex was unsure about surfing there. Rockpile still had sound
waves, and a few surfers were getting rides.
When Inna and I returned home around 12:50 p.m., I made a small sandwich on
German rye bread, with Havarti cheese, mayonnaise, and beef pastrami. It was a
nice, simple lunch with a cup of Jasmine tea.
In the afternoon, Alex wanted to surf at Rockpile Beach. He called me from
Rockpile Beach and drove the van with surfboards to Heisler Park. Alex went
out surfing first, and I also made preparations to surf. However, when I
walked to the beach, I realized the waves were too high for my comfort. I
decided that it would be safer not to surf in such conditions.
Instead, I took out my Nikon P900 camera and tried to photograph Alex surfing.
I could not capture any rides, as Alex could not catch waves. He did surf one
wave, but I missed the photo opportunity. I was able to photograph other
surfers.
After Alex finished surfing, we returned home and ate a delicious chicken,
rice, and salad dinner. Afterward, we went back to Heisler Park to watch the
beautiful sunset.
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and noticed the rainy conditions outside. I drove Alex
to Rockpile Beach. Alex wanted to surf in the morning before the wind picked
up. A few surfers were already in the water when we arrived, but the waves
were enormously high (like the day before).
We decided to check out Thalia Street. The waves were smaller at Thalia, and
Alex agreed to surf there instead. I returned home to shower, shave, eat
breakfast, and drive Inna to see Dr. Amy Litchfield (a dermatologist).
The drive to Mission Viejo went smoothly, and we arrived at 8:53 a.m. Inna saw
Dr. Litchfield and was happy to learn that there were no serious issues. I
could use the doctor's Wi-Fi to listen to my work meetings.
When we returned home, Alex returned after his surfing session at Thalia
Street.
At lunchtime, Inna and I walked to Thalia Street. Surprisingly, there were no
surfers! On the way back, we stopped for lunch at Moulin Bakery. Inna and I decided to split the Jambon sandwich. I also ordered
a mocha, and Inna ordered a latte. Alex joined us a few minutes later and
ordered a whole chicken sandwich for himself. He was starving after the
morning surf session at Thalia Street.
In the late afternoon, Alex and I surfed at Rockpile Beach. Today, the waves
are smaller and more manageable. I caught two nice rides while Alex was
catching almost everything. We had a fantastic time surfing. I surfed for 1.5
hours while Alex did the whole two hours.
Some of the local surfers were riding giant sets and getting huge airs.
Alex rode many nice waves.
In the evening, the sky had the most amazing cloud formations.
And the sunset was gorgeous, as usual!
Thursday, June 24, 2021
I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and decided to walk to Heisler Park. I noticed that the
waves were tiny at Rockpile Beach. When I returned home, I ate yogurt,
raspberries, blueberries, and a few slices of sourdough bread for breakfast. I
had an 8:30 a.m. company meeting to prepare for.
Around 10:00 a.m., Alex contacted me from Thalia Street and asked me to bring
his surfing gear. I dropped off his wetsuit and surfboard, then picked him up
at noon. I also photographed Alex surfing one wave with my Nikon P900
Superzoom camera.
At lunchtime, I made a sourdough bread, pastrami, and Gouda cheese sandwich. I
had another meeting to prepare for at 1:00 p.m.
At dinner, Inna ordered inexpensive Mexican food from La Sirena Grill. Inna ordered it online, and we ate the freshly prepared Mexican dishes
downtown in Laguna Beach at one of the free tables.
We ordered the following items:
- Alex: Carne Asada Quesadilla
- Boris: Carne Asada Quesadilla
- Inna: Salad, Soup
While eating, we listened to street performers playing Leonard Cohen's
Hallelujah, Beethoven's 9th Symphony (on guitar), Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier
Preludes (on guitar), etc. After dinner, we walked to Heisler Park to watch
the beautiful sunset. There were a couple of surfers, but the waves were not
very defined.
Friday, June 25, 2021
I woke up at 7:30 a.m. and decided to walk to Heisler Park with Inna. I was
tired and decided to sleep an extra hour. I noticed that the waves were tiny
at Rockpile Beach. When I returned home, I ate a breakfast of yogurt,
raspberries, and blueberries.
Around 10:00 a.m., Alex contacted me from Thalia Street and asked me to
bring his surfing gear. I dropped off his wetsuit and surfboard, then picked
him up at 12:30 p.m. He had an excellent time surfing at Thalia Street.
At around 1:00 p.m., Inna, Alex, and I decided to eat lunch at the local
Anastasia Cafe.
We had never eaten there, and Inna wanted to try it out. We ordered the
following items at the counter:
- Alex: Iced Mocha, Margherita Pizza
- Boris: Coffee, Chicken Pesto Sandwich
- Inna: Coffee, Swedish Pancakes with Berries
Inna and I shared the Chicken Pesto Sandwich and the Swedish Pancakes.
Both were delicious! A customer with a parrot was drinking one of the drinks!
At 6:00 p.m., we arranged to have dinner with Olga - our Loma Terrace
host.
After considering various dining choices (within walking distance), we decided
to sit down at Lumberyard Restaurant,
- Appetizer: Crab & Shrimp Louie, Ahi Poke with Avocado
- Alex: Grilled Salmon Salad, Lemonade
- Boris: Chicken Pot Pie, Lager
- Inna: Shrimp/Hamachi Tostadas
- Olga: Fish & Chips
I really savored my Chicken Pot Pie! We enjoyed listening to live music,
Olga's stories about building her home, and the many problems she encountered
with building contractors.
After dinner, we stopped by
Dolce Gelato for a few
flavors, including Salted Maple Caramel and Chocolate. We
watched the glorious sunset at 8:10 p.m. Although Rockpile Beach had waves,
there were no surfers.
