Laguna Beach Workation Week 3 ~ Wisetrips Travel Blog

Saturday, June 26, 2021

In the morning, I stopped by Whole Foods for a few grocery items (bananas, Gouda cheese) and to get cash for my Saturday's Farmer's Market visit. I purchased fresh organic tomatoes, sourdough bread, blueberries, and raspberries at the market.

After returning home and eating a quick breakfast of yogurt with blueberries and raspberries, we drove Alex to San Onofre to surf for two hours at Trestles.

While Alex was surfing, we drove to San Clemente Pier and enjoyed the beach. I set up two beach chairs and an umbrella for Inna and me. Since the waves looked clean and large enough to surf, I decided to surf for 75 minutes. I enjoyed the cool, fresh ocean water and rode 3 waves.

At around 1:00pm, we picked up Alex at Trestles (San Onofre Parking Lot) and ate lunch at Maison Cafe in Dana Point.

There was a 25-minute wait when we arrived, but it turned out to be a lot shorter. While waiting, Alex and I enjoyed browsing surfing gear at the nearby Jack's Surfboards - a huge surf shop.

Inna called me to say that our table was ready, and we sat down and ordered the following items:

Appetizer: Rillettes (Salmon, Capers) with 4 toast
Boris: Cavatelli pasta with homemade sausage, Honey Basil Lemonade
Inna: Wild Mushroom Tartine/Toast, Honey Basil Lemonade
Alex: Tagliata (Steak, medium rare), Honey Basil Lemonade
Dessert: The Cookie, Flourless Chocolate Cake

After lunch, we drove to the nearby Doheny State Beach at Dana Point.

After finding parking, I set up umbrellas and chairs on the beach. Although the waves were small, Alex and I wanted to surf. Alex went out first at 4:00pm, surfing for 45 minutes.

After he returned, I surfed for 75 minutes. I rode 6 waves and had some nice rides, though there was a lot of competition.

After I finished surfing, Alex went out for another session. I returned to the Toyota Sienna to change out of my wetsuit, pay for additional parking, and get my Nikon P900 superzoom camera.

I photographed a few instances of Alex surfing and getting long rides.

At around 7:15pm, we decided to return home, where we took showers, rested, and did laundry. We were not hungry, so we ordered a small dinner by calling a few items from La Sirena Grill. We ordered a Carne Asada Quesadilla (which Inna and Alex split) and a Mexican soup for me. Eating in downtown Laguna Beach was lovely, and I enjoyed delicious Mexican food while listening to live music.

After our light dinner, we drove to Newport Beach to taste delicious gelato at Bacio di Latte (our favorite gelateria). I ordered a Guanduja, Vanilla, and Seasalt Caramel, while Inna ordered Guanduja, Coffee, and Belgian Chocolate. I enjoyed Guanduja and Inna's Coffee, but Vanilla and Seasalt Caramel were not that impressive.

When we returned home, we were exhausted. We had a very long and busy day.

Sunday, June 27, 2021

We woke up at 8:30am, tired from the previous day's activities. For our usual breakfast, I made yogurt with blueberries and raspberries. Alex had a slight toothache and made some hot, fresh Jasmine Dragon Pearls tea. He was hoping that fluoride in the tea would help with his toothache. We drank the tea along with previous pastries purchased from Moulin Bakery a few days ago. The pastries were still delicious.

With breakfast finished, we drove Alex to the San Onofre State Beach parking lot so that he could surf at Trestles. The drive to San Onofre took about 24 minutes, and we arrived at about 10:30am.

After dropping off Alex, we drove to San Clemente Pier and parked our car (after searching for a space for a few minutes).

Since I was a bit tired, Inna and I decided to drink coffee at Bear Coast Coffee.

Inna ordered me a Dark Chocolate Mocha, a Caramel Lavender Latte for herself, and a delicious scone to share. We enjoyed our morning coffee while watching the people and families go by.

We were surprised by the number of young people and young children. San Clemente would be a fantastic place to raise kids.

Finishing our delicious coffee (there is a reason the Bear Coast Coffee is always busy), we walked around San Clemente Beach and watched the local surfers for a bit.

We also enjoyed sitting on the beach and looking out at the water, and I continued to read my Kindle book, Defiant Courage. I finally finished the book on Sunday night - what a great story!

At about 1:20pm, we returned to our Toyota Sienna minivan to drive to San Onofre State Beach to pick up Alex. Arriving at 1:35pm, we picked him up (he had a fantastic session at Trestles) and decided to eat lunch at Maison Cafe in Dana Point.

When we arrived at Maison Cafe, there was a 40-minute wait to be seated, but it was a lot shorter (perhaps 20 minutes). While waiting, Alex and I enjoyed browsing surfing gear at the nearby Jack's Surfboards - a huge surf shop. There were so many excellent surfboards there!

After browsing Jack's, we sat down and ordered the following items at Maison Cafe:

Appetizer: Rillettes (Salmon, Capers) with 4 toast
Alex: Cavatelli Pasta with homemade sausage, Honey Basil Lemonade
Boris: Wild Mushroom Tartine/Toast, Honey Basil Lemonade
Inna: Cured Salmon, Honey Basil Lemonade
Dessert: The Cookie, Cherry Crisp

After lunch, we drove to the nearby Doheny State Beach at Dana Point.

After finding parking, Alex and Inna set up chairs on the beach. Although the waves were small, I wanted to surf.

I surfed for 75 minutes, riding 5 waves. The waves were smaller and less frequent than the day before. There were many beginners and a lot of competition. May waves were party waves.

After I finished surfing, Alex, Inna, and I took a short walk on Doheny State Beach. We liked the sandy beach with fewer rocks and seaweed than Laguna Beach or San Clemente.

We returned home at around 6:00pm. We rested and decided to skip dinner, as we were not hungry (although Inna made dinner reservations at South of Nick's).

Monday, June 28, 2021

In the morning, I woke up at 6:30am and took a long stroll to Heisler Park. I was feeling more tired than usual. It was pretty foggy in the morning, but I enjoyed it.

After I returned home, I ate my usual breakfast of yogurt, blueberries, and raspberries. I also drank some Jasmine Dragon Pearls green tea with a few slices of toast. In addition, I ate a 1/2 slice of pain au raisin that Inna purchased a few days ago from Moulin.

Later in the morning, Inna and I went for a stroll to Thalia Street. We always enjoy an afternoon stroll along the Main Beach at Laguna Beach. We saw a lot of surfers and sunbathers on the beach.

We stopped by Moulin Bakery on the way home, where I purchased a small mocha. I really enjoy the delicious coffee drinks at Moulin.

Later on, Alex wanted me to take him surfing, so I dropped him off at Thalia Street at around 3:15pm. I stopped by Whole Foods on the way back to complete my weekly grocery shopping. I purchased the following items:

Organic chicken thighs
Beef Pastrami cold cuts
Organic Basmati Rice
Sweet Onions
Pink Lady Apples
Tzatziki sauce
Strauss Vanilla Ice Cream
2 Gallons of Spring Water (for making tea)

When I returned home, Inna made plans to bake the chicken thighs, and I started the Basmati rice in the rice maker. She baked the chicken for an hour, and we ate dinner around 7:00pm. Dinner was delicious, with freshly baked chicken, tomatoes, and rice.

After dinner, we walked to Heisler Park (for our usual evening walk) but could not see much of the sunset due to the cloudy skies. We did see a young Asian couple getting married/photographed on the beach below.

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

In the morning, I woke up at 6:30am and took a long stroll to Heisler Park. It was foggy in the morning with shallow tide. I saw a few cute dogs and young girls practicing volleyball.

After I returned home, I ate my usual breakfast of yogurt, blueberries, and raspberries.

Before lunchtime, Alex and I stopped by Moulin Cafe to purchase 3 mochas and two pastries. For Inna and me, I selected the pain au raisin.

At about 3:00pm, I drove Alex to Thalia Street so that he could surf. However, Alex did not like the waves on arrival and decided not to surf.

After we returned home, Inna and I went for a beach walk to Thalia Street. I hurt my big toe on my left foot (on the return portion of the stroll).

For dinner, Inna re-heated chicken thighs, and I made Basmati rice.

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

In the morning, I woke up at 6:30am and took a long stroll to Heisler Park. It was foggy in the morning with shallow tide. I saw a few cute dogs and young girls practicing volleyball.

After I returned home, I ate my usual breakfast of yogurt, blueberries, and raspberries.

At lunchtime, Inna and I walked to Heisler Park. On the return, we stopped by Main Beach Toys & Games to purchase a volleyball. I wanted to practice with Inna and Alex. Inna and I practiced on the grass on the Main beach.

We also stopped by Le Macaron French Pastries to see whether or not it still sold pastries. Since the remaining croissants did not look fresh, we decided to try the macarons instead (6 for $16). We tried them later at home, and I was not impressed ( I expected a richer taste).

On the way home, Inna and I stopped by Moulin Cafe to purchase a latte for Inna, a mocha for me, and a pastry to share for lunch. We decided to be adventurous and selected the Le Sportif bread (which contains fruits and nuts.

The bread was dense but highly delicious. We also called Alex to join our lunch, and he came by and ordered a Croque Monsieur Sandwich and a mocha.

At around 4:00pm, I stopped by Whole Foods to purchase a few groceries, including:

4 gallons of Spring Water (for tea)
Virginia ham (1/2 lb)
Hand soap
Apples
Heirloom Tomatoes
Persian cucumbers

At about 5:30pm, I drove Alex to Thalia Street so that he could surf. I wanted to surf too, but I forgot to pack my shortie and swimsuit in the van.

For dinner, Inna re-heated chicken thighs, and I made Basmati rice. We ate alone, as Alex was still surfing and did not return until after 8:00pm.

At around 7:20pm, Inna and I strolled back to Heisler Park to watch the sunset. It was cloudy, so we could not see a beautiful sunset.

In the evening, Inna and I watched Downton Abbey on Netflix.

Thursday, July 1, 2021

In the morning, I woke up at 6:30am and took a long stroll to Heisler Park. It was cloudy in the morning with low tide. Some nice waves were rolling in.

At about 3:00pm, Alex and I surfed at Thalia Street. I surfed for one hour and caught one wave, while Alex surfed for two hours.

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

While eating, we listened to street performers playing Eric Clapton's You Look Wonderful Tonight, Eagles' Hotel California, Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, and other popular favorites.

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, July 2, 2021

I slept a little longer in the morning, and Inna and I walked to Heisler Park at around 8:00am. We stopped by Moulin Cafe for our breakfast on the way home.

We shared an Apple Turnover and a Pain au Raisin, and I also enjoyed my mocha while Inna drank a latte. Her latte did not have enough foam, and she was slightly irritated by it.

After breakfast, Alex and I surfed at Rockpile Beach. We had a fantastic time surfing for two hours. I rode 15 waves on my Wavestorm 7' board, and Alex caught and rode a record total of 30 waves on his Firewire Tuomo v4 shortboard. It was our best surfing day ever!