Day 17 - Laguna Beach

7th August 2016

We woke today with no real plan of what to do. Should we just hang around and shop? Should we try to go to Catalina Island on a boat?

We took a slow get ready, and then decided to go to ihop (International House of Pancakes) for breakfast. We had first visited this chain in Florida many years ago, and had loved it.

So we looked for one nearby and drove there. It wasn't a roaring success. Oliver loved his chocolate chip pancakes, but Andrew's breakfast was a bit greasy, and mine was a bit dry. Never mind, something to tick off the list of things to do. Over breakfast, we decided to bring forward a visit to Laguna Beach. We had originally planned to visit tomorrow, on our way to San Diego, but with the lack of any real plan, we thought we'd go today.

No traffic and twenty minutes later, we were there. Trying to find a parking space alongside the Porsches. Then Andrew spotted a free parking and shuttle trolley bus, so we went for that. The great thing about the trolley bus, is that you get to see the area without any stress. It was a great trolley bus. Mainly open air (at the sides) and not dissimilar to the trolleys of San Francisco. Beautiful wooden bench seats and spotlessly clean. People are so friendly in this part of the world. An older guy on the trolley bus asked us if we'd been surfing yet, and when we said no he was horrified! He said that the Pacific is the warmest it has been for years and that we should enrol Oliver in a lesson. He said you can easily learn in a day. Thanks Mr, we now have an Oliver busting for a surf lesson.

So with no real plan, we got off the trolley bus at the Laguna Beach Art Museum. The bargain price of $7 to get in, and free for Oli. They had an exhibition of Peter Krasnow. Not an artist I had heard of, but I now know was an American Modernist that was Ukranian, but who lived in LA. Mainly sculptures, but also some beautiful abstract paintings. Some of them were so modern that it was hard to believe the were painted in the 1920s.

There was also an exhibition of photographs of waves. Sounds strange? They were stunning. I should imagine that waves are a rather difficult thing to photograph (some great zoom lens, or a very waterproof camera and surf skills that would be superhuman), they were beautiful.

By now, Oliver is getting more and more anxious that he'll not be swimming in either the sea or pool, so we walked to the beach.

As we got to the main road, Broadway, we saw the beach for the first time. Very different to Huntington, a lot smaller, but just as beautiful. 

We saw some guys playing basketball, so stopped to watch for a while.

We carried on walking along to the shops and endless art galleries. Laguna is beautiful. Very much like Carmel, but more surf dudes. We dipped into one of the galleries selling Dr Seuss prints and sculptures. Oh, to be rich. The gallery assistant, Erick, was so animated about the art, not at all pushy, and really interested in our trip. He gave us some tips for San Diego too, as that's where he was born. We managed to leave without spending Oliver's uni' fund.

We popped back to the car to get Andrew and Oliver's swim gear, and then treated Oliver to a bodyboard. A short surfboard that he fancied trying out. 

We caught the trolley to the next stop that said 'beach' in it, and walked down some steps, and found ourselves in a lovely cove, with around 20 people on it. In went the boys, stepping confidently into the ocean to attempt to body board. Within 10 minutes, Andrew had nailed it. Just by watching a few other people doing it, and trying to figure the best time to catch the wave.

Next up, Oli. I never thought I'd see the day that Oliver would be covered by a wave and come out of the water laughing. It's totally overwhelming for me. I could have cried. He said to me 'Have you ever seen me so happy? I don't want this holiday to end'.

Gulp.

Within about twenty minutes he was body boarding - studying the waves to decide which ones were the best to catch. They were huge, but he was unfazed. That surf lesson can probably not be delayed too much longer.

Two hours later, we brushed off the sand, and decided to head back. The time has just disappeared today. It went from 10am, to midday, to 6pm in a blink. We walked through the town again, trying to dry out and admired some of the street art (and I mean art) and people and buildings.

We caught the trolley back to the car, and it was full of people in various states of undress. Three young guys got on in their surf shorts with just a mobile phone each - no bag, no shirt, nothing. I said to Oli, can you imagine living somewhere where you get on the bus in bare feet? How lovely must that be? The freedom.

On the way back, we took the PCH and were treated to the most beautiful sunset (sorry for poor photo). The sun was huge.

We stopped on the way home for a burger - this time a Carl's Jnr. We had been seeing their adverts for a while, so we thought we should try. It didn't disappoint. We are quite the burger connoisseurs now.

Another lovely day. Laguna is a very special place. I've been here before, but don't remember the town at all. We loved it. I was thinking a lot about my sister today. She lived here for two years as a nanny. She was only young, and so far away from us. I don't think I have ever appreciated how brave that was. Before email, mobile 'phones, Skype. That's an amazing achievement by anyone's standards. It is stunning here, but a long way from Essex, and I am sure at times it must have felt very far. Proud of you sis.

Two signs I saw today that I loved:

- Summer needs a speeding ticket (replace 'Summer' with 'This holiday' - it's speeding by way too fast)

and

- The glass is half full, and the other half was delicious.

The final leg of our trip tomorrow. We've banned the words flight and home.

Night night from the surf dudes.