Ah, another delightful week (my 3rd) at Laguna Beach! What could be better?
Monday, September 21, 2020
I had a reasonably busy workday but stopped by Wally's Barbershop for a haircut. I felt much better after getting all of my long hair trimmed.
In the evening, I found time to surf at Rockpile Beach. Waves were relatively small - no more significant than 2 feet high. I did manage to catch and ride one decent wave.
In the evening, Inna and I walked to the main beach to observe another glorious sunset.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
I had another hectic workday and didn't have time to surf. During my afternoon lunch walk, I did find time to observe some of the local Laguna Beach surfers at Rockpile Beach.
I had another busy workday but managed another walk to Heisler Park in the evening to observe the remaining surfers and the fantastic sunset.
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
I woke up early (due to a positive Surfline wave report). However, when I stopped by Rockpile Beach, I could barely see anything - due to the dense fog enveloping the beach.
During lunchtime, I returned to Rockpile Beach and surfed for two hours. I caught and rode 3 waves. Waves were higher: 3-foot high, compared to 2-foot waves just a few days before.
In the evening, Inna and I strolled to Thalia Street on Main Beach to enjoy the warm sunshine and observe the many surfers.
In the evening, 4 Weddings & a Funeral, we watched one of my favorite comedies using my Synology 1805 NAS (Plex server). I liked watching movies and TV shows stored on my Plex server using Apple TV (I used my iPad to mirror to Apple TV).
Thursday, September 24, 2020
In the morning, before work, I walked about 2 miles to Heisler Park. The breaking waves were quite large, and surfers were doing well. However, the air smelled of smoke from the fires burning.
At noontime, Inna and I walked to the main beach of Laguna Beach. We enjoyed watching the surfers on Thalia Street.
Inna had an idea of trying tacos at a local favorite called Taco Loco. It was a walk for us, and after about 10 minutes on Pacific Coast Highway, we stepped into a small shack and ordered Shrimp Tacos. Since I had a 2:00pm meeting, I had to leave early while Inna waited for the "to-go" order to be filled.
After my 2:00pm meeting, I ate the shrimp tacos with Inna. They were not bad, but nothing exceptional either.
In the late afternoon, Alex and I decided to surf at the nearby Rockpile Beach (from 4:45pm to 6:45pm). I managed to ride 1 really long wave, with waves being primarily flat with occasional large 5-footers. Alex was more successful - he caught 5 waves.
After surfing, we stopped by Whole Foods to purchase additional spring water (for green tea) and cookies.
Since it was getting late, we ordered burritos from La Sirena Grill instead of cooking our chicken. The burritos were fresh and delicious!
In the evening, we relaxed by watching the BBC Coupling Series using my iPad (playing Plex) and casting to the Apple TV.
Friday, September 25, 2020 - Birthday!
I woke up early and decided to enjoy a nice walk to Heisler Park. The waves were small, so I decided against surfing in the morning. When I returned home, Inna and Alex wished me a happy birthday!
Inna offered me presents, including a Quicksilver T-shirt and a Hawaiian shirt. They were very friendly. She also stopped by our favorite Moulin Patisserie for a few delicious pastries to treat me!
During lunchtime, Inna talked to Olga (our vacation home landlord) about the pool water, and Olga found a snake on the roof! Olga was able to capture it and move it off the roof.
After finishing work early, we decided to surf at Trestles in San Clemente. We arrived at the Trestles Parking lot around 4:10pm and walked to Trestles Beach by around 4:30pm.
The shorebreak was hard to get through, but both Alex and I managed to get through. We surfed multiple waves, though none of my rides were spectacular. I had a great time and enjoyed my surfing there. We finished surfing at 6:00pm and headed back home.
For my birthday, Inna made dinner reservations at the Roux Creole Restaurant. When we arrived at 7:35pm, the restaurant still had other patrons, so we waited outdoors for about 30 minutes until we could be seated. Due to Covid-19, restaurant capacity was still limited to 25%. We were offered free drinks, so we waited patiently.
At 8:00pm, we were finally seated indoors. We ordered more iced tea and a couple of entrees. I selected Voodoo Shrimp (a spicy shrimp entree), while Inna decided on Macaroni 'n Cheese (not sure why). Alex set the Salmon Entree.
The entrees took a very long time, and we were finally able to commence eating at around 8:50pm. I liked my shrimp and devoured it. Neither Alex nor Inna could finish their entrees (so we boxed them and took them home).
Because of the slow arrival of entrees, we were offered free desserts. Two berry pies were prepared for us, and they were delicious! Our waitress (originally from Santa Cruz) was also accommodating and told us about the surfers who hang out at nearby Gino's Pizza.
Saturday, September 26, 2020
In the morning, we walked to the main beach in Laguna Beach. We saw many surfers on Thalia Street riding the beach break. On the return way home, we stopped by to purchase a few groceries at Whole Foods.
While I carried the heavy water gallons and groceries home, Inna stopped by the Saturday Farmer's Market to purchase freshly baked bread and berries.
After eating a delicious breakfast, we drove to San Clemente, where Alex surfed at Trestles while we enjoyed ourselves near San Clemente Pier (from 12:15pm to 3:00pm).
I surfed at the San Clemente Pier North (from 1:00 - 2:00pm). The waves were mostly beach breaks and not too much fun. On one of my rides, I fell off and broke my Dakine 6' leash! I had to borrow another leash from another Wavestorm 8' board to continue surfing.
After surfing, Inna and I walked the length of San Clemente Beach. It's a beautiful, easy walk along the sandy beach with many people. Everyone was swimming, boogie-boarding, and enjoying themselves. No one had masks on like Covid-19 was over.
At 3:00pm, we returned to the Trestles Parking lot to pick up Alex (who was very tired from surfing). He told us about all the cool surfing moves he was practicing, i.e., cutbacks and floaters.
We decided to eat lunch in downtown San Clemente. Initially, we stopped at South of Nick's, but the wait was very long - 45 minutes.
We were hungry and walked to the nearby Nomad's Canteen. After sitting down and looking at the menu, we ordered the following:
- Appetizer: Grande Guacamole with Chips (yummy!)
- Boris: Mango Margarita, Scallop Bowl (Bay Scallops, cucumber slices, coconut sticky rice)
- Inna: Margarita, Jaco Poke Bowl (coconut sticky rice with Ahi Tuna Poke)
- Alex: Queso-Deely's Carne Asada
We really enjoyed our $8.95 margaritas and the delicious bowls! The entree quality was quite good for a reasonable price.
On the way back home, we stopped at RipCurl Laguna Beach so that I could purchase a replacement surfing leash. However, this store sold no leashes (really?), so we walked across the street to Laguna Surf & Sport to purchase one there. I bought the remaining 6' leash (all others were 5' or sold out).
We walked back to the beach in the evening to watch the sun setting. Laguna Beach was quite busy, with lots of people everywhere. There was a guy playing guitar and lots of activities.
We walked to Heisler Park for the best location to watch the sunset. We saw a gorgeous sunset and saw a cute Bernie-doodle.
A few surfers were still at Rockpile Beach, and I took photos and videos. As we decided to skip dinner, Inna thought about stopping by at a different Gelateria - Gelato Paradiso, but the line was insanely long (all this for gelato?) Crazy!
We returned home and watched a few episodes of BBC Coupling (streaming from my Plex server at home). I really liked The Girl with 2 Breasts episode.
Sunday, September 27, 2020 - Yom Kippur
Being tired, we slept in late, waking up around 9:00am. Alex woke up around 9:30am, and I made fresh coffee in the French Press. Delicious!
Inna and I decided to enjoy an early morning walk to the main beach at Laguna Beach. There were already many surfers on Thalia Street. Some were surfing very well despite the rapidly closing waves.
After we returned home, Alex was still doing his homework. Inna made a delicious omelet, and we were ready to head out. However, Alex did not eat yet, so we waited until he made a sandwich and finished his lunch.
We drove to San Clemente (again), arriving late, at around 2:30pm at the Trestles Parking lot. Alex decided to surf for two hours, so we picked him up at 5:30pm (given the 15-minute walk to the beach each way).
- Appetizer: Grande Guacamole with Chips
- Boris: Mango Margarita, Scallop Bowl (Bay Scallops, cucumber slices, coconut sticky rice)
- Inna: Margarita, Jaco Poke Bowl (coconut sticky rice with Ahi Tuna Poke)
- Alex: Queso-Deely's Carne Asada
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