Monday, September 28, 2020 - Rosh Hashana
After waking up in the morning, around 7:30am, I decided to walk to Heisler Park to enjoy the beautiful beach as part of my daily exercise routine. Being Rosh Hashana, I skipped breakfast and lunch.
In the afternoon, around 12:00pm, Inna and I walked back to the main beach in Laguna Beach for a pleasant stroll on the sand. We enjoyed the calm ocean waters and watched some of the surfers trying to catch shore-break waves. On the way home, Inna stopped by a clothing boutique while I stopped by Whole Foods to purchase a small container of half-half and a gallon of water (for tea).
In the evening, Inna planned dinner at Beachcomber Cafe at Crystal Cove Beach in Newport Beach. She made dinner reservations for 8:00pm, but I hoped to eat earlier. When we arrived, I dropped her off and parked my van in the adjacent parking lot.
Inna had already taken some fantastic sunset photos, and we strolled around the mostly empty beach, enjoying the cool, refreshing Pacific Ocean water.
We asked the receptionist at Beachcomber for earlier dinner time. He promised to text us when a table would become available. We sat in our beach chairs, enjoying the warm fall night.
At around 7:30pm, Inna received a text that our table was ready, and we returned to the Beachcomber Cafe. After reviewing the dinner menu, we ordered the following items:
- Inna: Hot Tea, Baked Bleu Tomato Soup, and Diver Scallops as the main entree
- Boris: Hot Earl Grey Tea, Baked Bleu Tomato Soup, and Shrimp Carbonara as the main entree
Neither Inna nor I liked the Baked Bleu Tomato soup. It was pleasant but nowhere as good as the tomato soup in Oak Restaurant.
However, both of our entrees were exquisitely prepared. I liked my Shrimp Carbonara; the shrimp and the pasta were also quite tasty. Inna liked her large scallops a lot, too.
We enjoyed a delightful dinner under the stars, with the sound of the ocean in the background.
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Alex and I woke up early in the morning, hoping to surf at Rockpile Beach, as Surfline.com promised 4-6 foot waves. However, when we arrived around 6:50am, some surfers left, and the waves didn't look very impressive. After looking for a few minutes, we decided to observe the waves on Thalia Street.
Many more surfers were on Thalia Street, but the waves were mostly beach break, closing out quickly. We decided to return home, resume our sleep, and try again later in the day.
I walked back to Rockpile Beach in the afternoon (11:00am - 12:00pm). While the number of surfers was more significant, the waves were small, with occasional sets of 3-4 foot waves. It didn't seem much different from the morning, except the fog had burned off a bit, and the air temperature was much hotter.
Alex and I returned to Rockpile Beach in the afternoon to try surfing there. The waves were much better, and given the hot air temperatures (85F), Alex decided to surf without his wetsuit (only using his swim shirt).
The waves were quite large when we started surfing, and I immediately caught one nice ride. Later, the waves diminished, and I didn't get many more chances, though Alex did much better. However, under the extensive wave sessions, I broke another surf leash during one of my dives.
It wasn't our best surfing day, but we still had fun.
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
In the early morning, I walked to Rockpile Beach. There were a few surfers out.
In the late afternoon, after work, I surfed at Rockpile Beach. I caught a few waves, but nothing especially outstanding.
Thursday, October 1, 2020
I walked to Heisler Park in the early morning, enjoying the beautiful weather.
At lunchtime, I surfed for two hours at Thalia Street. I had a few short rides, but the waves were small and hard to catch. Plenty of surfers were out there; is the school still in session?
Since I had a lot of meetings, I dropped Alex off at Rockpile Beach at 4:00pm so he could also surf for two hours. I returned home to continue working.
For dinner, we ordered burritos (to-go, online) from La Sirena, which were delicious as usual.
Friday, October 2, 2020
In the early morning, I walked to Rockpile Beach. A few surfers were surfing, but the waves were smaller than on Thursday (the previous day).
At noon, Inna and I walked to Laguna Beach and saw a few surfers riding waves on Thalia Street. It was nice to stroll through the cool ocean water at noon!
At 3:45pm, I took Alex to Rockpile Beach, where he surfed for 2 hours using this Kym Thompson 6'6" surfboard.
He caught a few nice rides, and I managed to record one of his rides on my Canon G7x camera. Ocean waves were 3-4 feet and weren't too busy.
Here is a Canon G7x video of Alex surfing at Rockpile Beach.
After I dropped off Alex, I drove Inna to Fashion Island at Newport Beach. Inna looked into the Apple Store but could not walk in as appointments were still required. She did discover an exceptional new gelateria - Bacio di Latte. She raved about the delicious gelato she was eating.
After I finished my meetings, I returned to Rockpile Beach at 6:30pm to pick up Alex. Alex was a bit late coming out. He had a fun surfing session. After he changed out of his wetsuit, we drove to pick up Inna at Fashion Island. It should close at 7:00pm, but that only applies to major stores like Macy's.
We parked at the Fashion Island parking lot and met up with Inna, who was enjoying her delicious gelato. We decided to try eating dinner at the nearby burger joint - Hopdoddy Burger Bar. Inna looked at the online ratings, which were quite positive, so we decided to wait in line to order our burgers and get an assigned outdoor table.
We were assigned table #81 outside and ordered the following items:
Boris: Buffalo Bill Burger, Strawberry Margarita
Inna: Magic Shroom Burger, Strawberry Margarita
Alex: Big Parma Burger, soda
While burgers were delicious (better than SuperDuper in San Jose), fries were even better. However, the Margaritas were unimpressive. We like quality Margaritas, and the ones we ordered at Nomad's Canteen in San Clemente were much better.
After dinner, we stopped for delicious gelato at Bacio di Latte. Inna wasn't kidding; Baco di Latte's gelato was better than the gelato at Grom and Eataly!
Alex: Hazelnut, Chocolate in a large cup
Saturday, October 3, 2020
In the morning, we woke up early, at around 7:30am. I took a shower, shaved, and dressed. I ate yogurt with blueberries for breakfast, followed by freshly ground coffee in the French Press with toast and a remaining pastry.
At approximately 8:30am, we started our 30-minute drive from Laguna Beach to San Clemente. Although traffic was relatively light, we encountered many race cars on the road, including multiple Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Audi TTs, McLarens, etc. Californians really love their foreign sports cars.
After finding parking, I took a beach chair and umbrella, setting it up on the north side of the San Clemente Pier so that Inna could swim (if she desired). Afterward, Alex and I drove to the Trestles parking lot ( a few miles away), parked our van, and got ready for surfing. It was already quite hot outside, and Alex and I rubbed in a lot of suntan lotion. We walked about 15 minutes to Lower Trestles Beach, where we launched into the cool water.
Alex was surfing on his Kym Thompson 6'6" board (his other Firewire Tomo v4 6' board was damaged). I was surfing on my Wavestorm 8' with a new leash (the other being broken). The waves were not as large as last time, but there were a few sets of large 5-6 footers. Alex caught many excellent rides. At first, I could catch waves, but they kept falling off. Eventually, I was able to see the waves and continue my rides.
After we finished at around 12:15pm, Alex and I walked back to our Sienna minivan, changed our clothes, and drove back to San Clemente to pick up Inna. A Trump rally was going on, in full swing, and we could not find parking. Many people were carrying Trump signs, and there was plenty of police presence, but everything was organized well. I didn't realize it was possible to support Trump in California (given the strong Democrat presence in San Francisco and Los Angeles).
I asked Alex to leave the van, help fold the beach umbrella, and bring the beach chair back to the truck while I circled around the area.
When I picked up Alex and Inna, we decided to eat in downtown San Clemente, in our favorite lunch spot - Nomad's Canteen. Although it was pretty hot outside, we ate outdoors, hoping to find shade behind the umbrella.
Inna and I ordered Margaritas while I drank lemonade. I ordered Grand Guacamole with Chips for our appetizer to get started (Alex and I were pretty ravenous from our long surfing session at Trestles). For entrees, I was adventurous and selected the Scallop-Peno Quesadilla (although a bit spicy with jalapenos, it was delicious). Inna picked her tried and actual Jaco Poke Bowl. Alex ordered a carne asada (beef) and quesadilla (which he couldn't finish).
After our delicious lunch, we returned home for some rest and relaxation. When Inna and I had rested for a few hours, we decided to watch the sunset on Laguna Beach's main beach. We noticed how crowded it was as we walked to Heisler Park - one of the better sunset-viewing locations. People were walking all around; some were picnicking, others were relaxing, and others were playing.
After finishing taking multiple photos of the gorgeous sunset (and I also managed to take a phone call from the lone server at Rockpile Beach), we headed to a small beach immediately adjoining the sunset viewing area.
When darkness started to creep in, we returned home, stopping by Whole Foods to purchase Pellegrino and a gallon of spring water.
Later in the evening (around 9:00pm), we walked back to Laguna Beach, stopping at Carmelita's Kitchen de Mexico for dinner.
I ordered an amber beer and a Tostada salad (delicious), while Alex ordered a Chimichanga, and Inna selected a Seafood Enchilada.
We really enjoyed our Mexican food and the free chips and salsa provided.
For a quick bite of dessert, we stopped by Dolce Gelato for delicious gelato. Inna and I shared multiple flavors, including chocolate and Irish, while Alex had his own pick.
Sunday, October 4, 2020 - Our Last Day!
I hoped to wake up at around 6:30am for an early morning surf session with Alex. However, we were tired from the previous day and only woke up at 7:30am. After getting dressed and eating breakfast, Alex was excited about surfing at the Rockpile because of the favorable Surfline.com swell forecast (4-7 feet).
We drove to Heisler Park, and I parked my van at the Rockpile Beach entrance. We stepped out of the truck to check out the surf. We saw many large rollers sweeping the beach and got somewhat excited. We changed into our wetsuits and took out our surfboards.
After rubbing on plenty of sunscreen (it was already sweltering), we paddled into the surf. A few surfers were out, and we positioned ourselves to catch some waves. Alex was quite successful immediately, while I took longer to see my first wave.
I managed to catch a nice left-hander wave, and I had an enjoyable ride on the face. A bit later, Alex and I shared a left-breaking wave, and it was fun to surf together. We had a great time and caught a few more waves, though I did manage a few spectacular spills.
After finishing surfing around 10:15am, we returned home, took showers, and started packing. Fortunately, Inna already packed her clothes, and she also managed to purchase a few pastries from the nearby Moulin patisserie. We enjoyed our last delicious breakfast with hot coffee (from the French Press).
After breakfast, we continued to pack our minivan for our return journey to San Jose. We had such a great workcation at Laguna Beach that we did not wish to return home. Fortunately, the drive to San Jose (mostly on highway US-5) was uneventful, and we made it home at 7:00pm.
Last Week at Laguna Beach Trip Report
Highlights
- Walking on Crystal Beach in Newport Beach
- Surfing at Rockpile Beach
- Surfing at Trestles
- Dinner at Nomad's Canteen
- Freshly baked pastries from Moulin
- Newly-made gelato from Bacio di Latte.
Lowlights
- Damage to Alex's Firewire Tomo v4 LFS surfboard (from Rockpile Beach)
- The long drive home from Laguna Beach (7 hours)
- Crazy Southern California drivers
- No freshly baked bread in Whole Foods (unlike San Jose)
- Two broken surf leashes
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