With the COVID-19 pandemic ending, we planned another work-from-home trip to our favorite Laguna Beach rental home (June 12 - July 12, 2021). We enjoyed last year's stay (from September 4 - October 4, 2020) and looked forward to exploring the beautiful beaches, eating delicious pastries at Moulin Bakery, and surfing at Rockpile Beach.
We were unsure how much longer our current employers would allow us to work from home (for 30 days).
Saturday, June 12, 2021
We woke up at 7:00 a.m. and loaded our 2008 Toyota Sienna minivan with our suitcases and remaining items, starting our drive to Laguna Beach at 8:30 a.m. The drive proceeded smoothly, but I got sleepy, so Inna helped out some of the driving.
At around 12:15 p.m., we reached Wheeler Ridge, where we stopped for gasoline. Since both Inna and Alex were hungry, we ate lunch at the Chipotle nearby. I wanted to go to Laguna Beach first and eat lunch there, but Inna thought driving another 3 hours (without lunch) might be difficult.
Chipotle had a long line, but we waited patiently. I ordered a standard chicken bowl with white rice, chicken, corn, sour cream, and mild salsa. I didn't really enjoy it. Inna and Alex ate similar bowls. We resumed our drive to Laguna Beach at around 1:15 p.m., encountering heavy traffic. We finally reached Laguna Beach at 4:30 p.m.
We parked our van in front of our rented home (320 Loma Terrace, Laguna Beach) and talked to Olga, the owner. Using the home's elevator, we could quickly transfer all of our suitcases, avoiding the long staircase. I unloaded my suitcases and plugged in the Nvidia Shield to the main TV in the living room. Inna developed a migraine (perhaps food poisoning from Chipotle), but I convinced her to walk to the beach and enjoy the beautiful weather.
We walked through downtown Laguna Beach to Heisler Park, marveling at the beautiful weather and noticing so many people out eating, playing volleyball, and even swimming.
We returned at 7:50 p.m. to Lumberyard Restaurant, where Inna made dinner reservations. We asked to be seated outside, on the patio, and were eventually led to an outdoor location.
Once seated, we looked over the menu and ordered the following items:
- Alex: Fish & Chips, Lemonade
- Boris: Grilled Salmon Salad, Societe Blond Beer
- Inna: Crabcake Salad, Hot Black Tea
Although Inna really liked her Crabcake Salad, she could not enjoy it due to her migraine, which caused her nausea.
Eventually, we let her return home early and take her dinner to go. Alex and I enjoyed our entrees.
The Grilled Salmon Salad was healthy and delicious, and the Societe Blond beer was light and refreshing. Alex also enjoyed his Fish & Chips and Lemonade.
After dinner, we returned home and checked on Inna. She was lying down and not feeling well. After spending time with her, Alex and I walked back downtown to purchase gelato for Alex at Dolce Gelato. On the way there, we stopped briefly at Whole Foods, where I bought strawberries and yogurt for breakfast. When we reached Dolce Gelato, we waited in a short line, and Alex carefully looked at all the available flavors. Eventually, Alex selected a medium sugar cone with 3 flavors: pistachio, macadamia nut, and one other. He didn't like the pistachio flavor, but the different flavors were delicious, and he thought Dolce Gelato's quality had improved.
When we returned home, I made some fresh organic Jasmine Dragon Pearls tea and continued to read Defiant Courage by Astrid Karlson Scott on my Kindle Paperwhite.
Sunday, June 13, 2021
In the morning, we woke up around 8:00 a.m. and decided to walk to the beach and walk as far as Thalia Street. On the way there, we stopped briefly for breakfast at Moulin at 8:30 a.m.
Since it was getting crowded, we decided to eat our small breakfast there. We ordered the following drinks and pastries:
- Boris: Pain au Raisin, Mocha
- Inna: Apple Turnover, Latte
Both Inna and I really enjoyed the pastries and the delicious mocha. After breakfast, we continued our walk on the beach toward Thalia Street. The water was much warmer than expected, and we saw a few surfers in the water, though the waves were very small.
After we returned home, we rested a bit and waited for Alex to decide what he wanted to do. Eventually, he decided that he wanted to surf at Trestles, so around 11:30 a.m., we loaded our van and drove 30 minutes toward the San Onofre Beach State Parking Area. We dropped off Alex, who slipped on his wetsuit and waxed his surfboard. We planned to pick him up at 3:15 p.m. (after he finished his 2-hour surf session at Trestles).
We drove to the nearby San Clemente Pier, where we spent the next few hours enjoying the beautiful weather and surfing. As usual, finding parking near the pier was difficult, but we found a parking spot for free, as the previous car gave us his parking ticket! It was such a nice gesture.
Although the waves looked small, I decided to try surfing on my 7' Wavestorm in my O'Neill shortie wetsuit. Surprisingly, the water was not as cold as expected, and I enjoyed my surfing session, even catching 3 waves! It was not very crowded, and I had some fun!
After surfing, Inna and I walked up/down the length of San Clemente Beach and then returned to our van to pick up Alex. Alex was already there when we arrived at 3:18 p.m., and he quickly slipped off his wetsuit.
We ate lunch at Nomad's Canteen in San Clemente - our favorite local spot.
Although the service was a bit slow this time, and we had to wait for our table to be cleared, we still enjoyed the food. We ordered the following food items:
- Appetizer: Ceviche Appetizer
- Alex: Carne Asada Bowl, Lemon-Aid
- Boris: Indo Shrimp Bowl, 805 Blonde Beer
- Inna: Jaco Poke Bowl, Grapefruit Paloma
Initially, I planned to order the Scallop Bowl, but Nomad's Canteen was out of scallops.
Instead, our waitress - Aubrey - recommended the Indo Shrimp Bowl, which I greatly liked. Inna wanted her usual Jaco Poke Bowl, and Alex enjoyed his Carne Asada.
On the way home, we stopped briefly at Whole Foods to finish our week's shopping. We purchased cold cuts (beef pastrami, ham), cheese, spring water, bread, shortbread, jam, etc. After returning home, we decided to rest and walk to see the sunset at Heisler Park.
Alex was hungry for gelato, so we sent him to Dolce Gelato while we enjoyed the sunset. Alex ordered another 3-flavor cone, which he finished upon reaching Heisler Park. The sunset was beautiful, and we saw many people enjoying it.
When we returned home, I made some Jasmine Dragon Pearl tea and watched YouTube videos on my iPad.
I also re-connected the Nvidia Shield to our bedroom TV (as the old Apple TV had stuttering issues), and we watched the first episode of Downtown Abbey.
Monday, June 14, 2021
Initially, Alex and I planned to wake up at 6:00 a.m. to surf at Rockpile Beach (so that I would return in time for my 8:00 a.m. company meeting). However, after checking the Surfline forecast, Alex explained that surf would be minimal. As a result, I decided to wake up at 6:30 a.m. and walk to Rockpile Beach as my morning exercise routine.
When my alarm rang at 6:30 a.m., I was still sleepy and didn't get going until 7:00 a.m. I walked to Heisler Park and back for 40 minutes. On the way there, I encountered fog patches on the ocean and many young girls practicing volleyball. A few people were also walking their dogs. Most businesses were closed, but Moulin, our favorite bakery, was preparing to open.
I returned home and ate a breakfast of blueberries + raspberries in yogurt. It was time to start working!
Both Inna and Alex woke up and walked separately to the beach. They encountered a foggy beach, too.
I ate a beef-pastrami sandwich with some leftovers (blintzes, etc.) for lunch. For some reason, I didn't feel very well and had to take a short nap in the afternoon.
I purchased a pre-cooked chicken at Whole Foods and freshly made rice in the rice cooker for dinner.
We dropped off Alex at Thalia Street for an evening surfing session while we walked downtown and then along Laguna Beach, sitting down to watch Alex surf and watch the sunset.
Alex had a fun surfing session on Thalia Street!
In the morning, at 6:30 a.m., Alex and I woke up and drove to Rockpile Beach. Surfline's forecast was promising 3-4 foot waves at Rockpile Beach and Thalia Street. However, when we arrived at Rockpile Beach, the waves were small, and the tide was really low. Since it looked impossible to surf there, we drove to Thalia Street.
The ocean waves at Thalia Street looked better, and we surfed for 45 minutes. We were the only surfers there, and it was nice not having to compete for waves. Most waves were small, and the larger ones tended to be close-outs. However, I caught one wave, while Alex caught a few more.
After returning home, Inna and I went out for a walk in Heisler Park. On the way back, I stopped by Moulin Bakery for a hot mocha. I really needed a kick of caffeine to get moving on my work.
I made a sandwich of toasted sourdough bread, mayonnaise, beef pastrami, and Havarti cheese at lunch. It was simple and delicious.
While I had my work meeting, Alex walked to Rockpile Beach and surfed for a few hours. While he was surfing, I stopped by Whole Foods to purchase chicken thighs, onions, and water. Inna cooked chicken thighs while I cooked white Basmati rice in the rice cooker.
After dinner, Inn and I walked back to Thalia Street, along Laguna Beach. We really enjoyed the gorgeous sunset! We also watched a few beginner surfers trying to surf the small waves.
We drank hot tea and watched Downtown Abbey on Netflix when we returned home.
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
When I woke up at 6:30 a.m., I noticed the foggy and cloudy weather outside. I dressed and walked to Heisler Park as a part of my daily exercise routine. After my 2.5-mile walk, I returned home and ate a breakfast of yogurt with raspberries and blueberries.
I continued my daily work in the morning. I drove Alex to the nearby Ripcurl store at noon to purchase a shortie wetsuit. Alex's 4/3mm Dawn Patrol wetsuit was too hot for Laguna Beach. When he tried my O'Neill shortie, he liked it except for its size - it was too loose for him.
After finding parking near Thalia Street (always a difficult task), Alex tried on various sizes of Ripcurl Dawn Patrol 2mm spring suits/shorties. According to Ripcurl's sizing, the medium size was supposed to fit Alex best - but it was too tight for him. The medium-tall (MT) was also not sufficiently better. However, the wetsuit's large(L) size fit him best, and that's the size we purchased.
Looking at Thalia Street surfing, the waves seemed decent (3-4 feet high), but Alex thought Rockpile Beach might be better, so I drove him there. He went out surfing, but there were not many waves. I drove back home to resume my work while Alex surfed. When Alex finished at around 5:00 p.m., he walked back home.
I cooked Basmati rice in the rice cooker for dinner, and Inna heated chicken thigh leftovers (from the day before).
After our early dinner, we walked back to Thalia Street along the beach, enjoying the ocean, water, and air.
Thursday, June 17, 2021
I woke up to another foggy morning at Laguna Beach. After a short walk to Heisler Park, I ate my typical breakfast of yogurt with blueberries and strawberries. During the morning, Alex and I stopped by for freshly made mochas at Moulin Bakery downtown. I also purchased freshly baked Olive bread for making sandwiches at home (as the Sourdough bread from Whole Foods was terrible and kept falling apart).
I made a sandwich with beef pastrami and Havarti cheese at lunchtime, using Olive bread from Moulin. Late in the afternoon, Alex and I went surfing on Thalia Street. I wasn't catching any waves and lost my gold wedding ring. Alex was surfing well, and many younger kids were catching waves.
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 our Mexican dishes, we listened to street musicians playing several popular songs, including Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and Goodbye Miss American Pie.
After dinner, Inna and I enjoyed the dusk walk to Heisler Park.
Friday, June 18, 2021
I woke up to a foggy, overcast morning in Laguna Beach. After showering, Inna and I decided to eat breakfast somewhere new. I usually eat a small breakfast of yogurt with berries, and Inna skips breakfast altogether. It was Inna's day off, and she was excited to have a free day to explore Laguna Beach's many shops and art galleries.
To get some morning exercise, Inna and I walked to Heisler Park. On the way there, we noticed a lot of poodles and Labradoodles. One lone surfer at Rockpile Beach tried to catch waves, but he was unsuccessful and kept missing incoming waves. On Laguna Beach, many young girls practiced volleyball with their coach. Inna and I decided to eat breakfast at Zinc Cafe & Market - a new (to us) breakfast eatery Inna discovered on Yelp.
We returned home and asked Alex to join us. We walked to Zinc Cafe, only a few blocks away, and sat down outside after ordering the following items:
- Boris: Mocha, Apple Strudel
- Alex: Mocha, Avocado Toast
- Inna: Latte, Avocado Toast
The Apple Strudel was enormous and quite tasty. Inna and Alex also liked the Avocado Toast, though I thought it was too expensive. We enjoyed our breakfast at Zinc Cafe, but it was pretty expensive compared to the nearby Moulin bakery.
After breakfast, I returned home while Inna decided to explore the little shops in Laguna Beach, and Alex looked at surf conditions on Thalia Street.
Around lunchtime, we decided to enjoy the delicious pastries at Moulin. We walked over and sat outdoors, ordering the following items:
- Boris: Mocha, Parigot Chicken
- Alex: Mocha, Croque Monsieur
- Inna: Latte, Quiche Lorraine
- Boris: Heirloom Tomato Soup, Short Rib Tacos
- Inna: Heirloom Tomato Soup, Taco Cart, Lagunarita
- Alex: Clam Chowder, Taco Cart
- Dessert: Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
I also really liked my Short Rib Tacos. Both Alex and Inna enjoyed their Taco Carts.
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