I can’t imagine a more serene or beautiful place than Crystal Cove. I’m not sure why we never went here before. Maybe the Newport Beachers want to keep it a secret for themselves? When we checked into our hotel, (I seriously can’t recommend the Marriott Newport Coast Villas enough!!!) we overhead someone talking about the Beachcomber restaurant and I googled it and realized we were right near an amazing beach.
One morning we tried out the yummy breakfast and took advantage of the parking credit. (You have to pay $15 to park near the beach but it’s free if you buy a meal at the restaurant. The hotel also has a parking pass you can use for $5 a day.)
The boys had huge platters of pancakes on the patio. I fell in love with this restaurant when they started ringing a bell because there were dolphins in the water.
We spent the day playing in the water and building sandcastles.
The next day we decided to come back (it was 70 degree weather) because we had so much fun (and I wanted to see dolphins again. Which we didn’t but I was hoping we would the whole time). While the kids and the hubby played, I walked up to Rudy’s Shake shack and got us a yummy picnic lunch and a “Monkey Flip” shake. (Delightful but deadly concoction of bananas, chocolate peanut butter, ice cream and dates.)
Apparently there are cottages you can rent here too. I may have to plan our next trip way in advance as I heard they book up early and it would be so lovely to spend a little time in such a lovely locale pretending we live there. When we visit places like this it makes me wonder why on earth we choose to live in Seattle where it gets so rainy, dark and gloomy. (I forgot- it’s because we love the way Gortex feels over our sweaters, of course. Poor deprived Newport Beachers, betcha don’t know what that feels like. )
This is on the way to Laguna Beach, isn’t it? I love this area. Kids and I went to California on our own when they were three and five. We only stopped for a washroom break. We had mapped every place from San Diego to Anaheim, and back, for Michael’s stops. There is a clean, Ralph’s in Laguna Beach.
We must go back. Your pictures are amazing.