Laguna Beach

Ben and I had planned on heading to New York as he was going to deliver an plane to his client.  We thought it was a great time for us to spend the weekend in NYC as the tree was still going to be up in Rockefeller Center.  I really wanted to see NYC at Christmas time but with the winter storm that hit the East Coast we decided that wasn't a good idea.  That didn't stop us from having a weekend getaway though.

California...here we come....

I had never been to California.  I have no idea why but I hadn't.  So after a little word of mouth and some research on our own we decided to go to Laguna Beach.   My mom was keeping the kids already considering our prior plans so everything remained the same...just the destination changed.  She kept them at the house and we headed out on Friday morning the 3rd.  We flew into Phoenix and then in to Orange County.

Laguna was so beautiful....breathtaking actually.  The weather and the views.  Mountains on one side....ocean on the other...amazing!

We stayed at the Ritz Carleton Laguna Niguel which was gorgeous and everything we thought it would be..minus the room size.  Not as big as we thought but still very comfortable and the view from our room was so great!

We ate lunch at the hotel after checking in.  The view from the restaurant was ridiculous!!  I couldn't believe I was eating lunch while looking at the gorgeous Pacific Ocean.

After lunch we took a cab in to Laguna and just walked around.  There were so many art museums and just little mom/pop owned stores.  I really loved that as everything was very personal.  What we couldn't get over was the cost of living.  The homes we were looking at were so dilapidated yet they were $600k plus.  It was the weather and the views driving the prices there no question.

 This was a candy store that was just filled with barrels of candy.

That evening we ate at this very small, blink and you'll miss it, Italian restaurant in Laguna....Ristorante Rumari.  It was recommended to us by two ladies at one of the shops we stopped at.  One of them said to ask for a booth ...there were only two booths in the entire place.  We quickly realized their booths must be for specific regulars.   We got there at 6:30pm I think and we were the only people dining.  Of course we immediately thought it must be awful because there was noone in their.  Our waiter told us to wait about 30 minutes or so and the place would be crowded.  He was right..but it wasn't crowded with tourist.  It was crowded with regulars.  The atmosphere was fun but quaint and the food was excellent.  Great recommendation!

The next day we had breakfast at the hotel..same restaurant as lunch the day before.   We loved looking out at the ocean.   We could see sea lions playing in the water while eating breakfast.  It was nice....peaceful.   I had the most amazing lump crab meat eggs benedict.  It was SO good!!!!  We worked out and then spent some time at the spa.  We had a 90 min couples massage which was much needed and so good!

We decided we would spend the rest of our day by renting a car and driving in to LA.  So we rented a fun little sports car....Ben was happy.

Off we went ...LA bound.  The drive was not long at all..about an hour and it was so beautiful.

We got in to LA, found parking and got out and started walking toward Rodeo Dr.   We wanted to grab lunch and stopped at this place as we were walking but that turned out to not be a good decision as we never got served....so we left and of all places to stop at..Chipotle...but it was good.

Rodeo Dr. was amazing.  Every where we turned there were Range Rovers, Porsches, Ferraris and a car I had never seen...a Bugatti.    The shopping was unreal.   Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton, Chanel.....you name it and it was there.  I was in heaven.  We did a little shopping and then headed in to the Hollywood Hills looking for the Hollywood sign before dinner but no luck.  We knew we were right under it but no luck.

We had sushi at Katsuya Hollywood.  It was a recommendation by the hotel and it was a good one.  Excellent sushi!  We happened to be seated next to a table of at least ten 14 year old girls as one of them was having a birthday.  The birthday girls mother was sitting at the bar with her laptop while the girls ate and celebrated.  We heard one of them say she told her parents she wanted to go to Bora Bora for spring break this year.  I thought for sure I didn't hear her correctly but I did.  It was a little strange to hear that when here in SA all we seem to want is to head to Port A or South Padre.  That was the moment you know you are in a very different environment....and far, far from home. 

After dinner we headed back to Laguna.  It was a nice drive back home but it was crazy to see LA traffic even on a Saturday evening at 9pm.

The next day we had breakfast and then took a walk down at the beach.  The water was cold but so beautiful.  We headed back to the spa for facials and then back to the room to pack for our trip home.  I was so happy to get home to our babies but it was so nice to have that time away with my husband.  It was much needed and we knew that even more as we came back to reality.  It was good reminder that time for each other is so important and should always be a priority.

I will definitely want to go back to Laguna Beach and LA as there was so much I didn't see but those couple of days away with my husband were wonderful, memorable and as always with him...reaffirming.