On our second Saturday “day-cation” we decided to head out to Orange County and spend the day with my In-Laws in the Newport Beach area. I had already planned to have my hair done by my Sister-in-Law, Lauren, at her salon, Salty Blonde Cut Co. in Costa Mesa. Inspired by the “One Thousand Marbles” story that I referred to in this post: One Thousand Marbles: A Little Story That Inspired Us , we decided to expand our day and add some additional destinations to our Orange County trip.
We started the day off in Newport Beach at The Lighthouse Bayview Café located on the Balboa Peninsula. We found this Café on Yelp and chose it because of it being waterfront dining; the menu looked delicious! We had reservations at 9:30am, which we were able to make online and we arrived right at 8:45am. Arriving early gave me plenty of time to breastfeed Donovan and also gave my husband an opportunity to explore the area and take some photos.
The café and lighthouse coupled with the marina are absolutely gorgeous in the morning; I can only imagine how it looks at night or at sunset. It is located right next to the water and can be seen from the road as you drive up (or the slip if you decide to visit by Duffy Boat). I hope to write a more detailed review on this restaurant soon! Maybe we will head back there for lunch one of these days.
After lunch, Ryan’s Mom suggested that we head over to the Balboa Fun Zone to look at the shops and show Donovan the Ferris wheel. If you want some neat and vibrant photos, head over to the Balboa Fun Zone while visiting the peninsula. It is so colorful and quaint. It is the epitome of a mini California boardwalk and has the cutest shops and many restaurants. When we were walking around the area, I noticed cars lined up ready to board the ferry to Balboa Island. I have seen cars on large ferries but I didn’t realize there were smaller, pedestrian-sized ships that handled the short trip across the marina. My mother-in-law suggested that we take the ferry over across to spend the late morning shopping. I have to be honest with you, I was a little nervous to get in the car with our 3-month old and driving it onto a boat. We mustered up the courage though and took a quick trip to the island. It was $3.00 for the 3 of us in our car and was actually quite fun. The moment it took off, we were able to get out of our car and walk around. I took advantage of taking photos of the Ferris wheel from the water!
Exiting the ferry and back on dry land, we drove to the shopping district on Balboa Island and immediately found a place to park. The strip of shops reminded me of my hometown Temecula in Old Town. It was an intimate strip of shops and restaurants filled with many people walking their dogs, riding their bikes and just enjoying the day. We were able to snap some great photos throughout our time there shopping. My favorite store there was, by far, the Balboa Beach Company where my Mother-in-Law bought me a locket to wear and place Donovan’s photo inside. We would’ve spent even more time in Balboa if we were able to but we needed to head to my hair appointment.
My Sister-In-Law, Lauren, works at Salty Blonde Cut Co. in Costa Mesa, which is a chic salon in the heart of Orange County. I had not dyed my hair throughout my entire pregnancy and my roots NEEDED work! I loved the color and length that my pregnancy gave me, but I wanted a refresher and I wanted to feel like my hair had a little makeover. Well, Lauren definitely delivered and if my hair was Cinderella, Lauren became my Fairy Godmother and made my hair ready for that ball. She also promised that it wouldn’t turn into a pumpkin until my roots grew back in. Okay, Lauren didn’t say that, but she sure made me walk out of there feeling like I was Cinderella… so there!
Having a little bit of time left before heading home for the day, we met back up with Ryan’s Mom and her husband Phil for some dinner at their house in Newport Beach. It was a nice relaxing way to wind down all of the activities of the day and look through the photos and videos we took to record our memories.
Overall, the day was a definite success and we drove home feeling good about how we spent this Saturday. To paraphrase my last post: “One Thousand Marbles: A Story that Inspired Us” we will be tossing this marble with a lot of rich memories. I hope you all had a great Saturday as well!
My Husband decided to also document this day via video. Check it out below:
“Time is non-refundable, use it with intention.” – Unknown
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