The BIG Little Lies California Road Trip - 29th July 2019 - Corona Del Mar & North Coast Village

[smithlane]

Day 12

I was rudely woken at 5.30am by Jim who thought it was ok to turn the light on in the room so he could read his book! Who the heck does that

Then we had a herd of elephants above us that thought it was ok to stomp around and slam doors at that time in the morning. Turns out it was a huge group of Japanese tourists that clearly have no manners

I must have drifted off again and then woke to the alarm at 7.30.
I was up first getting ready and packing up our bits. I made sure to slam around the room as Jim had fallen back to sleep...

Went and got some ice for the cool box from the machine on the 3rd floor then packed up the car and checked out.
By 9.30 we were on our way to Denny’s up the road for breakfast.

We were seated straight away and I ordered the same as the other day, the All American Slam with an English muffin instead of toast.
I wasn’t that hungry (after yesterday’s mammoth food marathon!) so I'm not sure why I ordered this as I ended up leaving some of it which annoys me.

Our bill came to $58 including tip.

We now set the Sat Nav for Corona Del Mar beach near Newport Beach which was only 30 minutes away.
Parked up easy enough right by the sand and begrudgingly paid yet another Kings ransom of $18.50 for a days parking which is the same price as 2 or more hours. I don't even want to know how much we’ve spent on parking so far this holiday

Found a spot on the main beach and plonked ourselves down. It’s really beautiful here, reminded me a bit of Santa Barbara with the harbour next door.

I went for a little wander and found these tiny cove beaches tucked away out of sight of the main beach. At first I couldn’t figure out how to get down but after clambering over some rocks, which was fairly difficult given my dodgy hip I finally found some steps down. It was a beautiful spot but would have to get here early though to secure a space as it obviously gets busy.

I went back to join the others in playing some ball games in the water until I got knocked out by a giant wave so without wanting to injure myself yet again I went back to sunbathe. It’s a tough life!

At about 2.30 we decided to make a move to get to Oceanside. We were going to grab something to eat from The Tackle Box but they only served burgers and fries and we were a little sick of fried food so thought we’d stop somewhere on the way. Hope and Jen wanted some fries each to takeaway though so got those and got on our way.
The Sat Nav said it would be a 50 minute drive.

We didn’t pass anywhere to eat on the way so instead pulled into the Denny’s just before Oceanside Harbour. Second time today

It was dead in here so got seated immediately in 2 booths.
All ordered a soft drink then Jim and I went with the Philly Cheese Melt with grilled chicken and mash, Sam a house salad and Hope just a vanilla milkshake. We got some mozzarella sticks to share too.
Food was ok, nothing special but filled a hole.
Bill came to $63 including 18% tip.

We now made the 5 minute drive to North Coast Village, our home for the next 5 nights. This is an apartment complex right on Oceanside Beach.

We needed to go to the security hut first to pick up our keys then got directions to the parking garage where we had our own dedicated space. The security is tight in this complex with either a fob or a key to get anywhere on site, certainly felt safe. The Leans were in a different block to us in E, the lucky devils were at the front of the complex and had a beach view!
We were in Block B on the 3rd floor so up in the lift to find room 311.
The apartment was just lovely, so light and spacious. Just what we need! We had a nice gardens view from our balcony.

We dumped the suitcases then Jim and the kids went down to the pool while I did the rather glamorous task of all the washing.

Found the laundry room no problem, there’s one per building. I filled 5 machines, we had a lot including beach towels which were quite frankly disgusting!
With that done I went to join the others by the pool. Absolutely beautifully maintained grounds, with koi carp ponds all around.

I have to admit I got a slight feeling of dread when I saw how busy the pool was with kids under the age of 10 . Anyway I would certainly put up with it to be here

Helen and I were trying to organise a surfing lesson for us all but the guy I had contacted back in April didn’t have availability until Thursday and ideally we wanted one tomorrow. It’s our own fault as we should have booked it back then but we weren’t sure what our plans would be for our time here.

We looked at a few different surf schools but they were coming in at about $80-100 each for a 2 hour lesson whereas Mark had quoted us $40 per person and would split our group into two lots of 4 so we got a more personal lesson. I emailed Mark back to book us in for Thursday. It still left us with Friday and Saturday day before we leave for Bakersfield to hire boards out if we liked it.

At about 6 we packed up our bits to head back to the apartment. I wanted to have a quick look at the beach so sent the kids up whilst Jim and I went for a wander. Beautiful beach area, next door from the harbour and not far from the pier.

Back to the apartment via the laundry room to swap over the washing to the dryer. Chilled out for an hour or so before we got ready to go out for something to eat.

It was gone 9 by the time we were ready and we still weren’t that hungry so thought we’d go to Walmart first to get some bits in for breakfast. There is a local neighbourhood store 5 minutes up the road so went there instead of the Superstore that we’d end up spending all evening in!
We loaded our trolley with bread, ham, cheese, cinnamon rolls, chocolate milk, cereal, Jimmy Dean sausage and egg croissants, cookies and fruit. $89 altogether

We had told the Leans to meet us there but by the time we’d checked out they still hadn’t arrived so after a quick phone call it turned out they’d gone to the superstore!
We were now a bit peckish so said we’d meet them at the Breakwater Brewing Co. just up the road. We parked opposite and went to get a table. Unfortunately their kitchen had closed so had a look on the map to see what else there was. Tried Barrel Republic but again they were just closing. I know it was 10pm but on their websites it said they didn’t shut until 11!

Only one thing for it, good old Dominos. There was one round the corner so only a few mins walk away and can you believe it they were closed for takeout too, you could only order online for delivery .
We called the Leans to update them as by now they were driving to meet us so admitting defeat we made our way back to the apartment.

Once back I managed to place an order online for 2 pizzas, one cheese and one BBQ chicken. $40 altogether, they charge $5 for delivery over here.
We were a bit concerned they wouldn’t be able to find us or deliver it to the room but in under 30 minutes we had a knock on the door. Fab! Tipped $5 then we all tucked in while watching the new Two and a Half Men.

Bed at midnight with no alarm set for the morning, woohoo!

[Goldia]

I love that you had Dennys for breakfast and for lunch! Ha ha great, my kids would be really happy with that.

I was the one with the light on last night as I couldn't sleep and wanted to read, it's pre travel day today and so we fly tomorrow. Dave was not happy when I woke him at 3am and he said I really need to sort out my kindle and upgrade to one that is backlit. Anyway, poor Jim when you can't sleep you just can't! There's nothing else to do but read.

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Goldia

I love that you had Dennys for breakfast and for lunch! Ha ha great, my kids would be really happy with that.

I was the one with the light on last night as I couldn't sleep and wanted to read, it's pre travel day today and so we fly tomorrow. Dave was not happy when I woke him at 3am and he said I really need to sort out my kindle and upgrade to one that is backlit. Anyway, poor Jim when you can't sleep you just can't! There's nothing else to do but read.

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Haha not very imaginative but you can't go wrong with a Denny's
Oh Abby, I'm with Dave on this one . Yes I think you should treat yourself with a new Kindle, maybe at the airport?
Safe travels over to DC!

[Fuellady]

Lots of beaches and Denny's today! Those little coves at Corona Del Mar look lovely... it would be great to have a cove to yourself! Poor choices on the food front today, although I do love Denny's. It's a shame your food struggles continued through to evening, although Domino's pizzas are pretty good.

Five loads of washing! I don't think I'd have been too pleased being left behind to deal with that . Had to laugh at you getting your own back on Jim for putting the light on by stomping around the room as you packed up.

Lovely apartment and complex, it looks like a nice place to spend a relaxing few days .

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Fuellady

Lots of beaches and Denny's today! Those little coves at Corona Del Mar look lovely... it would be great to have a cove to yourself! Poor choices on the food front today, although I do love Denny's. It's a shame your food struggles continued through to evening, although Domino's pizzas are pretty good.

Five loads of washing! I don't think I'd have been too pleased being left behind to deal with that . Had to laugh at you getting your own back on Jim for putting the light on by stomping around the room as you packed up.

Lovely apartment and complex, it looks like a nice place to spend a relaxing few days .

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Oh wouldn't it just! They were so pretty but you would have to get there really early in the day.
Yes not good on the food front today but we didn't go hungry at least.
Haha I actually work better on my own without anyone else getting in the way. The US machines are so quick and easy it doesn't take long, was strangely satisfying getting all that laundry done
Honestly he doesn't think at times, I always get my revenge

[WileyCoyote]

What is it with these early closing places ? Reminds me of looking fir something to eat in Ft Lauderdale and everything closed by 9pm !
Anyway back tracking, the apartment and complex look lovely and nice to put down roots for a few days in such a nice spot.
Bit of a faff on your surf boarding .. so hard to know how much to book in advance.
I did lol at Jim waking you up with the light. I get Andy turning on his gazillion watt iPad that blinds you 🤦
5 loads of laundry .. phew !

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by WileyCoyote

What is it with these early closing places ? Reminds me of looking fir something to eat in Ft Lauderdale and everything closed by 9pm !
Anyway back tracking, the apartment and complex look lovely and nice to put down roots for a few days in such a nice spot.
Bit of a faff on your surf boarding .. so hard to know how much to book in advance.
I did lol at Jim waking you up with the light. I get Andy turning on his gazillion watt iPad that blinds you 🤦
5 loads of laundry .. phew !

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It's crazy how early a lot of places closed. To be fair we ate quite late a lot of the time, we were having too much fun in the day!
It was so nice to actually feel settled for a few days. The complex was really lovely and clean, the beach too. I felt happy with our choice to stay a little bit out of town.
Honestly I could have throttled him! You know when you're in that really deep sleep to suddenly get woken up abruptly by being blinded by light!

[juliab]

You're really making use of those beaches, how fantastic they look so inviting.
Apartment looks really nice and great that you got some washing done.

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by juliab

You're really making use of those beaches, how fantastic they look so inviting.
Apartment looks really nice and great that you got some washing done.

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We really loved visiting lots of different beaches, Corona Del Mar beach was one of the best ones.
We loved the apartment and it felt sooo good to get all the laundry done. That's one big downside of living out of your suitcase

[LLKJDisney]

Oceanside looks beautiful, shame we are not going that far down this time! Corona del Mar looks a nice place too - lots of tips made thanks 👍