After we ate breakfast and cleaned up a bit around our campsite, we took a walk down to San Clemente beach. I actually don’t remember ever going to that particular beach before. D had wanted to go bodyboarding and Uncle K had his surfboard all ready to go, but there was a sewage spill earlier in the week, so that didn’t seem to be a good idea. However, that didn’t seem to stop the many others that were in the water.

The train tracks go right along the shoreline. Going on an overnight train ride with spectacular scenery is on my bucket list.

We’ve pretty much been cooped up inside all week due to the rain. It cleared up today, so we ventured out to Pretend City, a newish children’s museum in Irvine. We went at 4 p.m. to get half off admission. That meant we would only have an hour before it closed, but I knew that would be plenty for k, and it was. (After 4 p.m. it is $5/adults and kids; $1/infant-1 year old.) We ran into some friends from church, too.

k was more open to exploring this museum than the one in La Habra, even though it was probably even more crowded. Maybe because she knew a little more what to expect? There was a Ralph’s, cafe, post office, doctor’s office, fire station, gas station, house, stage, garden, construction area, art studio and water play area. The bank and library weren’t open. k liked the water area the best. I guess we’ll have to set up a water table this summer in our backyard.

This is where n spent most of his time, and he really liked it! I think he got his money’s worth–haha. D said we need to set up these padded barriers at home.

Afterward we went to dinner at Marie Callender’s for National Pie Day (free slice of pie w/entree). We couldn’t remember the last time we had been to a MC, but the food was pretty good. Free warm cornbread, cubano sandwich for D and chicken pot pie filling in a sourdough bread bowl for me. We shared a piece of double cream blueberry pie and took a piece of German chocolate pie home (to be eaten tomorrow)

People in the restaurant were laughing at National Pie Day, but I like the idea of celebrating silly holidays. I’ve even started a list of them, but have yet to officially celebrate any of them (until now).

D received two tickets to Zoomar’s, a small petting zoo in San Juan Capistrano, so we went on Saturday. First we ate at El Campeon, a Yelp find.

D ordered three tacos and I shared a chicken burrito with k. We could’ve just shared two tacos and the burrito between all of us, since the servings were quite generous. We also had a watermelon agua fresca. The drink was kind of too sweet for me, but k enjoyed it. It was a very loud place, and I think we were the only non-hispanics, which I guess is a good sign, food-quality wise!
Next up, the zoo!






k’s favorite, the bunnies. She didn’t want to ride on the ponies–“Maybe when I’m 4.” Also, this morning she asked why there weren’t any giraffes at the zoo. Um, I guess we should’ve managed her expectations a little better before we went.

I liked walking around the nearby historic district afterward. I remember watching a Huell Howser show on the area. Someday D and I should try the Ramos House and the tea house. I guess we’ll also have to see the swallows/mission too.


Cute little houses.

Can’t believe our “winter break” is over! It was good to have so much family time together. Back to reality.

Mazda was the main sponsor for the OC Japan Street Fair at the OC Fairgrounds, so D snagged some free tickets. We weren’t sure what to expect, but my youngest sister went in the morning and told us it was VERY crowded. The parking attendant told us the crowd had lightened up somewhat (we arrived around 4 p.m.) It was pretty small; more food options would have been nice. Here’s what we tried:

Beef sticks and rice ($6)–k enjoyed this the best
Shrimp tempura roll ($6)–the one sushi booth was overpriced for the amount, but it was OK

Okonomiyaki ($5)–a Japanese “pizza/pancake” made with eggs, potatoes, cabbage, etc. It was pretty filling, and definitely the most interesting.

The longest line was for the takoyaki (octopus dumpling balls)–no thanks. I think those were all of the food booths, aside from one selling gelato.

While we were eating, a representative from Yakult went on and on about probiotics and bacteria in the colon. Lovely. After the “ruffle” (this Japanese guy’s way of saying “raffle”), there was a woman who performed a “Geta dance”. The music was kind of scary, but k watched most of it.

Afterward we decided to make a stop at 85 degrees bakery at Diamond Jamboree. We arrived just after 5 p.m., and the line to pay was out the door!

We bought a “mini” choco bun, blueberry bun, and cranberry tart ($1.50 each). I liked k’s choco bun–not overly sweet. The blueberry bun was still warm, and tasted like it was filled with Yoplait blueberry yogurt.

Don’t worry, she did not eat the whole thing!

Poor n, we think he is allergic to wheat (as found in Cheerios). Plus, his face broke out once when I was wearing a sweater with a little angora. We’re also still battling his eczema, although it has improved somewhat since we stopped using all soaps. I hope his food allergies aren’t too extensive, since our family enjoys eating so much!

This morning we went to Corona Del Mar. The weather was beautiful; a nice day to walk around.

We got there around 9:30 and there was plenty of free parking on Ocean Blvd. (Otherwise you have to pay $10 at the lot). We spread out some towels and enjoyed the view.

Then we walked down to the beach. D thought it was just as nice as Laguna. I love looking at all of the different houses.

Windows wide open!

Look closely…Go Bears!

For lunch we went to a real estate agent-sponsored pool party. Free First Class Pizza! Apparently, we have a “resident DJ” in the neighborhood.

Tonight we went to Chick-Fil-A with our Cal gear to get more free food. (Note that this was not difficult for D, as his weekend uniform is a Cal or IU t-shirt). Surprisingly, it was not busy at all! We met my sister and BIL who were wearing their UCLA t-shirts. D wanted to take a picture of them since this is a rare occurrence, but they declined.