My son loves a coffee, so while his lovely wife had to unfortunately work, he took us out and about each day to various locations which always included a visit to a coffee shop in whatever location we found ourselves. This of course often then meant we would be tempted by a sweet treat to go with said coffee. Lucky we have done a lot of hiking and walking with a great deal more to come!
During the week we visited some lovely places along the coast, including North Pinto Beach (I did the driving that day as Dean had some things to do, very proud of myself for getting us there and back on the freeway), South Laguna Beach, and La Jolla and San Diego, enjoying some lazy coastal strolls by the ocean and watching the wildlife, both in the sea and on land. Some of the beaches have the most beautiful flower gardens, manicured lawns and paved pathways with plenty of spots to sit and enjoy the Pacific Ocean, including the seals, sea lions, pelicans, seagulls, and Brandt's cormorants which were nesting at La Jolla. I am such a nature lover, that we spent ages there observing and enjoying their antics.
We found a neat little lolly shop in La Jolla and bought some very yummy saltwater taffies...they did not last long, I love lollies! Al's weakness is icecream, not lollies, so he found his way to one of those.
While in the Gaslamp District of San Diego we enjoyed some authentic tacos which I have to say do not not in any way resemble what passes for a taco in Australia! They were delicious and we enjoyed them out on the street while people watching. We had a nice wander around the streets looking at the architecture before making our way back to Irvine to get some groceries. Jo had to miss out on our excursion because she had to work all day so I wanted to surprise her with an easy meal I make that she really likes....spaghetti and meatballs! You would think shopping in a grocery store in the USA would be similar to in Australia but I had some difficulty finding the things I wanted, but we got there in the end with some minor adjustments. Same thing happened when I decided to make chicken parmi.
Friday found us at a little place near where Dean loves to get a coffee from another of his favourite haunts and we had a wander through a couple of stores before heading to Heisler Park at Laguna Beach for a wander along the shoreline. I was delighted to see a Moreton Bay fig in this pretty park!
We were lucky enough to get some sunshine and the sea was a lovely shade of blue and all the flowers looked great against the backdrop of sea and sky. We had a coffee, of course, and a nice meander before heading back to get ready to leave for Joshua Tree.