Work brings me to the west coast, specifically to Orange County (and no I haven't bumped into the Real Housewives of Orange County yet..!) for the week which included the weekend. So being that I love to explore new places I've never been to, I decided on Saturday to see the famed Laguna Beach and see what all the fuss was about. Plus I hear there is an arts festival so that piece of news seals my plans for spending my Saturday.
Off I go towards the beach and everything looks smooth until I hit the exit to Laguna Beach and sit in traffic for 45 minutes to move 4 miles!! (Mohamed, Cairo is not the only place with terrible traffic!!)
I finally get to Laguna Beach and then spend another 20+ minutes looking for parking. All the lots are full, I gather because of the Arts Festival, finally the Parking Gods take pity on me and as I turn into a street a car is pulling out from a metered spot and before you can say JLo left Marc Anthony and now has a new BF I'm parked!!! Wow!...
Off I go to the Arts Festival which luckily is only about 3 blocks away.
I get to the ticket counter and just as I'm about to pay for my ticket, a man starts gesturing and whispering to me...No no no don't buy it! don't buy it , come here come here...!!I'm taken back but the man is insisting in giving me a free admission ticket and a woman next to him is nodding her head saying yes take it, take it.....Me being from cynical Miami think, yeah right, a free ticket??, "How much mister", he insist its free so I take it and lo and behold I show it to the ticket counter lady and she gives me a free ticket!!! I look at the man, I look at the woman and I look up at the heavens....YES!...Thank you thank you....things are looking good!
I spend time at the arts Festival where there are hundreds of artists with their paintings, crafts, jewelery, you name it and its there. Very nice pieces. There is a live band playing jazz music and of course we are in California sooooooo there is wine tasting!!! I spend a couple of hours there then decide to explore more of Laguna Beach. I head towards the ocean and the town is full of quaint little shops and restaurants all along the waterfront and surrounding area. I get closer to the water, I can see the water from where I am, but temptation just keeps pulling me into these really really cute shops full of clothing, jewelry, lingerie, ceramics, everything!!....I can't resist and of course I do damage to my credit cards. I stop to rest at Casey's Cupcakes, yup the one and the same as seen on the Food Network channel...Her cupcakes are scrumptious and I indulge and have a milk chocolate ganache cupcake. It's very good but I've tasted Kristen, and I like hers better!!
I finally make it to the water and it is incredible!...The surf is definitely much stronger than what I'm used to seeing in Miami but it is nonetheless marvelous. 
You've got the mountains, canyons and the ocean, truly fantastic. The mountain ridges have these huge homes overlooking the ocean that are magnificent.
I decide to have lunch at one of the many restaurants on the ocean side called "The Cliff". The food is alright but the view is worth it.
After lunch I walk some more and start heading back to my car which is way back inland. I'm exhausted by the time I get in the car and start heading back to my hotel, but I spent a wonderful day exploring, meeting artists and shop owners, breathing in fresh ocean air and just enjoying it. I'm a lucky woman.......
Tomorrow I'm heading to the Temecula Valley, wine country!!....stay tuned...
TRL....
