I launched my blog and website on March 29, 2022. I was living in Portland, Oregon at the time.
On that day, my long-term vision for my life involved me living in Oregon for the foreseeable future to raise my soon-arriving child and puppies. I hoped to continue building a relationship and life with my wonderful partner in the most beautiful region of the US I have so far lived. There was no plan in place that would shake up that vision.
And by May 4, I was somewhere along I-5 in a Uhaul box truck, moving all of our possessions back to Orange County, California. I’ve come back for reasons beyond my control, reasons based on finance and convenience, and reasons based on calculated risks. I’ll get into all of those in due time on the blog where I overshare my life and feelings.
But in the proverbial blink of an eye, my 18 months in Portland ended. Maybe one’s first 18 months living in a new state for the first time always flies by, but living in Portland for the real meat of the pandemic made it even more so. At least I assume so. And this was the longest time I’d ever been away from California, a place I’d spent most of my life.
But now I’m going to spend the summer back in Orange County, California. I’ve spent 2/3rds of my life here, and I thought I knew the area well. But after living in Portland with a true zeal for exploration, I arrived back in my hometown (and the surrounding region) with a desire to fill the cultural and geographical holes I didn’t realize I had.
For example, while in Portland, I spent hours pouring over maps of the city’s 90+ neighborhoods. I read blogs from the writers who wined and dined at the trendiest and most iconic eateries in town. And I made an effort to turn off Google Maps and just drive in the general direction of my destination, taking the scenic route through smaller streets.
But I never had that deliberateness in my hometown. Like so many, the extent of my exploration in Orange County was just one of existing. Run errands here, go to school here, and occasionally try this restaurant on the way to work or school.
So consider the above a life update and an introduction to a summer bucket list for my Orange County Summer. With the baby coming this August, this might be the easiest time for the foreseeable future to accomplish some things.
Parks
Fullerton Arboretum
Coastkeeper Garden
Crystal Cove State Park
The OC Regional Park quest was the summer project that inspired this post. I’ve already started, and am trying to go out every Sunday.
This is the category of items I’m most interested in due to its cost-effectiveness and dog-friendliness. So if you’ve got suggestions, shoot them my way!
Visit 5 new (to me) Orange County beaches.
1000 steps beach
Woods Cove
Aliso Beach
Dana Point Caves
San Onofre State Beach
Table Rock Beach
West Street Beach
These are a few of the beaches that I’ve never been to that looked interesting after a quick Google Maps and Wikipedia perusal.
Now look, I’m not a beach guy. I've lived within 20 miles of the Pacific Ocean for most of my life. But my aversion is probably due to the fact that I’m not much of a swimmer. In separate traumatic events, I’ve been pulled out of a pool at a family BBQ, a lake at summer camp, and the ocean on a boat trip (in the Philippines, no less).
With that being said, please keep your shock to a minimum when I tell you that I’ve seen the ocean in Orange County less than 3 times in the past 10 years. I’m really going out of my comfort zone if any of these places get visited.
Museums and Historical Sites
Nixon Library
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Modjeska House
Bowers Museum
Muckenthaler Cultural Center
Discovery Science Center
In spite of being roughly the size and population of Connecticut, OC doesn't strike me as a museum town. Am I just uninformed on the topic?
Downtown Areas
Avalon, Catalina Island (yeah, it’s in LA County, I know)
Downtown Fullerton
Downtown Santa Ana
Old Town Orange
Uptown Whittier (LA County also)
Main Street, Garden Grove
Old Town San Dimas (LA County)
Water Parks
Wild Rivers
Soak City
Theme Parks
Disneyland
Disney’s California Adventure
Knott’s Berry Farm
This category of OC attractions is the only one I’ve already done before. I’ve been a pass holder many times to these parks. But what would summer down here be without at least one visit. Though I must say, my measly pocketbooks will probably limit
Sports
OC Soccer Club game
Los Angeles Angels game
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes game (San Bernardino County)
Attending an Angels' home game is the most important item on this list for my Grandma. She's a lifelong baseball fan and is only slightly appalled that my girlfriend has never attended a sporting event of any kind.
Restaurants and bars
I didn’t do any research here. I’m hoping this happens a little bit more organically, as I explore some of the other OC offerings I’ve listed. But if you’ve got recommendations, send them my way.
Are there any more places I’ve kept off my list? Send me the parks, beaches, museums, old towns, and restaurants me, my pups, and my baby mama should explore this summer.
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