Things to do in Orange County?

[skidunks]

We’re now looking at flying into Orange County for our weekend away with the boys. What are some fun things to do in that area?

[goldengirlz]

In which state? Orange County, CA or Florida?

[formerlyak]

Also helpful would be knowing if you are all vaccinated and how Covid careful you want to be.

[skidunks]

Oh sorry, Orange County, CA.

[skidunks]

DS2 is not vaxxed but the rest of us are. We’re ok going to eat in restaurants and both indoor and outdoor suggestions are great. We were masks.

[georgeharrison]

San Juan Capistrano mission is cool.

Also I love Laguna Beach and Dana Point.

There is the thousand steps beach in Laguna that is cool. But if you are in bad shape (like me), you will want to die on the way back up. It is not 1000 steps literally, but it feels like a bazillion on the way up.

[formerlyak]

I’d say you are 50/50 on others wearing masks in the OC, so if you are used to everyone around you masking up (not sure where you live), that will not be the case in the OC.

If you have a car, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is cool (technically LA). I think you need prepurchased, timed tickets.

The Nixon Library has some cool stuff to see, including Marine 1 and the house Nixon was born in (it was built from a lot his family ordered from Sears I believe). It’s in Yorba Linda.

Beaches of course. Though someone else will have to say which beaches are good because I am more familiar with LA beaches.

If you are baseball fans, Angels Stadium is nice.

You could have dinner at Downtown Disney.

[ksun]

Javier's is my favorite OC restaurant.

You could join us for an A's/Angels game - though Angel stadium isn't anything special if you compare it to Coors. V and I are going to be there this week/weekend also.

[agnes]

Sept 12, 2021 20:11:50 GMT -5 ksun said:

Javier's is my favorite OC restaurant.

You could join us for an A's/Angels game - though Angel stadium isn't anything special if you compare it to Coors. V and I are going to be there this week/weekend also.

there are a ton of better Mexican restaurants on OC. They’re over priced and trying too hard. Also, Javiers in Newport has had some COVID outbreaks in 2020. I haven’t heard anything recently.

[agnes]

Sept 12, 2021 19:17:31 GMT -5 georgeharrison said:

San Juan Capistrano mission is cool.

Also I love Laguna Beach and Dana Point.

There is the thousand steps beach in Laguna that is cool. But if you are in bad shape (like me), you will want to die on the way back up. It is not 1000 steps literally, but it feels like a bazillion on the way up.

there’s a cool cave by1000 steps too. but it will be closing for repairs. Don’t know when the stairs will be open again.

[agnes]

In addition to what’s already been listed:

My youngest niece (10) and nephew (8) love the Discovery Cube Science Center. There’s always Knott’s or Disney. There might be shows going on at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

[audry80]

Rent a Duffy boat and cruise in Newport Harbor. You don’t need to know how to drive a boat, it’s electric and it’s so fun. You can bring food and beverages on the boat and have a picnic.

Highly recommend it.

[audry80]

Sept 12, 2021 20:11:50 GMT -5 ksun said:

Javier's is my favorite OC restaurant.

You could join us for an A's/Angels game - though Angel stadium isn't anything special if you compare it to Coors. V and I are going to be there this week/weekend also.

Mine to. They have a super good habanero salsa.

[wise_rita]

What's the island with the buffalo? I haven't been but I want to.

SNA is infinitely, infinitely preferable to LAX. Infinitely.

[formerlyak]

Sept 13, 2021 8:08:14 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

What's the island with the buffalo? I haven't been but I want to.

SNA is infinitely, infinitely preferable to LAX. Infinitely.

Catalina?

[wise_rita]

Sept 13, 2021 8:11:37 GMT -5 formerlyak said:

Sept 13, 2021 8:08:14 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

What's the island with the buffalo? I haven't been but I want to.

SNA is infinitely, infinitely preferable to LAX. Infinitely.

Catalina?

Could be; I don't know the name of it. Sounds cool!

[sakoro]

Sept 13, 2021 8:22:19 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Sept 13, 2021 8:11:37 GMT -5 formerlyak said:

Catalina?

Could be; I don't know the name of it. Sounds cool!

You can take a ferry from Long Beach to Catalina. Awesome day trip! There are tours to the central part of the island where the buffalos hang out. Or you could just hang out by the beach in Avalon or Two Harbors.

[ksun]

Sept 12, 2021 22:22:59 GMT -5 agnes said:

Sept 12, 2021 20:11:50 GMT -5 ksun said:

Javier's is my favorite OC restaurant.

You could join us for an A's/Angels game - though Angel stadium isn't anything special if you compare it to Coors. V and I are going to be there this week/weekend also.

there are a ton of better Mexican restaurants on OC. They’re over priced and trying too hard. Also, Javiers in Newport has had some COVID outbreaks in 2020. I haven’t heard anything recently.

I’ve always had a good experience. Never been to the Newport one, just the one at the Spectrum and the one in Vegas. Of course there are better ones, but this one happens to be my fave in OC if you want more than a casual setting.

Also skidunks I always go to Golden Road and Karl Strauss breweries. They’ve got good food and great beer.

[goldengirlz]

Seconding Dana Point and Laguna Beach

[georgeharrison]

If you like sushi, Kura in Irvine is fun. My son and I went there late one night and we had so much fun.

[sonrisa]

Back before covid, my kids loved the discovery cube museum. Very hands on, though.

[ny96]

We love the beach at Salt Creek Park in Dana Point. I don’t really have any other suggestions other than theme parks. We go to the OC frequently during the summer months, but usually just stop at Whole Food to pick up picnic food, go to the beach, and then stop at DQ on the way home.

[ellipses84]

We love Adventure Playground in Irvine. It’s like no other playground I’ve ever been to and it’s free! There are gates at the back of the library parking lot (don’t confuse it with the regular playground next door). Sometimes we’ll go shop / eat at Irvine Spectrum or Downtown Disney. Splitsville at DTD is a luxury bowling alley / restaurant that usually isn’t crowded. When we go there we’ll go to the Lego store, Star Wars store and pin trading stand. Spectrum has a Ferris wheel, train, and playground so there’s a lot for kids outdoors. We loved Huntington Beach but the 50s diner at the end of the pier closed down last year and I’m not sure if they replaced it with anything. It’s still a great beach with lots of stuff within walking distance.

[skidunks]

Thank you for all these awesome recommendations! I need to look through our time share last minute deals but I think this is where I want us to go!

[basilosaurus]

Anaheim packing district is a great food hall very close to Disney. I much prefer it to downtown Disney which is really nothing special imo. There's even a speakeasy behind a hidden door. Everyone can eat what they want and there are play areas inside and out.

Aquarium of the Pacific is pretty good. It's no Vancouver or Monterrey, but it's still good. I used to live a couple miles from there, and a trip to Anaheim or Huntington were easy drives.

Pizzaria mozza is amazingly delicious.

I didn't really bother with beaches since I lived literally 2 blocks from a huge one, so mostly I drove for food. Or pt in nearby Huntington which always involved a stop for food as well.

I've heard great things about discovery.

I would have visited the Balboa area but everyone we were near it was packed full of traffic. So factor that into the con column. Laguna tended to be similar. It just want worth the hassle to me