California, California, here we cooome!

Day 9.

About an hour and a half outside of LA is an awesome little county you've probably heard of. Orange County! Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, they have it all. I probably didn't mention it, but I visited California somewhere around 7 or so years ago with my friend Jessca. We stayed in Orange County, in Brea, and went surfing in Huntington Beach (I also got fried). We did visit Laguna Beach, but it was a quick trip and I don't believe that we went to the same place as we did on this trip. Good memories, good times! (I can't believe it's been that long!)

For this trip, we didn't surf (way too cold!) or go to either Newport or Huntington...we headed straight for the gold. I'm sure you've heard of the MTV show, Laguna Beach, about obnoxious spoiled kids and their dating lives. Well, the show did not give the city the justice of the beauty it deserved. This place was outstandingly beautiful. We had to park on the main road and walk against traffic, which was a bit scary, but finally made it to The Thousand Steps. Looking down, it really does look like there are that many steps, but there is only around 250. It was quite easy getting down, the way up was a different story. The pictures below: the first is the view from the top, the other is the view from the beach.

My oh my! The water was so beautiful! This was by far the most gorgeous beach we saw on our entire trip. For a girl that was born and raised walking distance to the beach, I must say that this beach wins against ours. Walking back to the car, on the side of a cliff, we spotted a house that was previously owned by Lauren Conrad's parents (picture below)...sold for over 13 million dollars! We also drove by a restaurant that they ate at in Laguna Beach (yes, I watched the show), and ate at the frozen yogurt shop they also frequented, The Golden Spoon. Delish!

Next on our list was Redondo Beach (technically LA), where a lot of the show The OC was filmed. On our way there, driving through Newport, we also passed by the mall they filmed the show at too. Redondo Beach was so surreal! First off, we spot the Bait Shop, a bar and nightclub where Seth worked. It looks exactly the same, despite the large glowing sign. After a dozen pictures of the Bait Shop, we walked the famous boardwalk...you know, the one where Seth is riding a skateboard and Ryan and Marisa are riding a bike. It's unmistakable. For dinner we ate at the actual diner that is used in the show, Redondo Coffee Shop. The food was ehhh, but knowing that we sat in the exact booth that they did in the show was enough. We even posed with the menus that were used in the show! I have been watching some reruns of the show and it's always really cool to see places on TV that you have experienced in person...like you're apart of the show somehow.

The Bait Shop!

                                                                                                                  Me with the same menu!

                                                                                                                            Us in the same booth!

Me and Brittany mimicking Ryan and Marisa on the bike

After our awesome OC experience, we had to say goodbye to Brittany, who had a flight that night. We went to bed at a reasonable hour, knowing that the next day was going to be an early morning, the last leg of our trip...San Diego!

*Today is 9-11...Let us remember that tragic day and the lives that were lost.*