Hiking To A Pirate Cave and Treasure Island Beach

I LOVE adventure! When I'm unable to go on vacations, I search for fun and unusual areas to explore around me. On Wednesday, I decided to visit a sea cave I'd never been to in Dana Point, CA. I had to research the tides first because it is only accessible at low tide.

The route required scrambling over rocks and boulders (1.2 miles round trip). I found myself picking up the pace, worried I wouldn't be able to make it to the cave and back out again before the water began to rise (this low tide was actually higher than normal at 3.65 ft.)
Not to be deterred I pressed on and wasn't disappointed.

The entrance was narrow and opened into a large cave with a beautiful view of crashing waves. I had the cave all to myself as the summer crowds have returned to school and work. There was an adjacent smaller cave that required going out into the water to get to. I chose to forego that one, knowing my time was short as the water began to pour into the cave I was in. While making my way back, I came upon a mom and her three children. She asked if I thought they could make it to the cave in time.
The adventurer inside me wanted to tell her, "Yes if you hurry!" But I knew that wasn't safe or realistic with her young children. I encouraged her to come back on another day when the tide was lower.

I then came upon a homeless man named Jeff (I wrote about this encounter on my "Bowl of Inspiration" Blog-click link on right to read).

I finally reached my car and headed home down Pacific Coast Hwy (which is always a beautiful drive.) While at a stop light, I noticed a sign for "Treasure Island Beach." I'd never been to this beach either, so I made a quick turn and headed down to check it out.

Woah...it was amazing (as you can see in the video). The cliff tunnel led me straight to the perfect writing spot atop a rock as water rushed all around me.
Talk about inspiration!

All in all it was an amazing day of firsts. And let me tell ya...adventure firsts are my all time favorite.

I hope you enjoy virtually exploring Southern California's beautiful coast.

Interesting Beach Finds!

After having lived by the beach for so long...I have to say, I'm never too surprised by the interesting things I see here.

So here's a guy cruising around in his Star Wars getup.

 Then we have squirrels who think they're prairie dogs. 

A movie crew filming as they pull a parasailer behind a car along the ocean's edge.

To this kid who was running up and down the beach on this futuristic "blade runner" type contraption. 

Let's end this post with a very cautious Mod Vespa driver. Someone's obviously heard the famous motorcycle warning..."It's not *if* you go down it's *when* you go down. 

He's having none of it. LOL!

Oh beach life in the summer is always beautiful, fun and interesting.

Meet Joan and Lloyd...

I worked out and decided to drive down to Laguna for my lunch/writing/reading spot today. I'm glad I did. It was cloudy, windy and cold at first, but soon a bus load of elderly people showed up and brought the sunshine with them. The clouds cleared as they slowly emerged from the bus one by one. They made their way down to the beautiful view overlooking the ocean. I took some pictures and was walking back to my chair when I noticed a couple of late comers deciding to get out and see the view. An elderly man was trying to help a shaky, wobbly woman out. I ran over to help and "Lloyd" and I each grabbed "Joan's" arms as she slowly shuffled along to a cement seating area. 

She kept telling me I was going to earn my Girl Scout buttons today!😃 After I sat her down she said, "You better tell your scout master that you helped a little old lady today." Lol! 

 I said, "Oh I think He already knows...my Scout Master is Jesus."

They smiled as I said, "Just give me a holler when you're ready to go back." I loved that even though Joan had trouble walking, she refused to just sit there in that bus.

Soon she was ready to head back. Lloyd and I were able to get her all the way to the steps when two young lifeguards came by and helped her the rest of the way in.

Im thankful for meeting wonderful people today who still know how to enjoy life in the midst of their trials!

Jump on today's "THANKFUL TRAIN"...what are you thankful for?

Dedicating This Post To Picture Time

Laguna Beach, CA

Victoria Beach-Laguna Beach, CA

I'm currently two birthday posts behind...my hubby's on July 12 and my son Josh's yesterday on August 1st. My birthday posts seem to take me forever because I want to say just the right thing to express my love for my family, along with sharing some fun and interesting memories/facts about them. I also have to find the perfect pictures to go along with it. This usually means digging through my picture boxes aka (huge plastic storage containers that are not in any kind of order whatsoever=story of my life.) So I get a little overwhelmed and continue to procrastinate. I've just been posting pictures on my Facebook page and neglecting my blog.

With that being said, I decided to just dedicate this post to some scenic pictures that I've shot lately...I've been quite the little traveler, which I LOVE! I would spend every single day on an adventure if work didn't ruin my fun!;/

Join me on my escape trips! My visual paradise...

Huntington Beach, CA

Newport Beach, CA

Bel Air-Los Angeles, CA 

Newport Beach, CA 

Victoria Beach-Laguna Beach, CA 

Brooklyn New York

Newport Beach, CA

Central Park, New York

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Brooklyn, New York 

Costa Mesa, CA

Victoria Beach, Laguna Beach, CA

Newport Beach, CA 

Victoria Beach- Laguna Beach, CA

Huntington Beach, CA

Newport Beach, CA

Newport Beach, CA

Victoria Beach-Laguna Beach, CA

Costa Mesa, CA

Huntington Beach, CA

He's Coming Home!

HUGE SIGH........

I was able to get a flight for Jullien today to get back home (April 19th-May 4th) so his mama can take care of him! I didn't even realize the extent of the weight I was carrying until I booked the flight. It was just complete & total relief...as if I had been carrying an incredible load.

Funny how we don't even realize the stress that we walk around with. It somehow just becomes a normal part of everyday life these days.

So he'll be here for 2 weeks, fly back to NY for court on the 12th, then to Utah on the 23rd to hopefully get an immediate implant at the dental office that my mom works at. That's the plan for now anyways.

The sun seems to be shining in my little corner of the world again!

life's waves may come & toss us...but God's love continues to shine through



all photo's taken in Huntington Beach, CA.-by lisa petrarca

Memorial Weekend at the Beach

Living in sunny Orange County, CA., right by the beach makes me feel as though I'm on a constant vacation.

That is...until that annoying little thing called work gets in the way!

So whenever holidays arrive, I just have to grab my bike, and head down to the beach.


These busy weekends can be a bit of a problem for us locals. The traffic & crowd gets ridiculous, not to mention the bathroom lines!

MAIN STREET & PCH-by the pier...SEE!

I usually try to stay away from Main St., but this morning, I had my Zumba class and had to fight the crowds...even the class was jam packed.

There was the cutest little guy in there. He was probably about 70 or older. Jumping around, flapping his arms to the music yelling, "YEAH...ZUMBA....YEAH!" Then the whole class would scream out...he kept motivating us. If a 70 year old can hang through the whole class & be so happy, I can too! I love seeing happy older people like that, it just makes me smile.

I wanted to go to the back of the class, grab my phone & sneak a picture of him...I was too chicken though.

So this Memorial weekend will be spent having friends over for a BBQ, bike riding & maybe taking pics of my family surfing and enjoying our amazing sunsets.

I love holidays!