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.

Walkabout

Yesterday my lunch plans with my sister fell through so as I was leaving work I remembered I had my camera with me. Rather than grabbing a quick bite to eat and heading home, I decided to go on a little walkabout.

yeah, ummm...think I'd keep my distance without this warning!

million dollar homes overlooking the bay, Newport Beach, CA.
(Orange County)

rabbit's in the thicket

Not really dressed for the occasion (work clothes and high heels), I sucked it up. Directly across the street from my work is the Newport Beach Back Bay (ocean filters into wetlands). It's beautiful and I drive by it everyday...but I've never stopped to walk through it.

The view was amazing, it was sunny and crisp outside, the birds were everywhere. I continued walking, dressed up and out of place, as people jogged by, rode bikes, and walked their dogs.

Giant White Egret (Newport Beach Back Bay)

I almost walked right past this Giant White Egret. It was hidden well in the brush, then I saw it moving ever so slightly, head upturned towards the wind, it's long neck swaying gracefully back and forth.

After taking tons of pics of the bay & birds, I decided to stop at a couple parks that I also drive by on my way to work.

I was now in photo mode and it felt good to get some creativity out.

My final stop was a park with mounds of dirt and hills for the young competitive bicyclists to race and jump, capturing one of them through the thicket...

As I headed back to the car, after tromping in my heels through the bushes to get some cool shots, I came out to THIS SIGN...

Hmmmm....probably would've been good to see BEFORE I walked through there! It freaked me out, I mean, I live in the middle of a big city...who would've thought there was rattlesnakes in our parks~obviously not me!

this little guy was on the sidewalk in front of me looking
back at the bushes...obviously scared to death too!

It's so cool to see the things just outside your door...

Take a Ride Through Newport Beach, CA

Monday we decided to take a different route on our bike ride, instead of going to Huntington Beach/Main St., like we usually do, we took a ride down to Newport Beach.

Of course I took my camera along so you could all go with me!

We road by this park...I have never seen so many squirrels in one place. There were probably about 20 of them just hanging out enjoying the beautiful day.



Next we headed to our favorite pizza place Rubino's and saw the Big Rubber Ducky cruising around...I made my hubby stand in front of it. He said, "Hurry up I feel stupid," through clinched teeth & a fake smile...can you tell?

How funny is this thing? I laugh every time I see it.

Riding down the boardwalk can be pretty dangerous, you have to watch out for the drunk bike riders!

32nd Street was the place to be when we were growing up.

Newport Beach is a large city with a small town feel, you always run into someone you know.

My hubby patiently waiting for me to finish taking my pictures. He said, "You look like a tourist!"

I SAID....

And kept on snapping this view from the boardwalk.

The yellow flag with the black dot means that particular area is black balled (NO SURFING). They designate certain times & areas for surfing because there are so many people in the water during holidays & summertime.

Notice how the girls like to hang around the lifeguards...tough job those guys must have! LOL!

Time to head back home.

After the boardwalk ends you head out to this road just behind the waterfront homes.

Cruising through Huntington Beach now, you can see that there is a lot more beach before you get to the water than in Newport. Yeah it's pretty tough to drag a cooler through the sand.

Finally home, turning the corner to our house...whew I'm tired!

One last pose for the hubby...thought I better end on a nice note after he put up with all my picture taking.

Besides I have one more place I need to convince him to take me. I'm addicted & it's my fav!

Doesn't it look like we own our own bike & surf board shop?

We don't, we just have 6 kids!

I did it!!!! I convinced him to top the day off with my fav, Baskin Robbins (31 Flavors) Ice Cream.

BANANA ROYALE
(2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, bananas, caramel topping, whip cream, nuts & cherry).

But I just walk in & say, "The usual!!!"

Hope you had fun riding through Newport Beach, California (the OC).