Orange County, Ca

San Juan Capistrano
After one last breakfast at Cafe 101 in Oceanside we traveled north on PCH past Camp Pendleton and through San Clemente detouring through Dana Point before we arrived at San Juan Capistrano. The mountains were closer to the beach but it was now about cute towns and historical areas. We did not see any swallows but we did enjoy a tour of the San Juan Capistrano Mission.
This mission was established by Father Junipero Serra in 1776, the seventh of 21 Spanish missions. Spain controlled California until 1821 when Mexico won it's independence. Abraham Lincoln returned the mission to the Catholic Church in 1865. The magnificent Great Stone Church inside the Mission walls was destroyed in the 1812 earthquake. Every spring the swallows return to Capistrano in March to nest and have their young. At one time they nested at the mission but are more widespread throughout the area now.
We also toured the historical Los Rios District, one of the oldest neighborhoods in California. Three adobe homes there were built in 1794. More photos.

Laguna Beach

We then traveled north to Laguna Beach, a hilly little town with steep cliffs and art galleries, which is a popular art community. The traffic on Sunday afternoon was as we expected = bumper to bumper and crawling at a snail's pace. We stopped at a beach access and toured a beautiful little beach with tidal pools that trapped fish, crabs, and other little sea creatures. More photos.

Newport Beach
From Laguna we creeped north to Newport Beach but it was a vain effort to get down to the beach due to the traffic. Later when the traffic dwindled we did return to the beach and pier. The area was packed with young people partying. Many small rentals lined the beach near adjacent clubs and restaurants. How the locals manage the traffic on this small peninsula is unimaginable. We spent the night in Newport Beach and the next morning drove with ease alongside the beach and Balboa peninsula. More photos.

Huntington Beach
20 miles north on July 2nd led us to a lovely beach - Huntington. We paid the $10 entrance fee for all day parking in the beachside lot where there was plenty of room to accomodate the traffic and plenty of beach for all to enjoy. There is a revitalized downtown area that boasted huge buildings with sidewalk restaurants, shops and hotels. There is a long asphalt path along the inside of the beach where crowds were bicycling, skateboarding, rollerblading, jogging, and strolling. The town should be very pleased with their accomplishments. There was a festive attitude as the town was gearing up for a large fourth of July celebration. At dusk fires lined the beach and at 10 the beach was closed and all got quiet, unlike Newport Beach. We spent a lot of time riding the bike path and then bought an umbrella and put in a few hours on the beach. We spent the night parked next to the bridge that crosses the PCH to the Hyatt. More photos.

Seal Beach
On July 3 we continued 8 miles north to Seal Beach, a quaint small town passed by time. It is pretty much surrounded by a river, the beach, and a naval station therefore it has kept it's small town charm. We walked out on the pier and watched surfers, life saver schools and sunbathers. We also visited the library and city hall trying to find information about a distant cousin to no avail. A disconnected phone number left us at a loss.