Southern California with a baby
July 24, 2017 6:44 PM Subscribe
We (a Midwestern family) have a few days in Newport/Laguna Beach, what should we do and see with a 10 month old? Bonus points for a 42 year birthday celebration dinner/activity too.
We are in the area for a wedding but are taking a few days to hit the beach and sightsee but have a few questions, also any other recommendations are appreciated. We'll be there this Thursday-Wednesday.
- What beaches do you recommend that are family friendly? Baby friendly?
- Any other family friendly activities in the area you recommend?
- Is Newport Beach walkable? Or is there a nearby town you recommend that is walkable and fun to visit. (Walkable to me means, easy to walk through high street, town plaza, shops, restaurants..eyes)
- Also my husband is also celebrating a birthday while we are out there, I'd like to go do a fun activity and then dinner, any recommendations?
- Any local blogs/news/events sites I should check out? I'd like to walk a farmers market, see if there any free park events, and those sort of things too.
We will also be renting a car and willing to driver up to an hour! LA recommendations are welcome too!
Thanks!!
We are in the area for a wedding but are taking a few days to hit the beach and sightsee but have a few questions, also any other recommendations are appreciated. We'll be there this Thursday-Wednesday.
- What beaches do you recommend that are family friendly? Baby friendly?
- Any other family friendly activities in the area you recommend?
- Is Newport Beach walkable? Or is there a nearby town you recommend that is walkable and fun to visit. (Walkable to me means, easy to walk through high street, town plaza, shops, restaurants..eyes)
- Also my husband is also celebrating a birthday while we are out there, I'd like to go do a fun activity and then dinner, any recommendations?
- Any local blogs/news/events sites I should check out? I'd like to walk a farmers market, see if there any free park events, and those sort of things too.
We will also be renting a car and willing to driver up to an hour! LA recommendations are welcome too!
Thanks!!
That Mariners farmers market is fantastic. Kinda crowded with teeny kid in tow, so arrive early.
An hour drive won't get you further than DTLA. Maybe Pasadena. Long Beach has lots to visit. Belmont Shore (my former digs) is very stroll-able. Main Street Seal Beach is, too.
Back in deep OC, Fashion Island in Newport is a walkable mall with the usual high end mall attractions. Little Corona beach in Corona Del Mar is less super crowded than other beaches in the area and you can scoot off to the tide pools on either side for a bit more tiny toddler room. CDM (my new digs) itself would be walkable, but PCH is kind of a super highway right through the middle.
Down in Laguna, go to the beach at the Montage Hotel. Great beach, beautiful hotel, and you can stroll the beach and the bluff above because public access to beaches rules.
posted by notyou at 10:31 PM on July 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
An hour drive won't get you further than DTLA. Maybe Pasadena. Long Beach has lots to visit. Belmont Shore (my former digs) is very stroll-able. Main Street Seal Beach is, too.
Back in deep OC, Fashion Island in Newport is a walkable mall with the usual high end mall attractions. Little Corona beach in Corona Del Mar is less super crowded than other beaches in the area and you can scoot off to the tide pools on either side for a bit more tiny toddler room. CDM (my new digs) itself would be walkable, but PCH is kind of a super highway right through the middle.
Down in Laguna, go to the beach at the Montage Hotel. Great beach, beautiful hotel, and you can stroll the beach and the bluff above because public access to beaches rules.
posted by notyou at 10:31 PM on July 24, 2017 [1 favorite]
Laguna Beach is one of the nicer beaches in Southern California and has a character of its own (lots of little boutique stores and galleries and places to eat). You're arriving in peak summer time, so it'll be busy. There's a lot to do, especially if you like the fine arts: the annual Festival of Arts and Pageant of Masters, plus the Sawdust Art & Craft Festival, and the Laguna Art-a-Fair are all going on at the same time. The Pageant of Masters is excellent and unique (if you've ever seen Arrested Development or Gilmore Girls, they have episodes that reference it or are inspired by it) but it's a 90-minute sit-down program which I imagine may not be the most convenient with a baby.
Parking can be tricky but FYI the Laguna Beach trolley is free during the summer. If you're interested in multiple events, you might want to look into the Passport to the Arts which provides access to the events (except Pageant of Masters), plus one-time parking access in a particular lot.
There's also an official events calendar from the Laguna Beach Visitors' Center.
Some more advice Newport Beach advice that may help from prior threads (although they are from non-summer months):
- Newport Beach Walkability
- Things to do in Newport Beach CA
If either of you are big fans of libraries or architecture, Huntington Beach Central Library is a neat public library that isn't far and might be worth a short visit [official library page] (not to be confused with the Huntington Library and Gardens near Pasadena, which is super and totally different with more buildings and things to do). It's one of the more interesting library buildings I've been to and has its own charm. Some more pictures from flickr. It's located within a huge, 350+ acre public park (Huntington Beach Central Park) which may be crowded this time of year (I prefer the library). (If you do stop by the HBCL, be sure to look for the conveyor belt tunnel that automatically sorts books -- at least, it used to -- if it's not active you should still be able to see the structure for it.)
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 11:13 PM on July 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
Parking can be tricky but FYI the Laguna Beach trolley is free during the summer. If you're interested in multiple events, you might want to look into the Passport to the Arts which provides access to the events (except Pageant of Masters), plus one-time parking access in a particular lot.
There's also an official events calendar from the Laguna Beach Visitors' Center.
Some more advice Newport Beach advice that may help from prior threads (although they are from non-summer months):
- Newport Beach Walkability
- Things to do in Newport Beach CA
If either of you are big fans of libraries or architecture, Huntington Beach Central Library is a neat public library that isn't far and might be worth a short visit [official library page] (not to be confused with the Huntington Library and Gardens near Pasadena, which is super and totally different with more buildings and things to do). It's one of the more interesting library buildings I've been to and has its own charm. Some more pictures from flickr. It's located within a huge, 350+ acre public park (Huntington Beach Central Park) which may be crowded this time of year (I prefer the library). (If you do stop by the HBCL, be sure to look for the conveyor belt tunnel that automatically sorts books -- at least, it used to -- if it's not active you should still be able to see the structure for it.)
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 11:13 PM on July 24, 2017 [3 favorites]
An hour drive won't get you further than DTLA. Maybe Pasadena. Long Beach has lots to visit. Belmont Shore (my former digs) is very stroll-able. Main Street Seal Beach is, too.
Seconding this, especially if there's any traffic.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:30 AM on July 25, 2017
Seconding this, especially if there's any traffic.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:30 AM on July 25, 2017
You can check out OC Weekly for listings of things to do.
An hour drive won't get you further than DTLA. Maybe Pasadena.
Nthing this. You'd be lucky to make it to north Orange County in an hour, if there's traffic.
You could try going south — there's the San Juan Capistrano mission, which has family friendly stuff. In Santa Ana, which is slightly north, there's the Discovery Science Cube, a kids' science museum. Don't know quite how much a 10-month-old would get out of it, but it's fun. Orange is walkable in the central, older downtown part, that spreads out from the plaza and traffic circle.
posted by culfinglin at 10:01 AM on July 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
An hour drive won't get you further than DTLA. Maybe Pasadena.
Nthing this. You'd be lucky to make it to north Orange County in an hour, if there's traffic.
You could try going south — there's the San Juan Capistrano mission, which has family friendly stuff. In Santa Ana, which is slightly north, there's the Discovery Science Cube, a kids' science museum. Don't know quite how much a 10-month-old would get out of it, but it's fun. Orange is walkable in the central, older downtown part, that spreads out from the plaza and traffic circle.
posted by culfinglin at 10:01 AM on July 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
I grew up in Huntington Beach and its Main Street is pretty walkable; there are hotels along the beach and a nice pier. The beach in HB is what I think of as the classic LA beach: long, plenty of snack stands and bathrooms along the stretch, you can take a nice walk along the pedestrian path or veg out under your umbrella. I wouldn't worry about the water being too cold for babies: I and everyone else who grew up there went in the water pretty much from birth. Laguna and CDM are both a bit more charming and it is definitely worthwhile to hit the tidepools.
Of course, if you wanted to go to Disneyland, it is pretty close (~30m from HB), but Disneyland in the summer can be hot and crowded.
posted by dame at 10:37 AM on July 25, 2017
Of course, if you wanted to go to Disneyland, it is pretty close (~30m from HB), but Disneyland in the summer can be hot and crowded.
posted by dame at 10:37 AM on July 25, 2017
Long Beach has lots to visit
The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is really excellent and worth a trip, IMO. It has a lot of exhibits and is definitely family/baby-friendly (free admission for kids under 3). Try to go earlyish on a weekday, rather than the weekend, if you can. If you like birds, there's also a lorikeet aviary on the aquarium grounds.
If you feel like parking somewhere and exploring, Long Beach has a free bus line called the Passport (other buses have fares) which goes around a lot of the main city attractions, including the aquarium and the Queen Mary. The public transit there also operates two water taxi lines (AquaLink and AquaBus) that have stops near the aquarium. I haven't had the opportunity to take a water taxi, but it sounds like an inexpensive option if you feel like taking a boat ride around Long Beach (fare is $1 or $5 depending on the line; kids under 2 are free). There are also sightseeing boats you can go on, either in Long Beach or in the Newport Beach area (YMMV on seasickness).
A previous AskMe about suggestions around Long Beach.
Have a great time!
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 7:52 PM on July 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is really excellent and worth a trip, IMO. It has a lot of exhibits and is definitely family/baby-friendly (free admission for kids under 3). Try to go earlyish on a weekday, rather than the weekend, if you can. If you like birds, there's also a lorikeet aviary on the aquarium grounds.
If you feel like parking somewhere and exploring, Long Beach has a free bus line called the Passport (other buses have fares) which goes around a lot of the main city attractions, including the aquarium and the Queen Mary. The public transit there also operates two water taxi lines (AquaLink and AquaBus) that have stops near the aquarium. I haven't had the opportunity to take a water taxi, but it sounds like an inexpensive option if you feel like taking a boat ride around Long Beach (fare is $1 or $5 depending on the line; kids under 2 are free). There are also sightseeing boats you can go on, either in Long Beach or in the Newport Beach area (YMMV on seasickness).
A previous AskMe about suggestions around Long Beach.
Have a great time!
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 7:52 PM on July 26, 2017 [1 favorite]
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Laguna Beach is going to be a bit more walkable than Newport, though neither one is especially walkable, imo.
Balboa Island is fun with shops and restaurants.
There's a huge farmer's market in the parking lot of Mariner's Church just over the border from Newport in Irvine.
posted by shesbookish at 9:51 PM on July 24, 2017 [1 favorite]