Sunday, August 8, 2010

Seal Beach is the Best!!

We have been spending this weekend in the lovely community of Seal Beach, just south of Long Beach, Ca.

The Maven and the cute seal statue that welcomes visitors to the Seal Beach pier.

Here's a view of the pier and some feathered friends we met along the walk down this substantial structure:









Just walking around the residential streets of Seal Beach is such a treat.  Each home is unique and the owners obviously take great pride in keeping their community clean and beautiful.  Here is a sampling of some of the homes we saw on a couple of strolls.



















 
And the gardening skills are to be admired during these walks as well:





And this crazy grass!!


Saturday we headed up towards Huntington Beach to check out the dog beach we heard they had there.  It was such a wonderful long stretch of beach for the canine crew and our Stanley the Greyhound could really stretch his long legs out there.  Please view Stan Cam if you are interested in seeing his joy at running in the sand.  It's a little choppy, but fun to watch.









After we tired Stanley out we started heading towards Old Town Orange, where a blogging friend has an incredible store, Country Roads Antiques, which you can see in more detail by looking at her blog here


I finally got to see the lovely gardens that are behind the store that Sue talks often about in her blog.



To appreciate the size and quality of Country Roads Antiques, her blog is a must-readbecause Sue posts lovely pictures of the different booths everyday.  It was so nice to meet her in person and then roam around CRA at our leisure.  Just fantastic!

Before we headed to Sue's store we had stopped at a unique outdoor cafe recommended to us for it's dog-friendly atmosphere and it's very good food.

It had lovely outdoor seating in a local park.  Address?  I don't remember, but I'm sure you can google it if you are in the area and want to check it out.  That's what we did:

As for today (Sunday)?  Well, the day is not over yet, but we've just gotten back from a wonderful bike ride from Seal Beach all the way to Long Beach. 



 I managed to catch a little video from my bike for those of you who dare to watch - can't guarantee you won't experience motion sickness, but it shows a little bit of our ride along this beautiful part of the SoCal coast.


Tomorrow Mr. Tennis will wing his way back to O-town, The Writer and Sammy will head to work in LA, The Maven, Stan and I will head back to LA in The Sacred Cow.  The Maven and I will spend our last day in LA visiting a few favorite spots, packing and having one last dinner with our generous hosts, Sammy and The Writer.  Then, well, then it's Vegas, baby, Vegas.  Our first stop on our trip home.



7 comments:

Orlando Grandma said...

What a quaint coumunity, lovely homes and gardens. How nice to have met our friend Sue and visit the store. It looks like Mr. Stan had fun too. If I am not home I'll give Alan a call in the eve. You girls enjoy you stay in Vegas, don"t take any wooden nickles be safe enjoy your ride with the sacred cow. Love Mom

Mr. Tennis said...

It's not going to be easy to get back to the heat and humidity of O-town. I expect the tennis court to be at about 110 degrees by the time I hit the courts on Tuesday.

Sue said...

It was SO nice seeing you at "the store"! And even nicer seeing my favorite little Old Towne, Seal Beach, on your blog. Someday I'm going to sell my house, and move there. For now, it is only a ten minute drive so I get to spend lots of time there. Have a safe trip home!!

Take care, Sue

Mr. Connor said...

Wonderful. They must have more than 24 hours in a day out there. Lots of things done and places to visit. Sue's store is great. You could spend days looking at everything. Great times for all !

Decor To Adore said...

I just adore Seal Beach~great photos!

We thought about you while on vacation. My cousin has 2 Boston's. You'll soon see their photos on the ole blog.

Boo that you are not coming by for a visit. Mr. Decor has applied for a job in Holland so we might not be on the way next time. :(

WhisperWood Cottage said...

Oh, my goodness! I want a Stanley! He is adorable!! That antique store looks fun, too!

Simply Bungalow said...

Love Seal Beach. What a great place to spent some time.