Sunday, December 6, 2009

Three Travel Secrets- Outdoors in the OC

When most people think about taking a vacation in Orange County with their kids they think Disneyland. Yes, Orange County is home to the Happiest Place on Earth but there is so much more to OC than Mickey Mouse. What I love most about Orange County is that there seems to be an infinite number of things to do outside. The next time you and your family take a Disney vacation consider taking a day off from the theme park madness and enjoying some of these outdoor treasures that Orange County has to offer:

1. Fantastic Family-Friendly Hiking Trails: Whether you take a hike in in a coastal canyon, a stroll around Newport’s Back Bay or explore Saddleback Mountain in search of Holy Jim Falls, you are destined to find a piece of Orange County that few tourists every see. Orange County is still wild. You just have to know where to look.

March 20092

2. Beautiful beaches just waiting to be explored: Enjoy Orange County as it has been for generations at Crystal Cove State Beach, explore some fantastic tide pools at Little Corona Beach during low tide or have the ultimate Southern California beach day at Huntington. Either way, make it down to the water. Orange County beaches are nothing short of spectacular.

December 2008

Eric's pictures Huntington Beach

3. Get out on the water: Did you know that gray whales are thought to use Dana Point in Orange County as a landmark during their great winter migration from the Bering Sea down to Baja? Hop on board a whale watching cruise in Dana Point Harbor and see one of these mighty beasts for yourself. Don’t be surprised if you see dolphins and sea lions along the way. If you would rather to the paddling yourself, rent a kayak and explore Newport Bay. This ecological reserve is a birders paradise and the perfect place for first timers to learn how to paddle.

This post was inspired by Caroline at Kids Go West, who gave me a little shoulder tap in a game of blogger tag that began with Katie at Tripbase. Caroline shared some great things to do in Maui that are a bit off the beaten path but well worth the trip. She then tagged me and other bloggers to share their travel secrets. I will be tagging a few more fellow travel bloggers because I can’t wait to read what secrets they are willing to divulge.

The goal is to create a virtual index of some well kept travel secrets from travelers all over the world. Katie from Tripbase is keeping the list as bloggers keep the tags going.

6 comments:

Katie, Tripbase said...

Great family secrets, thanks for sharing!

Debi said...

Cool list. Thanks for letting us in on some secret hits with your family.

Carolina said...

As always, lovely pictures. You know I have yet to go whale watching, and that's such a cool natural even here in California.

Helene said...

Last time we went to Disneyland we decided to do some other things besides the whole Disney and Universal Park stuff. We went to the Long Beach Aquarium and Huntington Beach....it was awesome! We also drove to Laguna Beach one day and just hung out on the beach eating grapes. We had such a great time!! I can't wait to do it again!

Lorraine Akemann said...

Treasures close to home can be some of the best. I enjoyed this post, it shows a lot of appreciation.

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