Long Beach Weekend
When I noticed I would only be two nights away from platinum status with Marriott, I booked a little trip to Long Beach for the weekend after Christmas. The silly things we do for status. That wasn't the only reason I went, however. Since I am thinking of moving to that area, I thought it would be fun to explore and talk to people who live there about the pros and cons, where to live, and so on. LGB is a great little airport in southern LA county and it's so much easier to get in and out of than Hell-AX. I arrived Friday morning and drove to Laguna Niguel, where my colleague lives. She graciously offered to show me around her little slice of paradise, so we cruised through Laguna Niguel, San Clemente, and Dana Point. It is definitely the burbs, but she is 10 minutes from the beach, which is awesome. I am used to a more urban, walkable area, so I think it would be a tough adjustment to have to drive everywhere. I am able to walk a lot of places where I live now and I really value that, but being a short drive from the ocean would be nice.
After we said our goodbyes, I headed up the coast and checked into the Renaissance hotel, located in downtown Long Beach. This hotel is in a really great spot. It's close to The Pike outlets, Pine Street, the Promenade, the Queen Mary, and is a short drive/Uber away from Belmont Shores (another neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shopping). It is also close to the water, where a there is a paved path along the beach for runners and cyclists. For dinner, I went the Long Beach Beer Lab, located in the Wrigley neighborhood. Yes, like the gum and the stadium (Go Cubbies!). Someone told me it's called "Wrigley" because a lot of the citrus fruit used in the gum came though that area. The LBBL had a wide variety of beers and did not fall into the pattern of so many of the other local breweries with 8 IPAs and like 2 other options. They had a nice variety of styles, from a light helles all the way to IPAs and sours. Something for everyone! This is not a place for those who are gluten-sensitive! I shamelessly ate all but one slice of that pizza and I'm not even sorry about it. I purchased a couple of sours to bring home (souven-beers!) and headed back to the hotel for a carb-coma sleep.
In the morning, I wanted to head down the Pacific Coast Highway a bit to Huntington Beach. HB is in Orange County and is a bit touristy and is the closest beach to Disneyland. I wandered through some shops, up the pier, through little craft fair, and had lunch at G's Boat House where I met two really awesome people who live in the area. I peppered them with questions about what it's like to live there, what the real estate market is like, what the drawbacks to living there are. They were both so nice and each connected me to real estate agents and property managers. I really liked that HB is more of a beach where you can actually get in the water and there is actual surf, which is unlike a lot of LB. I liked that there were a lot of dining and bar options and there was a good energy about the place. It's very walkable and the people I met said it's also very safe. Yes, there is a homeless problem, but that's everywhere, to be honest. You have to take the good with the bad. So, now I guess Huntington is on my radar for somewhere to move. The property tax rate is also among the lowest in Orange County (0.68%) and the sales tax is lower than Long Beach (7.75% vs. 10.25%), which is close to way I pay in Salt Lake City.
Back up the PCH to Long Beach for a nap (because I can, dammit) and a walk that took me through The Pike Outlets and a stop for a pint of Smithwicks in the Irish pub there. The Pike is fairly unremarkable, to be quite honest. There are Nike, Columbia, Gap, Express, and Converse outlets, and a few others and a bunch of crappy chain restaurants. I never understand why people eat at chains when there are lots of much better local options. For dinner, I went to the Belmont area of town and found an amazing spot called Panxa Cocina, which serves southwest style cuisine. I had the short rib with cheddar polenta and I did not want to stop eating. The polenta was better than any mashed potato I have ever day. The short rib fell off the bone. Oh! And the margaritas! Have the smoky mango. You won't be sad. It's a party in your mouth.
Sunday morning I went for a run from my hotel down the beach a ways and back. Sea level running is the best when you are used to higher altitude- so much oxygen! I packed my bags and decided to drive to Newport Beach, which is just south of Huntington Beach. My hunger got the best of me, however, so I stopped in Huntington for lunch at 25 Degrees for a burger and fries. Newport is definitely a bougie area, lots of money and huge houses, and like other parts of California, a huge outdoor mall called Fashion Island. I went down to the pier to walk around and watch the sunset before I had to drive to the airport, about 40 minutes away. The sunset was beautiful and I don't think any picture I took did it justice.
Until next time, ocean....
After we said our goodbyes, I headed up the coast and checked into the Renaissance hotel, located in downtown Long Beach. This hotel is in a really great spot. It's close to The Pike outlets, Pine Street, the Promenade, the Queen Mary, and is a short drive/Uber away from Belmont Shores (another neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shopping). It is also close to the water, where a there is a paved path along the beach for runners and cyclists. For dinner, I went the Long Beach Beer Lab, located in the Wrigley neighborhood. Yes, like the gum and the stadium (Go Cubbies!). Someone told me it's called "Wrigley" because a lot of the citrus fruit used in the gum came though that area. The LBBL had a wide variety of beers and did not fall into the pattern of so many of the other local breweries with 8 IPAs and like 2 other options. They had a nice variety of styles, from a light helles all the way to IPAs and sours. Something for everyone! This is not a place for those who are gluten-sensitive! I shamelessly ate all but one slice of that pizza and I'm not even sorry about it. I purchased a couple of sours to bring home (souven-beers!) and headed back to the hotel for a carb-coma sleep.
In the morning, I wanted to head down the Pacific Coast Highway a bit to Huntington Beach. HB is in Orange County and is a bit touristy and is the closest beach to Disneyland. I wandered through some shops, up the pier, through little craft fair, and had lunch at G's Boat House where I met two really awesome people who live in the area. I peppered them with questions about what it's like to live there, what the real estate market is like, what the drawbacks to living there are. They were both so nice and each connected me to real estate agents and property managers. I really liked that HB is more of a beach where you can actually get in the water and there is actual surf, which is unlike a lot of LB. I liked that there were a lot of dining and bar options and there was a good energy about the place. It's very walkable and the people I met said it's also very safe. Yes, there is a homeless problem, but that's everywhere, to be honest. You have to take the good with the bad. So, now I guess Huntington is on my radar for somewhere to move. The property tax rate is also among the lowest in Orange County (0.68%) and the sales tax is lower than Long Beach (7.75% vs. 10.25%), which is close to way I pay in Salt Lake City.
Back up the PCH to Long Beach for a nap (because I can, dammit) and a walk that took me through The Pike Outlets and a stop for a pint of Smithwicks in the Irish pub there. The Pike is fairly unremarkable, to be quite honest. There are Nike, Columbia, Gap, Express, and Converse outlets, and a few others and a bunch of crappy chain restaurants. I never understand why people eat at chains when there are lots of much better local options. For dinner, I went to the Belmont area of town and found an amazing spot called Panxa Cocina, which serves southwest style cuisine. I had the short rib with cheddar polenta and I did not want to stop eating. The polenta was better than any mashed potato I have ever day. The short rib fell off the bone. Oh! And the margaritas! Have the smoky mango. You won't be sad. It's a party in your mouth.
Sunday morning I went for a run from my hotel down the beach a ways and back. Sea level running is the best when you are used to higher altitude- so much oxygen! I packed my bags and decided to drive to Newport Beach, which is just south of Huntington Beach. My hunger got the best of me, however, so I stopped in Huntington for lunch at 25 Degrees for a burger and fries. Newport is definitely a bougie area, lots of money and huge houses, and like other parts of California, a huge outdoor mall called Fashion Island. I went down to the pier to walk around and watch the sunset before I had to drive to the airport, about 40 minutes away. The sunset was beautiful and I don't think any picture I took did it justice.
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