For Memorial Day weekend Walker and I went to visit my parents in Orange County California and today I am sharing our weekend play by play!
Day 1:
…we’ve arrived…
…I promise she likes to fly…
We arrived at John Wayne Airport around 6:35pm and went straight to my parents’. After some wine in the backyard while watching Lulu and my parents’ dog, Frito, play we were off to our favorite restaurant in Orange County- Da Bianca Trattoria in Orange. They have some of the best Italian food I’ve ever tasted and the ambiance is so charming at the family owned restaurant.
…dinner at Da Bianca…
…the boys at dinner…
…birthday cheesecake for my love…
We started with their appetizer special of grilled veggies and spicy Italian sausages. For dinner my mom and I split a bow tie pasta with peas, mushrooms, sausage and a pink sauce, my dad had the pork chop special and Walker had seafood pasta. For dessert Walks had cheesecake to celebrate his upcoming birthday. If you are in the area Da Biancas is truly a must! I recommend reservations on a Friday or Saturday night.
After dinner we played cards with my parents while my mom and I sipped on tea and the boys had some more wine.
Day 2:
…post spin selfie…
The family that spins together, stays together! Walker and my dad have taken spin together before and Walker and I spin every Saturday together, but my mom had never tried it! We thought it’d be a fun thing to do together as a family and it was! We went to Bike 2 The Beat in Tustin and had a blast while burning calories.
…yum…
After lunch we went to Mizu in Tustin for bento boxes! Mom and I had chicken teriyaki with veggie tempura and walker had steak and salmon teriyaki with veggie tempura. Walker isn’t a big bento box fan, but even he loved the bento boxes at Mizu.
…on the ferris wheel…
…my parents on the ferris wheel…
…ferris wheel fun…
That afternoon we were off to Newport to celebrate Walker’s birthday. We first went to Balboa Fun Zone to ride the ferris wheel. It was so fun and the view was amazing. All of us agreed we hadn’t ridden one in years!
…the captain…
…cheers…
…duffy time…
…the family…
Next we picked up a duffy boat from Newport Harbor Boat Rentals and hit the bay! We snacked on cheese, crackers and pâté (my mom’s pâté recipe is THE BEST and I’ll be sharing it in a few weeks here on the blog) and sipped on rosé while we cruised around the peninsula. We had such a great time chatting and taking in the amazing views.
…the ferris wheel…
…my parents about to board the ferry…
…my love and I at Balboa Fun Zone…
…setset at Balboa Fun zone…
…ridding the ferry…
Next we took the ferry from Balboa Island to the peninsula and walked around the charming neighborhood. After we had dinner at The Rusty Pelican in Newport. We dinned and sipped while over looking the beautiful day. Walker had swordfish with garlic mash with a Kentucky Bourbon sauce, my dad had swordfish as well but his came with jasmine rice and a tropical salsa and my mom and I both had arctic char with red skin mash and a lemon beurre blanc sauce. Yum! Afterwards we went to the restaurant’s bar and enjoyed a few more cocktails and the live band.
Day 3:
…enjoying the sunshine at Lake Mission Viejo…
We went with our friends Nikki and Mitch to Lake Mission Viejo and took a pontoon out on the lake. We sipped wine, nibbled on crackers and cheese and caught up. The lake was beautiful and it was great catching up with old friends.
…margaritas at Gabbi’s…
That night for dinner we went to dinner at Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen in Old Town Orange with my parents. It is one of our favorite spots in Orange County! We had margaritas and started with guac. For dinner I had shrimp enchiladas, Walker and my dad both had the chili relleno and my mom had chicken tacos. If you plan on heading to Gabbi’s you’ll need reservations for any night of the week, but its so worth it!
Day 4:
We started the day off right with yoga as a family at Oh Yoga in Orange. My parents are huge yogis but it was only Walker’s second class ever! Despite that he did amazing!
After yoga we went down to Newport again and had lunch at Cucina Enoteca with my parents and Lulu. It is such a charming restaurant with amazing food. Walker had chicken cannelloni, my dad had a burger and my mom and I spilt a veggie chop salad and a ricotta, date and bacon pizza. After lunch we Walked around Fashion Island Mall and then went to Rogers Gardens, which were beautiful as ever.
Sad to go after such an amazing weekend with my parents, our next stop was the airport to head back to Texas.
Kisses and California dreaming’ wishes,
