CalActive.com Activities Blog

It’s nice when I leave my house in the morning to head to work and there is not a cloud in the sky and 65-70 degrees. A PERFECT DAY! So, a few days ago I am heading down to Laguna Beach (where our office is) and all of a sudden, as I drove down Newport Coast, it seemed as if I was driving straight down into the clouds. Seriously, it looked so weird. Take a look…

After about 2 hours, the clouds were gone and we were back to a perfect day. Weather Rules!

Anyway, this weekend we are going to try out the Authentic Military Flight Simulators in Anaheim… Will most definitely take some pictures and video and do a write-up on it.

This morning we went out kayaking in Laguna Beach (Thalia Beach to be specific), and what a perfect day it worked out to be. There is a reason why many people call Laguna Beach a Paradise. The water was crystal clear, the weather was perfect, and the sea lions were on the rocks tanning as usual. Sea Lions? Yup! They were so cute sitting there with absolutely nothing to do being as lazy as one could ever be. Regardless,  they definitely made this trip that much more enjoyable.

One thing I love about ocean kayaking is that you can go easy or be more adventurous. Constantly trying to read the waves, the wind, and the current makes it all that much more exciting. There’s also another plus to kayaking that I just recently learned about. Kayaking is helpful for rafting. What do I mean by this? Well, rafting is a completely different activity, but the truth is that when you learn to kayak, it helps with your rafting skills. I will have to try this out myself!

On another note, we are just about getting ready to open our doors at the Montage Resort to those who want to go Kayaking, Snorkeling, or Buggy boarding, or even if you want to learn how to surf. The “life changing luxury travel” resort should definitely be a fun place to start a kayak tour from. Can’t wait!

Our starting point today:

Looking for something exciting and fun to do at the beach this weekend? Why not meet the Laguna Beach community down at Oak Steet in Laguna Beach for a positive, fun and friendly beach clean up followed by an action packed surfing competition. Want to surf in the competition? Why not, it would be fun. Plus you could win some awesome prizes that have been generously donated from many of our local shops and businesses for this exciting community gathering; a Cordell Surfboard, Victoria Skim Board, Hamboard Fish, Gift Certificates from K’Ya Restaurant, Splashes Restaurant and many more! This is the first surf jam and beach clean up hosted by our friends at Soul Surfing School. All the festivities will start around 7am on Sunday, March 9th, 2008.

For more information, click here.

Hope you can make it!

I was telling my colleagues about the Tomato Festival that goes on in Bunol, Spain, each year and was wondering how something like that would go down in a town like Laguna Beach. Bunol is situated only 30 kilometers inland from the Mediterranean Sea, and well-connected by motorway and rail to Madrid and Valencia, and each year this charming town erupts into a fiery blaze of tomato-hurling on the last Wednesday of every August. Can you imagine Laguna’s powers that be allowing something like that to happen in our neat and orderly town? I take enjoyment out of reading the weekly police blotter in the town’s papers, just to see how ‘disorderly’ the inhabitants have been over the previous 7 days - I kid you not: one report actually documented someone calling the police to report a ‘large hummingbird, flying aggressively around his/her apartment’. Compare this to the pippy mania documented in this blog that I stumbled upon - thanks Brian and Louise.

Apparently ‘La Tomatina’ (as the festival is called) started during the forties when a bunch of buddies started a tomato fight, in the village main square, for unknown reasons - although it is speculated that the initial volley may have been aimed at city officials! Whatever the reason, it was just a matter of time before their rowdy hooliganism drew passers-by into the fray, and soon everyone was having a great time. Since then, the fiesta’s reputation has spread and it keeps getting bigger and better each year.

I’ve not participated in the festival myself but friends have been have told me that it is well worth the trip, just to experience the pure wackiness of it. I’m not so sure - I’m all for letting your hair down and having a good time, but I prefer my tomatoes sundried and on a pizza, or nicely combined with some fresh Buffalo mozzarella and basil in a delicious Caprese salad, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (hmm, it must be getting close to lunchtime)…rather than smeared across my face/body/clothes. I did giggle though - on our festivals/events page on the CalActive site, there is a listing of a strawberry festival in Oxnard in May - maybe we could all go up there and see what happens if we start pelting each other with the fruit - who knows, we may start a whole new tradition in Southern California.