Orange County, California

The two things that I think are important to do in any place I visit are 1) go up high and see what everything looks like from above and 2) go on a boat or at least a beach or a dock and see what everything looks like from the water. Luckily, my aunt and uncle, who gave me the tour of Orange County, included both in the itinerary.

I wanted to take some pictures of the snow-covered San Gabriel Mountains but things like freeway signs and buildings kept getting in the way. So we drove to the up to a restaurant which is perched at the top of a hill, up this winding road.



Here is a good portion of Orange County, in all its suburban glory:



And this is the reason why we drove up to top: a great view of the mountains.



Next, we headed to Newport Beach and took the quick ferry ride to Balboa Island. Since I live on an island (Long Island) and work on an island (Manhattan), it was nice to be back on an island after being on the mainland for oh, twenty-four hours or so.



Boats in the channel:



Now, those two events would have been sufficient for me to declare the visit a success. But there was more. We drove into the canyons to see the effects of the wildfires that had raced through a few months before. A couple of houses were burned completely to the ground with just the foundation and a chimney remaining. Cactus and scrub was scorched and we happened upon this plastic fence that melted in the heat of the fire.



Although in many places the roads were lined with bales of hay and sandbags to prevent mud from sliding down the burned slopes onto the roadways, in some areas the canyons looked absolutely idyllic.



And I have to wonder if the horses who live along the roads are enjoying the free hay!





But finally, the best thing of all was having breakfast with my cousin and his wife and their new little daughter who spent the whole meal staring at me from across the table.