So I wanted to follow up on my "Fun & Frugal Things to do in L.A. Area" post!I wasn't able to do all the things on my list but I got to explore quite a few places!
We stayed at the Extended Stay America at: 1742 S Clementine St, Anaheim, CA 92802
It was very nice and close to everything! Plus we got a super great deal on a room with a Kitchenette so we could save even more money on food!
We were able to go to:
1. Newport Beach & Oceanside Beach
Newport Beach was very nice and has lots of things around it. It was also the closest to our hotel and pretty much a straight shot on hwy! Here are some pictures from that beach:
And at Oceanside Beach they have a excellent Fish & Chips place, free parking, and a very nice beach. We went here at dusk/night so I don't have pictures of the BEACH but I do of the harbor there:
2. Visited a Park
We visited many parks in the area, but one of our favorites was Irvine Park (1 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869). I brought my girls by myself this day so I didn't take any pictures:( But I do have a map of the park and such I will scan onto here later for you to see! Now one thing they don't mention when searching is that it cost $4 to get in/park! Which would have been nice to know so I would have packed a lunch and made more of a day of it. But it was still very nice! They have a trail you can ride, pony rides, the Zoo, a lake, several playground areas that have a pad under the playground instead of wood chips!, pavilions to eat at, horse back riding lessons, you can rent bikes & boats, and they do have somewhere you can buy food at the trail station. So there was PLENTY to do, but no one was at the main gate when I went in and I had never been there so I had to kind of guess where everything was....then at the train station I found the map which opened up a whole new world!
A little info on the train ride:
We also wanted to check out Santiago Oaks Regional Park but it also cost $4 to get in and I know that you could prob. buy a state park pass and just go to a bunch in that area, but my girls were melting so we went home.It's on Serrano Ave in Orange, CA.
There was also a little playground at the hotel next door and others off Chapman as well as some play areas at the malls around the area (like the one on The City Dr S. and the one on Main Place Dr./N Main St was HUGE, but we didn't have much time to explore it!) I know there was also a Discovery Science Center down the street from there also...so little time! Darn nap time!
3. Crystal Cathedral
Now, I'm not Catholic but we went by this cool Crystal Cathedral on Chapman Ave several times and it was just cool! (These aren't my pics. Thanks Google!)
4. Downtown Disney
We didn't go to Disneyland, but we were able to go to Downtown Disney and check out some of the shops there. This was plenty for my little ones and it was nice to go into air conditioning on a hot day:) Alli loved Build-A-Bear & the Disney Store. Her Aunt got her a Pascal Stuffed Animal & a Princess Book that has vinyl stickers you can dress up the princesses. She loves them both! The Lego store is cool for older kids and the Carmel Corn was yummy! You can usually find coupons and discounts for some of the shops like Build-A-Bear and the Disney store online and at the hotels around there. And discounts for other local places. You can also take a shuttle bus right to Downtown Disney from most of the hotels (for a cost), but there's parking right by it for Free for 2 or 3 hrs and then you can get additional hrs for buying things. Anyway, it was easy to find.
5. There were many Targets, Walmarts, Vons, Smart & Finals, Albertsons, Trader Joes, Malls etc.
One of our fav. areas was on N Tustin St. & E Meats Ave.
There was a Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Starbucks, Trader Joe's, and a huge mall that had Old Navy, Sears, Ross, etc. in it (INDOORS!) and they also had Olive Garden and other restaurants close by.
Pretty much between Katella Ave, Main St, Tustin, and Chapman there was everything you really needed.
There was also a Walmart & other stores a couple exits down from where we were. So we always had something to do.
Between Google and our GPS we pretty much found anything with ease.
You can also find coupons and fliers for different places at your Hotel! Enjoy the adventure!
If you have a smartphone and use the Shopkicks app this area was a gold mine for walk in kicks and scans! I LOVE Shopkicks! Anytime I'm in an area with lots of shopping (there's not a whole lot in my little town) I whip it out and score kicks that I can redeem for gift cards like Target, Best Buy, Restaurants.com, Chili's, etc. Here's my referral link if you want to check it out!
http://get.shopkick.com/mink8265
We stayed at the Extended Stay America at: 1742 S Clementine St, Anaheim, CA 92802
It was very nice and close to everything! Plus we got a super great deal on a room with a Kitchenette so we could save even more money on food!
We were able to go to:
1. Newport Beach & Oceanside Beach
Newport Beach was very nice and has lots of things around it. It was also the closest to our hotel and pretty much a straight shot on hwy! Here are some pictures from that beach:
2. Visited a Park
We visited many parks in the area, but one of our favorites was Irvine Park (1 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869). I brought my girls by myself this day so I didn't take any pictures:( But I do have a map of the park and such I will scan onto here later for you to see! Now one thing they don't mention when searching is that it cost $4 to get in/park! Which would have been nice to know so I would have packed a lunch and made more of a day of it. But it was still very nice! They have a trail you can ride, pony rides, the Zoo, a lake, several playground areas that have a pad under the playground instead of wood chips!, pavilions to eat at, horse back riding lessons, you can rent bikes & boats, and they do have somewhere you can buy food at the trail station. So there was PLENTY to do, but no one was at the main gate when I went in and I had never been there so I had to kind of guess where everything was....then at the train station I found the map which opened up a whole new world!
A little info on the train ride:
- www.irvineparkrailroad.com
- It's a 1/3 scale train that takes both children & adults on a 12 min ride through the park.
- It cost $4 per ticket or
- Book of 15 tickets for $50
- 12 months and younger ride FREE
- Open daily at 10AM ---7 Days a week
We also wanted to check out Santiago Oaks Regional Park but it also cost $4 to get in and I know that you could prob. buy a state park pass and just go to a bunch in that area, but my girls were melting so we went home.It's on Serrano Ave in Orange, CA.
There was also a little playground at the hotel next door and others off Chapman as well as some play areas at the malls around the area (like the one on The City Dr S. and the one on Main Place Dr./N Main St was HUGE, but we didn't have much time to explore it!) I know there was also a Discovery Science Center down the street from there also...so little time! Darn nap time!
3. Crystal Cathedral
Now, I'm not Catholic but we went by this cool Crystal Cathedral on Chapman Ave several times and it was just cool! (These aren't my pics. Thanks Google!)
4. Downtown Disney
We didn't go to Disneyland, but we were able to go to Downtown Disney and check out some of the shops there. This was plenty for my little ones and it was nice to go into air conditioning on a hot day:) Alli loved Build-A-Bear & the Disney Store. Her Aunt got her a Pascal Stuffed Animal & a Princess Book that has vinyl stickers you can dress up the princesses. She loves them both! The Lego store is cool for older kids and the Carmel Corn was yummy! You can usually find coupons and discounts for some of the shops like Build-A-Bear and the Disney store online and at the hotels around there. And discounts for other local places. You can also take a shuttle bus right to Downtown Disney from most of the hotels (for a cost), but there's parking right by it for Free for 2 or 3 hrs and then you can get additional hrs for buying things. Anyway, it was easy to find.
5. There were many Targets, Walmarts, Vons, Smart & Finals, Albertsons, Trader Joes, Malls etc.
One of our fav. areas was on N Tustin St. & E Meats Ave.
There was a Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Starbucks, Trader Joe's, and a huge mall that had Old Navy, Sears, Ross, etc. in it (INDOORS!) and they also had Olive Garden and other restaurants close by.
Pretty much between Katella Ave, Main St, Tustin, and Chapman there was everything you really needed.
There was also a Walmart & other stores a couple exits down from where we were. So we always had something to do.
Between Google and our GPS we pretty much found anything with ease.
You can also find coupons and fliers for different places at your Hotel! Enjoy the adventure!
If you have a smartphone and use the Shopkicks app this area was a gold mine for walk in kicks and scans! I LOVE Shopkicks! Anytime I'm in an area with lots of shopping (there's not a whole lot in my little town) I whip it out and score kicks that I can redeem for gift cards like Target, Best Buy, Restaurants.com, Chili's, etc. Here's my referral link if you want to check it out!
http://get.shopkick.com/mink8265
Looks like you guys had fun! Good thing you had Whitney there to lend you some help. ;)
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