Norah wanted to visit her friend in California this summer, so we did a quick trip in July. On our first day, we drove from Flagstaff to the San Bernardino area to pick up Olivia, then continued on to Laguna Beach. We checked into the Costa Art Hotel, and the girls took a walk to Heisler Park to check out Laguna Beach and the ocean views. We drove to the Shake Shack at Crystal Cove for dinner. It was busy and we had to wait maybe 15-20 minutes to get parking. It was worth it though - my date shake was delicious and the views were beautiful. To finish off our night, we walked from our hotel to Crescent Bay Beach and had a lovely evening by the ocean.

Our next day was a relaxing one around Laguna Beach. In the morning, we went to Crystal Cove State Park, where we explored some tide pools and walked along the beach. In the afternoon, we enjoyed some pool time and walked around downtown Laguna. We returned to the hotel in the late afternoon so the girls could get ready for taking photos at Crescent Bay Beach around sunset. Apparently, this is a thing - they used one of my old digital cameras. Trying to get the pictures off the camera was another story, lol. The pictures did turn out cute!

Next up for the girls was basically an extended sleep over at Olivia’s, with a few stops along the way. We left Laguna Beach in the morning and headed to Irvine. Norah had booked us a strawberry picking tour at Tanaka Farms. We were just under the wire, as it was the end of strawberry season. Each tour also comes with a bonus vegetable, and that was our first stop on the tractor tour. After picking shishito peppers, we got a brief tour of the farm, learning about its history and about everything they grow there.

Normally, the farm rotates crops for the soil health, but they wanted to grow their strawberries in one place. They were able to do this by growing them hydroponically - no soil needed! The strawberries grow above ground in grow bags, rain gutters, or PVC tubing filled with ground-up coconut husk. They use drip irrigation, which, along with the sun, provides everything the strawberries need. For visitors, there’s another big advantage - the strawberries are elevated, so you don’t have to bend down to pick them. It was very easy to fill our boxes (and plenty went in our stomachs, too). The strawberries were perfectly ripe and delicious!

We spent some time at The Spectrum in Irvine before I drove the girls to Olivia’s place. I continued on to Big Bear to spend a few nights at an Airbnb. I had never been to Big Bear and was eager to check it out. I was up early the next morning to start my hike to Bertha Peak before it got too hot and crowded. I drove to the north shore of the lake to the Cougar Crest Trailhead and set out on the Cougar Crest Trail. The hike is 7.2 miles round trip with 1,350 feet of elevation gain. Most of the hike is on the Cougar Crest Trail, with some shorter sections on the Pacific Crest Trail and Bertha Peak Road. The trails were well-maintained, and the climb was gradual - it’s a nice, easygoing hike to the summit. As the trail climbed, there were more views of Big Bear Lake, and at the summit, I had 360 degree views all to myself. I sat there for a while, enjoying the morning, before returning the way I came. I really liked this hike - it was a great start to the day.

The Cougar Crest Trailhead is just down the road from the Big Bear Discovery Center, which I stopped at next. I went on the guided nature walk to learn more about the area’s flora and checked out the exhibits inside. I was especially impressed by the pine cone from the Coulter pine - it was huge! Afterward, I went back to the Airbnb to relax a bit before heading out again in the late afternoon.

I had booked a lake tour on the Big Bear Queen that began at 5 pm. I’d noticed a farmers market that had just started on Fridays at Ski Beach Park, beginning at 4 pm, so I had enough time to swing by and pick up some fresh berries and food to take on the boat. The tour left from Pine Knot Marina and was 1.5 hours long. We made a big loop around the lake while the captain shared history about the lake and surrounding area and pointed out various houses and landmarks. It was a nice tour and a beautiful evening on the lake.

On my last day I fit in one more hike: Castle Rock. The new parking lot and trail reroute had just opened up. It was a short hike - only 2.5 miles round trip with 800 feet elevation gain - and it offered nice views of Bear Lake for the effort. I was early enough there were only a few other hikers on the way up; by the time I was done, the trail was much busier. I headed back to the Airbnb to shower and pack up, then drove back down to Redlands. I had lunch and walked around downtown before picking up the girls at the Goodwill bins.

We went to the original McDonald’s, which is now an unofficial museum. It was a walk down memory lane seeing all the different Happy Meal Toys from my childhood (Cabbage Patch Kids, Muppet Babies, Smurfs, etc). We also stopped by the Wigwam Motel on historic Route 66 in San Bernardino. This was a motel chain built during the 1930s and 1940s with seven original locations. Three still survive and are listed on the National Register of Historic places (the other two are in Cave City, Kentucky and Holbrook, Arizona - which we’ve also visited). The girls had one more night to hang out, and we drove back home the next day. It was a quick trip, but we had a good time. I'm glad Norah was able to spend some time with Olivia before they are both off to college!