Around and about in Laguna Beach (LB)

So, what's life like in LB?
Just a few little observations based on our experience to date.
There are 24,000 residents in LB. Each year there are 3,900,000 visitors!! So it goes without saying that the majority of people you meet or see in the street are here on hols, just like you. But being on a house exchange gives you the inside edge, for example meeting people at the LBHS pool and being invited to come along to the free reggae gig in the park on a Sunday afternoon. And when you read the local paper, you find out that "set-ups are not permitted before 3pm". The reggae starts at 5pm and you are not expected to set up your picnic spot before 3. Aparently lots of families come along for the free gigs - there's a playground for the kids. (Last Sunday we missed Taylor Hawkins!! Who? Only the drummer with Foo Fighters!! If you still ask who, then you need not worry).
I asked how they all get home after the wine they aparently all drink. Simple - the trolley!
Now, I must explain about the trolley:
With 24,000 residents and all those visitors, there will have to be an enormous amount of cars in LB at any one time! Let me tell you, the PCH is always jam packed with cars, and parking for the beach is quite a challenge. Now think of how you might feel if you were one of the 24,000 people who are just trying to get to work and park your car for the work day.
Solution! A free shuttle bus for everyone! It's an old tradition, and the "trolley" goes up and down along PCH all day, taking people to and from the beaches or wherever they want to go - nobody's asking. As well as that, for those who live up in the canyons (like us) there's a free bus down town. (Unfortunately, it finishes at 6pm, but hey, we can't complain!!) Last night we took the bus down town and just got a taxi back.
Well the bus ride was brilliant! It took us up and down into the canyons, and we saw places we would never have seen without it.
I should explain about the canyons: LB is built in and around quite a few canyons, so there are hills everywhere. For example, here's a photo I took on my walk in the locality yesterday:

The houses have been built ino every conceivable space on the hillsides!

These are only in the ha'penny place to what we have seen. The most spectacular are so precariously perched that it would be taking my life in my hands to step out of the car to photograph them - on a bend in a steep decline! One is famous around here for costing $1,200,000 to build, but they forgot to put in a space to turn their car, so they have to park down the hill, because they can't reverse onto the winding canyon road! Can't you just sympathise with them? No? Well not too many people here can either!

OK - I managed to take a few shots from the car as we drove by:

These were taken 21st August and added to the earlier blog.

Here's another pic from my walk. did I already tell you LB is a very artistic community? Well, even the drains have artistic reminders to avoid pollution:

This photo was taken at the bottom of a hill that I thought was a perfect movie set for a car chase over a cliff!! Actually it was someone's driveway, more or less.

Here's the sign that indicates the end of the road aka cliff drop!!

And lo and behold! Just 2 blocks down from our house, what did I see but:

There was nobody around, and I didn't feel I could just knock on the door! So watch this space - I'll keep a look out for activity...
So, at night, what's there to do in LB? Well, it's an arty community, so there are lots of art galleries open. On the first Thursday of the month, they open to the public for free viewing, refreshments and an opportunity to talk to the artists. We went down on the 4th and looked around, but let's just say we weren't in the market for buying work to take home! Maybe a plate for the kitchen wall - but nothing took our fancy.
On Thursday last we had a look in at the Marine Bar where a Beatles/60s tribute band called Isle Of Lucy were playing:

Plenty of ladies there who were happy to relive their 60s days by dancing in front of the stage. My boys would have called it scary - and they would be reieved to hear I didn't join in!! They guys in the band paid homage to a guy at the bar called Chuck Coffey! I was intrigued! He was the singer/guitarist who played the music of Paul McCartney in the 60s film: The Birth of the Beatles (click for info). So many rich & famous people in LB!!!!

Last night we went down in time to catch the sunset at the Cliff. It's an area of little craft shops and cafes overlooking the bay. There was a wedding just below us:

Can you see the tables set out below?
Another feature was the open fires - patio heaters are so yesterday in comparison!

After that we went for a meal at RocknFish (click for info)- cool or what?!! The music was provided by a trio of guitarists whose claim to fame was that one of them was the nephew of Carlos Santana. Let's just say we can claim to be related to Padraig Harrington but that doesn't make us good golfers!! Still, the food was outstanding! Shrimps popcorn style, followed by the most lean & tender sirloin Aidan ever tasted and a great cob salad with chicken for me.
We get lots of inside info on LB from local newspapers delivered to our door - like police reports. A log of calls to the police in the past week might include items such as a report that a woman was jaywalking on the PCH, or that luggage worth $2,500 which had been left out overnight was stolen! The most bizarre was a report of two people tresspassing on the grounds of the Montage Hotel. They were found having sex in the pool!!! Let's just say, this is a quiet town, thank God!
Oh, and another bit of inside info - they're planning major sewage works over the next 6 years, by the beach. Every effort will be made to avoid disruption to beach users. You have been warned!