The P3 went to Newport Beach over the weekend to celebrate the elder Ps' wedding anniversary. We considered a couple of other not-too-distant locales but decided to go someplace we'd never been. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach. It is centrally located near Balboa Island and Fashion Island--the former an island of upscale residences with a hip main street, the latter an outdoor mall styled like a Mediterranean plaza.
On Saturday, Riley and I went exploring a bit before Chris got up. We walked around the hotel grounds, checking out each of the three pools, the tennis courts, ping-pong tables, shuffleboard court, and the golf course. Then we drove around the back bay before heading over to Balboa Island to check it out. It looked like it would be a fun place to stroll around in warm weather, and a great place to live--if you could afford it, and if you don't mind houses packed together like sardines. Riley and I then had a light breakfast together at a bagel shop and brought some bagels back for Chris at the hotel.
After Chris got dressed, we drove down to Dana Point in search of the Whale Festival.
We intended to go to the children's carnival there, but we never quite made it. Instead, we walked along the beach, gazing out at the die-hard sailing fanatics on the greenish, wind-whipped waves.
We also checked out a couple of old tall sailing ships over at the Ocean Institute.
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Fashion Island to browse in Barnes and Noble. Riley was thrilled to discover a train table in the children's section. He made friends with another little boy and they played happily together until it was time to think about dinner.
I was a bit tired of driving around, so we decided to take the easy way out and have dinner at the hotel restaurant, Sol. We made a toast to our little family and enjoyed a surprisingly good meal. We then retired to our room for the evening, where we treated Riley to a screening of Underdog. His favorite part of the movie was the "bloopers,"--in particular, the one where Underdog says "There's no need to fear, Underwear is here!" Riley just cracked up and repeated it about five or six times, so his dense parents could appreciate every little nuance of a well-crafted joke. Ah...the finely developed 4-year old's sense of humor. Knock-knock jokes are quite popular too, these days.
Riley was a bit schizophrenic about traveling--excited one moment and ready to go home the next. That was odd, because he's loved every other trip he's been on. Perhaps this didn't really feel like a vacation to him since we drove rather than taking a plane somewhere.
After a somewhat fitful night in the hotel bed Friday night, during which he professed an intent to keep his eyes open all night long, Riley decided to rest on the armchair and ottoman the following night. Using a pillow and blanket, ordinarily used for naptime at school, he made a comfy little bed just the right size for a 4-year old boy. He slept in the chair all night long and then climbed in bed with me in the morning, gifting me with a few more hours of sleep. He didn't wake up again until 10:00 AM. I think that was the first time I've been able to sleep in since he was born!
I chose Newport Beach for its slightly south of LA location, hoping for a warm sunny weekend. That's always a gamble during the spring in SoCal. Saturday was misty and cool, but we had sun on Sunday. So, Riley and I took a brief swim in one of the hotel's heated outdoor pools. Ever since he found out that he can touch bottom in the shallow end of most pools now, he's eager to swim any chance he gets--even if the air temperature is only 65 degrees! It wasn't bad, so long as you didn't have get out of the water.
An hour or so later, we headed home, but not before Riley had a crisis of conscience over a hotel pen he had initially insisted we take with us. As soon as we checked out of the hotel, he broke down in tears and said he wanted to return it to the room. He would not be consoled until I promised him I would mail it back to the hotel.
Debriefing with Dad
