Laguna Beach near Montage Resort

It was a sand and sun filled weekend.  I biked down to Santa Monica beach on Saturday and soaked up some sun.  A little too much though, as I managed to miss a good portion of my back when applying sunscreen.  Needless to say my tan line looks ridiculous.

But Sunday was the real beach day.  I journeyed down to one of my absolute favorite SoCal beaches.  It is the beach directly below the Montage resort in Laguna Beach, which is right next to Aliso beach.  I came here several times when I was in school.  And I remember it being a lot less crowded.  But I was also not there on a perfect day in August.

The beautiful Montage resort.  I hear it used to be a trailer park.

It was awesome despite the crowds.  The beaches down in this part of Orange County seem more "real" if that makes sense.  With bluffs, cliffs, seaweed, and tidepools they are just a lot more fun to explore.  I met Steve and Laura there and we had a great time just lounging and enjoying the incredible scenery.

The waves were pretty strong and the water was surprisingly cold, but it felt really good to get in the ocean.  Laura spotted an abandoned frisbee that was riding the surf and of course Steve chased after it.

Steve is happy with his new frisbee.

We decided to check out the other side of the beach, which was a bit more crowded, but still lovely. And still no where near the crowd level of Santa Monica.  First we tried to get to the middle beach, but the journey seemed a little trecherous with high tide so we decided against it.  I climbed a big rock to get this 360 degree view.

Bad hair day after a swim in the ocean.  And yeah, I need a haircut

After some reading, tanning, and more relaxing it was time to head home.  But I had to get one more picture.  I would highly recommend this beach if you are willing to make the drive.  It is just beautiful.  And if you can afford to stay at the Montage, well than even better.  Some day I will :)