After the first five days of our San Diego sojourn last month, we headed up to Orange County; synonymous with upscale affluence, conservatism and plastic surgery. There are several television "reality" shows set in Orange County, and one ensemble drama. I am not going to link to them. However, in fairness, we should note that Hollywood, not far to the north, is known for liberalism and plastic surgery, so I think the reconstructive urge is bipartisan.

We stayed with one of my many, many sisters in-law - this is what can happen when you marry into a Catholic family (lots of sisters-in-law, not visiting Orange County). She lives in Laguna Niguel, in a lovely townhome. On our first evening there, my wife, kids, I and our gracious hostess were joined for dinner by a blogosphere friend I'd not yet met in person, Michael Brandon McClellan. He's a local guy from just up the road who came home to practice law after school Back East. Michael is retiring his current blog, but he also writes political pieces for top-tier publications such as The Weekly Standard and Tech Central Station. Much food, wine and conversation followed, and before we knew it, five hours had flown by. Get your SoCal self up to Seattle soon, Mike.

The next morning we hooked up at Dana Point Harbor with an old friend from our Chicago/Evanston days, who's been living in San Juan Capistrano for 10-plus years with her husband and three kids. She used to play jazz drums for fun and is still great to talk to; she's not too crazy about living where she does, feeling she has nothing in common with the housewives of Orange County. Upgrading is all they talk about, she reports; faces, bodies, houses, husbands.

Appearances do seem to matter greatly. (Inland) Laguna Niguel and its seaside neighbor Dana Point are planned to within an inch of their lives. In Laguna Niguel especially, I noticed lots of gated and limited access, walled communities. Everything scrupulously clean, and environmentally correct. Upscale versions of old Red folksinger Pete Seeger's famous "little houses made of ticky-tacky." The upside is it's clean and fresh and sunny and pleasant. There's a nicely landscaped county park bordering Dana Point Harbor and the ocean; and a real emphasis on systemic integration in Orange County's regional and local planning, something which bears closer examination.

Then again, a tattoo parlor with a Spanish Mission roof just doesn't feel right to me. Nor did the sign outside the chain grocery urging patrons not to sign ballot measure petitions because it will only encourage the signature gatherers. I'm perfectly capable of blowing off a petition peddler, a beggar or even a cookie-hawking Girl Scout (with a smile of course) if I so choose. I'm pro-choice, though; I don't want to be hectored about it by the local thought police. Another beef: the fancy pants grocery store sold me some butter that turned out to be black with mold around the edges. A leading California brand of butter, as it happens, which I've never found so descrated when purchased here two states to the north. Somewhere is a dairy section manager lacking in scruples, or at least competence. To paraphrase Martin Mull, I got so downhearted, I threw my drink across the lawn. (OK, there was no lawn - we were staying in a high-density townhome complex, as I mentioned).

So there we were, hanging about the bayside of the breakwater, a stone's throw from the Ocean Institute in Dana Harbor. Public visits are on weekends only. The Institute also offers excursion boat tours. Here's one coming back to port.

On the other side of the breakwater is - as you might imagine - the Pacific Ocean; that's Dana Point on the right.

Planned development there has sparked controversy. A legal challenge was mounted on behalf of the Pacific pocket mouse and the California gnatcatcher, whose habitats were thought threatened by the restless churn of capital. It turns out that luxury homes are nonetheless going up on the headlands, but not as many as originally planned. There are marvelous public beaches and parks in town; and, plenty of other cliffside homes above the harbor. As you can see. Must be fewer pocket mice and gnatcatchers there.

The surf was high when we visited.

For lunch we went to the most down-to-earth joynt you could imagine, a little takeout window place, with outdoor tables only, and had some spectacularly good and dirt-cheap Mexican food. If you're driving through SoCal, you owe it to yourself to hie thee to Aurora's Taqueria at Pacific Coast Highway and El Encanto in Dana Point. Our large group ordered all kinds of things: potato tacos with salsa verde; marinated steak, steak, roasted pork, chicken and fish tacos; pork and chicken tamales; sopes (a kind of round, recessed cornmeal conveyor of heaped goodies); huaraches, or mini-tortillas, with varied fillings; and fresh ceviche tostadas. We did not, to my great regret, sample the tortas (special Mexican sandwiches) or the coctel de camarones. Next time, certainly.

The next day we spent partly in the town of Laguna Beach, up the coast just a bit. Here's a panoramic view, one more digipic captured with my trusty Canon Power Shot A95, edited with Apple iPhoto and hosted via my Photobucket.com account.

This guy was catching his dinner.

The tide was out, and so the tidepoolers, too. This is our family's idea of a seriously good time.

Lunch at the old-timey locals' spot, Greeter's Corner, was wonderful: achingly fresh grilled sea bass. Some onlne reviewers don't like the place. Our fish rocked, as did the setting, and service. If only the Russian Mafioso at the next table hadn't kept bribing his squalling brat of a daughter with desserts. It didn't work.

Anyway. The OC, I like ya. Better than any TV show. And I'll be back.

TECHNORATI TAGS: ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, DANA POINT, LAGUNA NIGUEL, LAGUNA BEACH, TOURISM BLOGGING

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at April 2, 2007 11:16 PM

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