Family Visit to Crystal Cove Beach in Laguna

i knew it wouldn't be long before baby Dani would visit the beach for her first time. after giving birth to her at the beginning of this month, i was beginning to go stir crazy. staying in the house all day, had my boys begging to go on a family adventure. we're used to being on the go all the time, so having a baby has been a big adjustment. two weeks ago, the weather was nice and i was feeling a lot better, so we decided that a beach day was in order. i packed up the kids...grabbed a few towels and beach toys, all the baby stuff (ha! so much for our low maintenance family), and headed down to Crystal Cove Beach in Laguna Beach. it's one of my favorite beaches in Orange County, which you will see why as you read this post.

to get to Crystal Cove State Park, you need to park across Pacific Coast Highway at the designated parking lot. it costs $15 to park there, but you can get it validated at the Beach Comber restaurant that is on the beach. even if you just get a few drinks or fries to-go...it still is money better spent than just paying for parking. there is a shuttle that takes people back on forth to the beach for a small fee, but we decided to take the scenic route and walk down the hill to the sand.

right now it's very pretty along the trail...probably due to all the rain. it was so nice a green. the trail is paved nicely, and even though it's downhill, it isn't to steep.at the bottom of the hill, there is a long tunnel that actually goes under Pacific Coast Highway. it is lined with hand painted murals by local kids and teens. the boys were very excited to be pushing their sister in her new UPPAbaby stroller. she was swaddled up in the bassinet attachment, which was perfect for our first outing.

at the bottom of the hill, you come to some adorable beach cottages that you can actually stay in if you make reservations. they are high sought over, so here are Ten Tips for Staying at the Crystal Cove Cottages.
before we enjoyed some fun in the sun at the beach, we got a bite to eat. one of the reasons we chose Crystal Cove, is because there are restaurants right on the beach. you can eat at The Beachcomber Cafe or at Ruby's Shake Shack. since The Beachcomber Cafe was pretty busy, we headed up to Ruby's Shake Shack which overlooks Crystal Cove Beach.

we love eating at the Shack. it's the same menu that you can get at Ruby's Diners, except not as many items. my favorite is the vegiwich and fries!

make sure to get a milkshake when you go to Ruby's Shake Shack. that's what they are known for....and are super yummy.after a yummy lunch, we headed back down to the beach and spent the rest of the afternoon there.Little Miss Dani just chilled in her stroller most of the time. i let her get a little sunshine as the day was perfectly beautiful.here are some photos of our afternoon. it was spent sitting in the sand, exploring the tide pools, people watching, and enjoying the sunshine as a family.

as soon as the sun started to set...

, we headed home. it was the picture perfect ending to our family day at Crystal Cove State Beach.

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