Day 4: Balboa Peninsula

Today was our last full day in Newport Beach and we certainly made the most of it. We drove the two miles from our condo to the end of Balboa Peninsula and started the day with a walk along the 1906 pier. At the end of the pier was Rubys Diner, a retro 1950’s place which made us all feel like we were in ‘Back to the Future’. We stopped for one of their famous shakes which the girls absolutely loved, but couldn’t finish!

We then walked down Main Street towards the Balboa Fun Zone. Along the way we picked up some souvenirs and one or two little nic-naks from various shops. On the first day, Issy had lost her glasses in the Pacific Ocean after being taken out by a large wave so we stopped at an opticians to see if we could get her a new pair. The couple who ran the business were quite incredible in what they did for us. Amazingly, they were able to send her prescription off to the lab to make her a new set of glasses, drive the 90 minute round trip to collect them and ensure that they were ready for us so that we could return to the shop at 4pm to pick them up. It pretty much sums up the way I feel about the American people in the short time we have been here. They are so friendly and cannot do enough to help us.

When we made it to the fun zone, Issy, Tess and I had a go on the 1930’s Ferris wheel and we all spent some quarters in the arcade and did quite well, winning a few prizes.

We returned to the condo for lunch and then hit the beach for the final time here. The sun came out just as we arrived and we spent a blissful afternoon body-boarding, swimming and sun bathing (briefly interrupted to go and collect Issy’s new glasses). Amazingly, we saw a dolphin swimming just slightly further out from where we were all playing in the surf! We didn’t really want to leave but at around 6pm we packed up our things and went home covered in sand for a good shower.

As it was our last night, we ventured out to Mama D’s Italian restaurant which has rave reviews on Trip Advisor. The wait for tables was at least an hour so we left our name with the waitress and returned to the beach to watch the sun set, which was beautiful.

When we returned to Mama D’s we had a little wait in the queue with lots of others. They were happy to serve up garlic bread and drinks on the pavement while we waited which kept us going. When we eventually got seated, it was absolutely buzzing and a great place to spend our last night. We had pizza’s all round and ended the evening with three very tired girls and a slow walk back to our condo for bed and the next stage of our trip – Anaheim and Disneyland!