Memorial Day in Newport Beach…

I was going to write my normal Monday post, My Journey with Tiara, but Lou came home from Lake Arrowhead sick so I needed to deal with Tiara.  While he went to the walk in clinic, I decided it would be fun for Tiara and I to drive around Newport looking at all the flags for Memorial Day.  Tiara loves to go for drives, that is once you can actually convince her to get in the car,  which is usually a huge undertaking.  Tabitha helped me with that feat today.  She has a technique wherein she covers Tiara’s eyes with her hands and tells her “not to peek,” then guides her to the car to like it is a big surprise.  Tiara thinks it is really fun and a game since Tabitha is doing it, so she goes along with it 95% of the time.   Once in the car, I perched my camera on my lap and took off.

 

This flag is right down the street from my house, love it.  We then drove down Tustin Avenue towards the beach where we then saw this cool flag on one of the Eastside side streets.

 

 

 

We then drove down Dover Drive where we saw this amazing display.

 

 

We then turned right on Cliff and headed towards Newport Heights.

 

 

Love the houses in the Heights.  We passed the park with the amazing view of the Bay, Hmmm, I don’t know the name of that park even though my parents live 5 houses away from it.  Oh, I just remembered the name, Cliff Drive Park, Duh Tiffani,

 

 

Anyway, we then headed onto the Pacific Coast Highway towards Lido.  While stuck in beach traffic, I was able to snap this photo.

 

 

We then got to the Lido bridge which looked absolutely stunning.  I have to say, Lido Isle won the prize for being the most patriotic.  Almost every house had a flag, it was very cool.

 

 

After Lido we headed back onto the Coast Highway, Southbound.  I wanted to go down further onto the peninsula but the traffic was too bad.  While on PCH we passed the Landmark, Balboa Bay Club.

 

 

How funny is it, that I took this picture and it actually looks like an advertisement for Mercedes Benz.  Remember my hubby is a manger at Mercedes Benz of Anaheim Hills.  We then drove towards Balboa Island but made a stop outside the legendary “Galley” restaurant.  I only remember ever eating there once in high school, but I know for some Newporter’s it is an institution.

 

 

We then decided to pass Balboa Island and head towards CDM and drive along the top area by Inspiration Park? Again, having trouble with the names of the parks, I think that is right?

 

 

After trying to drive in this super crowded area and look for flags and look at the view we decided to head back towards Balboa Island.  Tiara wanted a hippo cookie from “Dad’s”.

 

 

We parked in the lot at the bottom of the bridge and I figured we could walk across the bridge and get TT her cookie and I could get my photo of the bridge.  Balboa Island decorates with flags all along the bridge like Lido but I was at the wrong angle to get a decent picture and Tiara decided she would absolutely not get out of the car.  She then started to get really mad.  I quickly started on our way home as I could see she was going to lose it in any minute.  Well I made it to PDH and then she started kicking me and pulling my hair.  I drove the back streets as much as possible, stopping randomly to calm her down but by the time we got home my right arm had 4 new scratches and she was out of her seatbelt.    I was so mad and luckily Lou showed up right after us and calmed her down.  I then needed a serious break so I started loading my pictures onto the computer and Tabitha and Nicole decided to take Tiara to Bear Flag for lunch.  Yeahhhh.

 

Anyway, hope you enjoyed my tour through Newport.  We may be the poorest family in Newport, as I always tell my kids, but we still get to live here and that is a beautiful thing.  It is such a gorgeous city, I feel so lucky and grateful to be surrounded by such beauty on a daily basis.

 

Happy Memorial Day and remember to thank and honor the soldiers who have fought to protect our freedom and have given us the opportunity to live safely in this beautiful country.