After dropping Valerie off at the John Wayne airport in Orange county just south of Los Angeles ( about 2 hours from Palm Springs ), we headed over to Laguna beach which as it turns out is only about 15 minutes away. The fall is the best time to visit Laguna beach since they seem to have the best weather at this time of year. We strolled along the boardwalk for awhile and also went into a few shops. This is a great place to spend some time if you are interested in paintings and other artistic works.
Laguna Beach is a very rich area with million dollar homes suspended on the cliffs. Personally I would never live in one of these. I would always wonder if I was going to wake up one morning at the bottom.
The Laguna beach hotel is one of the landmarks that has been around since at least the 30's, with rooms facing the beach and the ocean and very expensive. Rooms start at $150 for a village view and at $230 for an ocean view all the way up to $350. This is not a modern hotel, but has a great location.
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The pictures above show the beach and the boardwalk. We decided to have lunch at the Laguna Hotel ( were else ) and sat on the patio overlooking the ocean and the beach. The picture on the left is from the patio where we had lunch. A bowl of clam chowder and a sandwich with fries cost us $30 with the tip! but the view was worth it.
The picture on the right was taken at the Hotel Montage, another exclusive hotel where rooms start at $695 and 4 bedroom suites can be had for $6000/night. I am always amazed at the number of young people staying at these places.
This picture shows Carol with Jessie and Herman, who live in Laguna beach. We met them at the Deauville were we are staying in Palm Springs. They have homes in Palm Springs, Laguna, San Bernardino and also in Mexico.
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The following pictures are all taken from the grounds of the Montage hotel and show some of the views as well as the beautiful landscaping that is at this hotel.
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The Montage is a very exclusive hotel. Below you can see the pool overlooking the ocean and the view from the deck just off the lounge inside the hotel.
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