Orange County

Fellow blogger, Life as a California Wife, has asked for opinions about whether to plan a beach vacation in Orange County or near Los Angeles. Of course, I am suggesting the OC, baby! :)

And as I promised, here is list of some of my favorite places in OC (of course, this is just few of the many fun things to see and do):

OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS:

Doryman's Inn Bed & Breakfast

Newport Beach

Newport Beachwalk Hotel

Newport Beach

The Anabella Hotel

Anaheim

The Fairmont Hotel

Newport Beach

SHOPPING:

South Coast Plaza

Costa Mesa

Irvine Spectrum

Irvine

Yardhouse Restaurant @ Irvine Spectrum

Irvine

Fashion Island

Newport Beach

DINING:

Corner Bakery Cafe

Irvine

* I love their iced mochas!

Chronic Tacos

Newport Beach

* These are all over OC, but the original started in Newport Beach.

Mama D's Italian Kitchen

Newport Beach

* They also have locations in Manhattan and Hermosa Beach.

NIGHTLIFE:

Memphis

Costa Mesa

* Other locations include Manhattan Beach and Santa Ana.

Fred's Mexican Cafe & Cantina

Huntington Beach

Hurricanes Bar & Grill

Huntington Beach

FUN THINGS TO DO:

Disneyland

Anaheim

California Adventure Park

Anaheim

Medieval Times

Buena Park

Boardwalk Balboa Peninsula

Balboa

* This is a great place to take a stroll, ride a beach cruiser bike, people or whale watch, or visit the Balboa Pier.

And for the dog friendly tourists....

Dog Beach

Huntington Beach

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Memphis

After our delicious dinner Friday night at Mama D's in Newport Beach, we traveled just a few minutes down the road to Memphis Cafe & Bar in Costa Mesa to meet up with Steph for drinks to celebrate her 30th. (This was her pre b-day celebration. She headed to L.A. the next day to REALLY celebrate @ Drai's.) We had SO much fun here. Memphis has a really relaxed atmosphere with a dj spinning a combo of hip hop and house music, a mellow bar scene, and a good mix of patrons. (Reminds me a lot of the Blue Cue here in Sacramento, which used to be one of my favorite bars in Sactown when I was a single lady.) Bottom line, Memphis is a cool place! (Obviously, because we were having such a good time that I forgot to get any pics w/Steph. Insert sad face!)

* Memphis is a cafe that serves southern inspired food and later turns down to a bar. (They remove all the tables and chairs to clear out space for people to dance and mingle.)

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