Weekend Adventuring

Due to a case of the crud and sniffles, I opted to stay in Tustin for the weekend. I invited my sweetie to join me via train ride so I could show him what fun Tustin is (wooooo). It was a strange feeling to not be packing / plotting / planning my departure for the weekend. However, having been in Tustin for almost four months now and not staying one single weekend, I figured now was as good a time as any.

Our adventures began at the Tustin metrolink station, where I picked up my sweetheart after his ride south from LA. I'd never been to that station before as my work is closer to the Santa Ana station (Tustin stop is only for Metrolink trains, no Amtrack). Good to know.

Next order of business was lunch at an Indian joint I had read about on Yelp - Laxmi Sweets $ Spices.
It was delish! There are a bunch of Indian restaurants in my part of Tustin. Many more than any part of LA I ever lived in. This place serves vegetarian and meat options and for $8 you get all kinds of choices, as well as naan bread and a mango drink. My beau was so impressed. I was happy my first stop in the Tour de Tustin went over so well.

Next we hit Eisenhower Park in Orange. This is a park I have fond memories of from my youth. In the spring time, there are loads of tadpoles that swim in the man-made creeks. I just loved scooping them up in glass jars with my brother and inspecting the little tadpoles before releasing them back to their tadpoley business. We took a leisurely walk around the lake where ducks were being fed and a few groups of men were fishing. I'm surprised I remembered where this place even was!

In the evening, we hit up a showing of Batman Returns at the Mainplace Mall. I totally went here all the time as a teenager. Mall + suburbs + teenager = prime territory. Movies here are only $2. TWO DOLLARS! All the time!! $1 on Tuesdays!!! I don't think these movies were always this cheap, but I'm pretty stoked they are now. Both of us had missed the big theater run of Batman Returns, and considering it was a rainy night, this was the perfect opportunity to make up for lost time.

Sunday we attempted breakfast at Cook's Corner, a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon. Unfortunately we hit the line RIGHT as breakfast orders were ending. I wanted breakfast, and eyeballing the leftover hashbrowns on the griddle did nothing but make me want breakfast more. So we made our way out of the canyons (which were gorgeous that post-rainy night morning) and opted for a trip to Downtown Santa Ana.

After a greezy breakfast at Norms - the sight of many a teenage-hangover breakfasts - we strolled down Main Street to see what we could see. We walked past the old Koo's Cafe, which I could still recognize from the green fence out front. I was attempting to steer us towards the Gypsy Den, and I thought for the life of me it was on Main Street, but it was not. It was on Broadway, a few blocks west of us. Ah well. We continued our stroll, checking out the historic heart of Santa Ana a little. By the time we made our way back it was nearing the end of our adventuring. Time to head to the train station.

Ending our tour at the Santa Ana train station, we putzed around and chatted until it was time for him to go. I was sad to see my sweetheart leave on the train that afternoon. I wanted to leave too, to get back to LA, to get the hell out of Tustin, even after having a fun weekend of adventuring. Although I wanted to leave, I knew I had to stay. And I guess I have to stay in Tustin for a little while longer.