Santiago Creek Bike Path

I am pleased to report that for the past two weeks, I've had remarkably successful Tustin Adventures. Yay!

Last weekend, I packed up my trusty bicycle and hit the Santiago Creek Bike Path for a leisurely Saturday morning ride. This is a great bike path that runs from Santa Ana, through neighboring cities of Orange and Tustin, all the way to the Santiago Canyon. I didn't go all that way as that is quite a trek. I made it to about Orange and turned around.

I've done my fair share of bike riding in LA and as one who has dealt with the traffic/potholes/garbage/yuck that city riding tends to offer, this bike path is SO NICE. Smooth, well maintained, flat, spacious, and runs along a cute creek where you can take a break and watch the ducks paddling in the (somewhat limited) waterway. Quite a few folks were out for the morning jogs. I even met a sweet old Jack Russell terrier named Sailor!

I'm so glad I went to explore the Santiago Creek Bike Path! Bonus: that I remember as a kid visiting Hart Park, which is a stop along the bike path. I'm happy to see that the park is still well used and maintained. It might have the biggest, nicest baseball field / lawn I've seen in ages. Check out the photos below:

Trail Map

Sweet Dirt Bike Arena

One of thee nicest lawns I have ever seen

Instagrammy

Headed back to Santa Ana

The Archery Range was the place to be!

Laguna Lake Park

So this is a little outside my 10 mile radius of South Tustin, but with good reason.

I visited a pal of mine who recently moved to La Habra. La Habra is located almost half the distance between LA and Tustin. It's a nice place to visit, and I enjoy seeing a friendly face in the OC as I'm either going to or coming from Los Angeles.

On this particular day, we set out for a trip to the park with her 8 week old bebe. Laguna Lake Park offered a quiet and cool setting for our afternoon stroll. We took our time catching up and walked for a while on the hiking / mountain bike trail that extends into Fullerton, all while her babe snoozed during our walk.

I neglected to take any photos, but the Yelp site for this park does a great job with the description and photos:

What a nice afternoon! I'm so happy I get to see my friend and her little dear one during my time in OC.

Laguna Lake Park
3120 Lakeview Dr
Fullerton, CA 92832

Free

Approximately 15 miles away

Benjies Delicatessen

(photo credit: eatingmywaythroughoc.blogspot.com)

I've probably driven past Benjies thousands of times in my life. Think about that. What registers in your psyche to pass by someone or something THOUSANDS of times in your life. I've either driven or been in the car passing by it on a regular basis since I was born, and until last week, had never been inside. Boy, what I have been missing!

I stopped in on a rainy afternoon and ordered a 7 & 7 in the attached bar, The Bamboo Lounge. Benjies advertises happy hour from 3pm till closing, which makes one wonder when exactly is it not happy hour in Benjies? I washed my cocktail down with a pastrami sandwich and side of macaroni salad. It was all delicious. Typically, Langers on Alvarado / 7th in LA is my go-to joint for all my pastrami sandwich needs, but Benjies was still pretty darn great. And given that it's almost a stone's throw away from my work, I can see myself exploring more happy hour drink and menu options in the near future.

Bonus points for the Bamboo Lounge decor and people watching.

Benjies Delicatessen
1828 N Tustin Ave
Santa Ana, CA 92705

www.benjiesdeli.com

~$17 for a cocktail, pastrami sandwich, and matzo ball soup
Approximately 1 mile away