The Great Park

I was SO excited for my visit to "The Great Park" in Irvine. I'd heard a lot about the building of this park, the contention, the controversy, the history, the back and forth over the development of this giant swath of valuable land that was once a former marine base. I am so sad to say that it was horribly disappointing. So disappointing that in writing this entry, I feel genuinely sad about this park.

The park is hot, bright, with little shade and a bizarre design that feels mostly like a parking lot at Disneyland. Completely tucked away off a large avenue in Irvine, the only way to get into the park is to drive. There are not even bike paths or for that matter road shoulders that one could ride a bike into the park safely.

Once you're there, it seems an awful trek from the asphalt parking lot to the concrete plaza pictured above. There is a hot air balloon that takes visitors 400 feet into the air and back down again. There is also a carousel for the young and young at heart:

I realize all this seems like GREAT fun! Great Park with hot air balloon and a carousel?! What's wrong with that?! And granted maybe I caught the park at a bad time of day, but it just seemed...unfinished. Too sunny, too hard, lacking the softness and inviting qualities of other parks. It was hard to get excited about a space that seemed like a parking lot redesigned to be a public park.

Such a bummer. Sorry, Great Park. You were a Great Disappointment.

The Great Park
Sand Canyon at Marine Way
Irvine, CA

~7 miles away

Free

Woolett Aquatic Center

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It's hot! I took a trip yesterday to the Woolett Aquatic Center in Irvine for an early afternoon swim. With plenty of lanes and only $4 per session, this place is a gem. I can defiantly see myself returning until Tustin finally cools off.

Woolett Aquatic Center

4601 Walnut Avenue

Irvine 92604

$4

Approximately 6 miles away

Lunch With Dad

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One thing about being in Tustin is that I am much closer to where my parents live in Northern San Diego. Last week I had lunch with my Dad a Zocalo on Tustin Avenue. Nice place for lunch. Made a mental note to return for their happy hour. We worked our way though a chicken burrito (Dad) and chicken soup (me) and caught up on all things familial. Nice to see my pops for a bit.

Zocalo

301 N. Tustin Ave
Santa Ana, CA 92705

Free! (Dad paid)

<1 mile away

Quinn's Old Town Bar and Grill

This is from a while ago, when I was attempting to use Tumblr. I never could figure out to get it to work properly, so I said eff this, and went back to blogspot.

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Last week I went for happy hour at Quinns - a local bar in Old Town Tustin. I bike past it on my way to the office. Quinns is where my company has our annual holiday party. I can't say it's my bag as far as a scene goes - tends to be occupied with Jaguar driving baby-boomers killing time. But the happy hour menu looked good so I stopped in after work on a Wednesday.

I had a seat at the bar and before long was in conversation with a regular. A long time divorcee, she had married and had her son long ago. I ordered the sliders and she had the beef morsels. She told me about her son meeting his Swedish wife during a European backpacking trip when he was 19. She told me about her marriage and her friends who have started to get cancer. I told her how I grew up in Tustin, she told me about how much she loved living in Tustin. 

Talking with this woman was delightful. She's been blessed with good health and a happy child who grew into a responsible, successful young man. She didn't seem wanting for much if anything other than a refill of white wine.

The sliders were terrific, but I overspent. Left the bar with just over $21 spent and a head full of life stories. 

Quinns

405 El Camino Real
Tustin, CA 92780

Approximately 2 miles away

RA Sushi Happy Hour

I went to RA Sushi in The District last Thursday.
I had a wedding to attend in the desert on Saturday.
Two days between this visit to happy hour sushi and wedding.

I stress this time difference because upon taking the first bite of sushi, I immediately calculated how long would it take me to recover from food poisoning should I fall horribly ill from this weeks Tustin Adventuring. I did not get food poisoning, thankfully, but neither did I particularly enjoy my visit to RA sushi. At the time, I did not know RA was a chain. Only that when googling "Tustin Happy Hour" this place caught my eye.  Think of it as the PF Changs of sushi. Fishy, greasy, with sort-of fancy fake dark wood decor.  The happy hour was busy with lots of office-worker types pushing the ginger scraps around on their plates. I did not stay long and pretty much avoided making eye contact with everyone at the bar.

The food was awful, but at least the drinks were cheap. $7 for a beer and hot sake. And this week's adventure included the exploration of "The District", Tustin's answer to "The Grove" or "The Americana". I'm not big on outdoor malls so the whole experience left me feeling Meh, coupled with a bit of a bellyache. Ah well. I suppose that not every week can be an outstandingly successful adventure.

RA Sushi

The District
2401 Park Ave
Tustin, CA 92782

~$13

Approximately 5.5 miles away

Sanctuary Yoga

In short: I like this yoga place.

There are two yoga studios very nearby my work - Purple Yoga and this place, Sanctuary Yoga. Both have comparable introductory deals - two weeks for $25 at Purple, $30 at Sanctuary. I went for several sessions at Purple Yoga and just did not like the vibe there. I'm not a hardcore yoga fanatic but I'm not too terrible either. One of my least favorite traits in a yoga instructor is persistent fussing with my body while I'm holding a position. I know my down-dog isn't perfect, but hey, please stop hovering and skootching my fingertips ever so slightly wider, thank you. All the extra attention makes me self conscious.

Thankfully, Sanctuary Yoga is nothing like this. My first class was Restorative Yoga with Colleen and I could not have loved it more. Plagued by a perpetually tight upper back, this yoga class really helped ease my sore muscles and settle my busy mind. Sanctuary offers a wide array of different types of yoga classes - even yoga babysitting!

While not exactly within my $15 budget, I went to several classes so I feel like this qualifies under the Tustin Adventuring rules. I'd like to keep going to more. They even have massage and aromatherapy and other fun stuff to relax the busy adventurer.

Sanctuary Yoga
505 W 1st Street
Tustin, CA 92780
http://www.awakensanctuary.com/

$30 for two weeks unlimited classes

Kayaking

It's now been two months in Tustin...eight weeks. So far I have
1.) hiked Peter's Canyon
2.) swum at the Wollett Aquatics Center
3.) had lunch with my Dad
4.) visited Quinn's Old Town Grill for Happy Hour
5.) taken yoga classes at Purple Yoga (not a fan)
6.) visited my friends The Limburg Family
7.) hiked Peter's Canyon...again (repeat adventuring...moderate cheating)


I can't believe I cheated at my own challenge! While repeat activities were not expressedly breaking the rules of Tustin Adventuring, I feel in the interest of posterity that repeats should be avoided. That said, I'm pretty proud of myself for completing last week's NEW adventure, rounding out my second month as a resident of Orange County. I went kayaking in Newport's Back Bay Estuary.

I woke up early on a Wednesday and got to the Newport Aquatic Center (NAC) before many people were out on the water. The NAC is pretty awesome - they have a little gym inside and you can rent single and double person kayaks as well as standup paddle boards by the hour for pretty cheap. They have monthly memberships that appear to be a pretty good deal as well.

There are paths carved out in the tall reeds of the estuary where one can explore either the wildlife, or tootle around the adjacent marina. I chose the wildlife path this time. It was pretty righteous out there in the cool morning. By the time I returned my kayak, groups of fellow adventurers were drinking coffee and getting ready for their morning sessions on the water.

Newport Aquatic Center
1 Whitecliffs Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660

$14 per hour single person kayak rental

Approximately 10 miles away

Purpose

I’ve recently moved back to my hometown of Tustin, California. For the past two years I’ve been commuting to Tustin from Los Angeles. I am tired of driving. I am tired of the drudge of commuting. I gave up my apartment in Koreatown for a small bedroom near my work with the intention of paying down some of my enormous student debt. I’m writing this blog in order to document my time spent exploring my hometown as an adult. I swore I would never come back here. Swore up and down, crossed my heart, hope to die if I ever found myself in Tustin again.

Well I’m here.

So instead of mope and pine for my life in Los Angeles, I’ve challenged myself to find special places, fun activities, and unique adventures in and around Tustin. A park, a coffee shop, an art museum, an old friend. The only rules are that the adventure has to cost less than $15, and be less than 10 miles away from my apartment.

One activity per week.

$15 or less

10 miles or less from south Tustin.

Ready. Set. Go.