Running & Exploring - Beaches & Trails

I have mentioned in previous blogs that I have written about how much I learn about new places by getting out and walking or running to explore. When I was in the Laguna Beach area house sitting for my nephew I made a commitment to see as much as possible while not being a "tourist". I wanted to find areas to run that I would run if I was a local. Another commitment that I made was to not pay for parking if at all possible the entire time that I was there. I was successful on both counts. The no paying for parking had nothing to do with financial reasons, it was a form of protest against the parking meters everywhere in the Laguna Beach, Laguna Canyon area.

This was just part of a huge wilderness trail system in the Laguna Hills area and this particular trailhead was a very short walk from my nephew's house.

I have found that I could always learn a lot to see and do when I visit new areas by picking up maps and brochures as well as checking the "things to do" sections of local newspapers.

I tried to run on different beaches just for different experiences. One thing I found on all of the beaches in the Laguna Beach area is that the tide was in whenever I went to run and for that reason most of my runs while over an hour most times didn't cover a long distance because I spent the majority of the runs in deep and soft sand. It was still a nice change and I have always found running near any body of water to be a great experience. The sights, the sounds, even the smells are just different and enjoyable near water.

I really enjoyed visiting Dana Point, a city that doesn't go overboard with paying for parking. Im sure that sounds trivial or nitpicking to some but I really do find it offensive how much governments make from people who simply want to enjoy some time visiting new places. I would actually wind up going back to Dana Point two additional times, once for lunch with a friend from my high school and Navy days and the next day for coffee and a walking workout with a high school teammate. They were just two of the old friends that I was fortunate enough to connect with during this incredible 12 days. I will do another post just dealing with the many reunions.

Another thing that I find helpful when traveling and visiting new places is getting as many different types of local maps that can be found. There are often many things that you can find on a map that you might otherwise not know about.

As the pictures show, I got to run in a lot of beautiful places on this "working" vacation. Needless to say, my nephew has a housesitter any time that he needs one in the future.