WANT TO COME FOR A WALK AT THE BEACH WITH ME?

Today was a very pretty day outside. Not as hot as it has been. Which is always a good thing to me. I'm not one who likes the heat. Most hot days you will find me inside with the air conditioner on.

But not today! My nephew, Jason and his daughter, Trinity, went for a nice long walk with me down by the beach. We went to Balboa.

Not long into our walk we came up to the Pier and noticed that Ruby's Diner was at the end. So we decided to walk down there and have lunch.


The beach wasn't that crowded.

The water was beautiful! Normally the water here is more gray then blue. So seeing it when it's a pretty aqua blue is a real treat.

As we walked we came across this machine where you can put a few coins in and then look around at things as they seem much closer. You know, those machines that are just like binoculars.

I don't know why, but, these remind me of when I was a kid. I loved to look through them. Sadly, I didn't have any change on me or I would have taken a peek today.

There were several people fishing off the pier today. I hate seeing that. I always feel so sorry for the fish as they gasp for their last breath after they are reeled in.

We have been having big waves here in So. California the past week or so. They weren't very large today but you sure could tell by the slope of the shore they had been pounding away.

The shore was pretty steep. The water would go out pretty far and people would walk to the edge of where the water and sand met. Then the waves would come in and soon those people were up to their necks in water.

They were all pretty safe though because the Life Guards were training a new set of Jr. Life Guards. So if anyone started to need help there was plenty near by.

After we ate lunch (I had a lite veggie burger and diet coke) we continued on with our walk

We went to the end of the sand area where there is a sidewalk right in front of the beach houses.

There were several people out walking, riding bikes, on skates and pushing strollers.

There was this one small stretch of beach that had cactus. That was odd to see. Cactus and beach just doesn't go together.

I loved seeing all the beach homes. I of course was dreaming about living in one and watching the sun set as I sat outside having a nice cold drink.

We walked as far as we could go until the sidewalk went away. Then we crossed the street and walked back.

It was so nice to spend time with Jason and Trinity and just talk and laugh together.

Before we got to our car we came upon the Fun Zone. It's always fun to go there so I asked if they wanted to stop by and play a few games. Both said yes so we did.

The Fun Zone is an area in Balboa where they have a few carnival rides, a place to play games, go whale watching or take a boat cruise. There are shops and places to eat and it's just a fun atmosphere.

We went to the area where you can play games and win tickets that you later cash in for small prizes.

Here is Trinity and Jason playing one of the games.

Here they are again, after Trinity cashed in her tickets. Her daddy also won her a stuffed animal in one of those machines with the claw.

We then headed back to our car and drove home.

I not only had fun but I also had a nice healthy lunch. I also got some much needed exercise in by all the walking. All good for my diet!

Day two and I'm doing good!

LET'S DO A TASTE TEST!

RUBY'S

vs.

JOHNNY ROCKETS

I've always thought it would be fun to be a restaurant critic. You get to eat and then just tell people about what you had and rate the place.

So, I wanted to take you along with me while I did my own taste test and pretended I was a real restaurant critic. I hope you are hungry. Now come along.

For our taste tests we are going to go to two different local restaurant chains here in So. California, RUBY'S AND JOHNNY ROCKETS. I'm not sure if either of these are in other states or not.

Both places are known for their hamburgers and shakes. Both have a theme decor of 50's dinners. I wanted to keep this a fair taste tests.

Our first stop is going to be to RUBY'S. Now, I admit I do go to RUBY'S often and I already know I like their food a lot. But, it's the closest thing to JOHNNY ROCKETS, so let's go in and check it out.

Isn't the counter area cute? Just like back in the 50's. Can't you just see, the girls with their pony tails and the boys in their white t-shirts with rolled up sleeves, sitting there drinking a coke or sharring a shake.

Most people like to sit in booths or tables though. There are plenty of them for you pick from.

All the RUBY'S are pretty much the same decor but they each have a little something that is different from each other. They all have a little gift shop area where they sell t-shirts and vintage kitchen reproductions.

This RUBY'S is at the beach so you can see the skateboards parked here. Good for them for saving money on gas when they go out to eat.

I love the way the servers dress. Again, a look from the 50's. I don't think the girls wore their dresses that short back in the 50's though...did they?

Yeah! The food is served! Let's try it out and see how it tastes.

The shake is wonderful. It's nice and cold, thick but creamy and lots of real strawberries. Plus you get all the extra shake that wouldn't fit into your glass. They give you the whole cup they mixed it in. It's almost a full glass more. Just perfect for a nice hot day.

The fries are cooked to perfection and my veggie burger is the best I've ever had!

OK, I can hear you now. What! A veggie burger? YUCK! Well, I don't eat meat so I always get veggie burgers. But, when I did eat meat, I used to have real burgers and they were some of the best burgers I've ever had.

Well I didn't find anything about this stop that I didn't love. All in all, I would have to give RUBY'S a BIG A+ or 5 star rating.


Well, our next stop is JOHNNY ROCKETS. This place is always crowded but since I'm a big RUBY'S fan I have not been to JOHNNY ROCKETS in years. In fact, I think I've only been one time and I only got a diet coke. So this should be fun.

Let's go in!

See, like I said, it's always crowded. I'm sure the food has to be super.

They have the counter like RUBY'S. Very cute.

Look at all the cooks working hard to feed everyone fast. Boy, I'm hungry! How about you?

Oh no! I just got told I can't pictures. What? Why would they care? Oh well, I'm just going to have to be careful I don't get caught. Let's go sit down.

How cute is this! Each table has their own little jukebox. Plus, it's only a nickel to pick a song. Of course, we put some money in and picked out some songs. They are all from the 50's. Helps to put you in the mood.

Either these are just for show and really don't work (but it took the money) or there were to many people ahead of us because, our songs never did play the whole time we were there.


I think the menu is cute too. Look at the little hat they give kids. How darling!

So far everything is going great! I am really expecting the food is going to be yummy too!

In order to keep the taste test fair I got the same thing. A strawberry shake, fries and a veggie burger.


First they brought the shake out. I liked the way it was served. But hey, where is the rest of the shake? Remember at RUBY'S they give you all the shake. What doesn't fit in the glass you got in the silver cup they mix it in.


That's OK, let's give it a try. My first thought was "This is a shake but it's warm!" How could a shake be warm? It's also very runny. More like strawberry milk. I didn't like it at all. Everyone else at the table with me had different flavor shakes and they said the same thing. Thin and warm. That's a big strike and sure to take the rating down.


Then they brought the fries out. The waitress gave us each a little bowl and made a happy face with the ketchup. Very cute. But where is our burgers? Why bring the fries without the rest of the food.


Finally the burgers came out. I took a big bite and almost spit it out. It was the worst veggie burger I've ever had! So I went for the fries. By now, they were cold and taste like they were frozen and had freezer burn or something. Not good. Not good at all. I'm afraid this will lower the rating too.


The rest of the table agreed with me. This was the worst meal we have had in a long time. YUCK!

We didn't complain. I just hate to do that. But most of the time when the waitress sees you didn't eat much of your food they ask if anything was wrong and then I will tell them. No one asked us here.


So we paid the bill. Higher then RUBY'S but still not to bad in price. Well, thinking about it, since we couldn't eat the food it was a big waste of money. So the price was not good either.


I loved the decor and the little touches that JOHNNY ROCKETS has but the food was not good at all. So I give this place a D or 2 stars.

I think the reason JOHNNY ROCKETS is always crowed is because they are good at where they place their restaurants. They are always in tourist areas. People look in and think the place is cute so they go in.

I won't ever go back to JOHNNY ROCKETS unless it's for a diet coke. But RUBY'S, I will refer everyone I know to go there.

Final score is RUBY wins by a landslide!!!!

So what did you think? Was being a restaurant critic fun? Would you like to do it for a living? Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Hugs,
Joanne

ANOTHER DAY - ANOTHER BEACH

Even though CA is lined with beaches up and down the coast, each one is different.

Yesterday we went to Laguna Beach, which is known for being a great beach to snorkel at. The people go for art and shopping as well as playing in the water.

Today, we are going to HUNTINGTON BEACH.
Huntington Beach is North of Laguna Beach. You can see the heat brought lots of people out today. Notice they don't have as many umbrellas as Laguna Beach does. People go to get a tan here.

Surfers love Huntington Beach. I guess the waves are good there. They even have surfing competitions that are held there.

I went with my cousin to have dinner. We were going to eat at a restaurant at the end of the pier. As we got out there pretty far we notice a boat was headed towards a few guys who were way out there. The boat was going pretty fast. We weren't sure what was going on.

Then we noticed it was the lifeguards going out. Turns out the guys were way to far out in the water. They were told to swim back towards the shore.

Take a look at those lifeguards! When in the world did they start wearing Speedos? This is is the first time I've seen that! They have always worn red trucks and the girls wore a red one piece.

This darling pink bike was parked along the side of the pier. Isn't it cute! It was such a beachy picture I just had to click it.

As we got to the restaurant this bird was sitting there greeting everyone.

This is where we ate. Ruby's is a hamburger chain. They have really good food. At least I think so. It's right at the very end of the pier. Sort of a long walk down there.

This shot was taken on our way back to the shore. The hotel way out there is the Hilton. In case any of you want to come visit and have an ocean view room you now know where you stay. It's a beautiful hotel. But pretty costly.

They have these young guys willing to give you a ride up and down the pier if you are to tired or lazy to walk yourself. I've never taken one even though they look fun. But come on! We couldn't make this poor guy give us a ride, he has a broken arm and it was so hot he would have been suffering.

The ride is free. You just give them a tip.

Look, even this poor bird was hot.

They have sinks on the pier where you can wash your fish you catch. Yes, they allow fishing on the pier. This poor little guy was trying his best to get a drink of water. The faucet was dripping and he figured out a way. Smart bird, don't you think?

This is Main Street where there are lots of places to eat, shop or have a drink. You're pretty lucky if you get a parking space on this street.

We did get a great parking spot. Only a block down.

Well, hope you enjoyed seeing yet another one of our great beaches here in CA.

Hugs,

Joanne