July 25, 2018 – Staycations California

Doheny State Beach

While sitting on the beach at Doheny State Park recently, my friend said to me that it felt like we were somewhere else, not California. As I looked around, I felt the same. The ocean had two different hues of blue with the lighter shade near the shore and the darker shade farther out. There was a distinct line between the two colors so it looked as if there was a reef. The air was hot and humid and we felt like we could almost be sitting on a beach in Hawaii or the Caribbean. Taking a swim, the water temperature was warm too, well, warm for California standards at 72 degrees. I know, I know, a far cry from the 80 degree temperature in the Caribbean but refreshing enough for us! So, as an avid daydreamer, I spent the rest of the day imagining I was somewhere else.

A line separated the light hue of the ocean to a darker one on the outside.

Doheny State Park
In reality, Doheny State Park is just south of the Dana Point Harbor. Besides having a camping area, it also provides day use parking, grass picnic areas, and volleyball courts.

At the south jetty sits a popular surfing beach where the waves gently roll in making it a perfect spot for long surfboards as well as the shorter sticks. In recent years, the stand-up-paddle(SUP) boarders have shared the lineup which has made it more crowded than ever. However, it looked like there were plenty of waves for everyone to enjoy their day. In keeping with my fantasy of being somewhere else, the surfing beach looked a lot like Waikiki in Hawaii with its crowds and slow rolling waves. All you needed were the outrigger canoes sharing the waves and I would swear I was there! Oh, and a Mai Tai wouldn’t hurt either.