Newport Beach

Newport Beach/Balboa Island 4th of July Boat Parade

One of my favorite places in Southern Cali has to be Newport Beach and Balboa Island. I absolutely love hanging out when I can sneak it in. Newport Beach and Balboa Island are home to my favorite parade of all- The Christmas Boat Parade. It has become a family tradition and we look forward to it every year.

I just recently learned that there is a boat parade for the 4th also!! I can’t wait!! The American Legion 4th of July parade has over 100+boats participating and is sure to be a pretty cool treat for the family. The theme of course is All American and from what I’ve read it is a real treat for the eyes. The Newport Harbor fills up with of boats adorned in red-white-&-blue celebrating the time-honored Old Glory Boat Parade. It is tradition for boats try to outshine each other waiting for the loudest ovations from onlookers.

It sounds like a lot of fun. You can observe the fun from 1pm to 5pm and watch from various locations from the harbor. My favorite location to watch would be the same as the Christmas parade- From Balboa Island or the Fun Zone. I would also maybe try to catch a fun lunch from one of the restaurants around the harbor. I would suggest heading there early and walking or biking over to Balboa or the Peninsula. If you want to splurge, you can also head over and take a cruise on the Hornblower yacht and have a champagne brunch with parade viewing. It looks very tempting and a real treat- but a little on the pricey side- $54.95 for adults and $27.48 for kids 4-12. Kids 3 and under are free.

To learn more about the parade and route head over here

The parade will be from 1-5pm. Enjoy!!

Balboa Island Ferry

Summer is almost here and that means going out and exploring. My kids are on a transportation kick and I wanted to share with you an excursion I posted about last summer that we will be repeating again this weekeend. Your kiddos will love it!!
I can’t remember what my daughter was watching last week that mentioned a ferry ride- I think it was Dora the Explorer, but I’m not to sure. As soon as the show was over she started asking me about ferries. I explained to her what a ferry was and told her that this weekend I would take her on a ferry ride. There are only two ferries (I’m not counting the Catalina ones) in operation in Southern California. One is the ferry that runs between Coronado Island and San Diego and the other is the one that connects Balboa Island and the Balboa Peninsula. It’s a fun five minute ride that you and your children will enjoy.
We always make a day trip out of it by exploring Balboa Island, one of my favorite places in Southern California. We usually take the ferry over from the Fun Zone in the Peninsula and head over to Balboa to walk around and have a frozen banana of course!! So yummie and a must when visiting. My kids can’t stop giggling every time we ride. Trust me on this the kiddos will love it. The ferry ride is fun and totally inexpensive. Adults are $1.oo , children 5-12 ,are 50 cents and cars with drivers are $2.oo(each passenger is additional) and children under 5 are free. You will love exploring Balboa Island. For additional info click here.Balboa Island FerryBalboa Peninsula Fun Zone area (follow the signs)
Hours: Ferries leave every few minutes
Sunday through Thursday: 6:30 a.m. to midnight,
Friday and Saturday nights until 6:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.
SUMMER HOURS 6 am to 2 am Daily
Rates:
Car and Driver: $2.00;
Motorcycles and Mopeds: $1.50;
Adult with Bicycles: $1.25 cents;
Children with bicycles $.75 cents

Free Movies on the beach @ Newport Dunes


It’s the first day of June and although summer doesn’t officially kick off until June 21st- I am in full summer mode. Being in summer mode to me means visiting a ton of fun places with the kiddos, beach days, ice cream, Otter Pops and outdoor movies. If you are looking for something fun and unique- check out Newport Dunes’ Movies on the Beach. From now until August 28th you can catch a fun family flick every Friday and Saturday night beginning at dusk. Get there early for a good spot. Bring your chairs and enjoy a great night. For additional information and directions click here.

Here is the schedule for the rest of the summer. Enjoy!!!

June
June 5 Little Rascals
June 6 Sand Lot
June 12 Night at the Museum
June 13 Happy Feet
June 19 Wall-E
June 20 Alvin and the Chipmunks
June 26 Horton Hears a Who
June 27 The Incredibles

July
July 3 Home Alone
July 4 FIREWORKS
July 10 Babe
July 11 Beauty and the Beast
July 17 Casper
July 18 Chicken Little
July 24 Dennis the Menace
July 25 Finding Nemo
July 31 Jungle Book

August
August 1 Kung Fu Panda
August 7 Monster’s Inc.
August 8 Shrek
August 14 Tarzan
August 15 Bolt
August 21 Toy Story
August 22 Lilo & Stich
August 28 Hotel for Dogs OR Toy Story