Northward bound to old stomping grounds: the OC

In San Diego we rented a car and headed north to
Orange County...in particular to Irvine - my ol' alma mater. On the way we stopped for a short visit and lunch with Mateo's great-grandparents. It was the first time they met Mateo, and I hadn't visited since my move to Oregon so it was a nice reunion. Oma made a lovely lunch, even though Mateo was too busy fascinated with all the stairs in their house! From there we continued to my friend's Diana and Doug's place where we stayed a couple of nights. Diana is newly pregnant with her first baby, so it was very exciting to see and spend time with her. They have a lovely place that has a nearby park, pool, and shopping area all within walking distance! We really never had to get the car if we didn't want to! Below you can see Mateo with their friendly dog Ezra...
That evening we had dinner at Cheesecake Factory with Diana, Doug, and our friend Sean. The next day we went to Wahoo's fish taco for lunch (one of my old local favorites that I miss in Oregon) and emptied all the stuff I had been storing in Diana's garage for the last 5 years (umm, thanks Diana - didn't mean to take that long!). In the afternoon we took Mateo to the pool. He had the best time! They have a kiddie pool especially for kiddos his size. We also blew up a floatie and took him in the big pool. That was very exciting for him!
That evening we went to an Angels baseball (my FAVE team) game with Diana, Doug, and our good friends Seanny and Charlie. It took a while for Mateo to get settled, but then he enjoyed the ballpark. We even got a beachball hit our way and Matt held up Mateo with the ball and the whole section cheered! It was a nice evening with friends...and the Angels won too! We had a lovely stay in OC, thanks Diana and Doug for letting us stay with you! Miss you already!