WILDLIFE AND URBAN DELIGHTS
Between school and work, three days was all my family of four could put together for a vacation. We wanted relaxation, a sense of awe and good food so imagine our surprise at finding all that in Newport Beach a half-hour from our home.
Our first stop was the Newport Bay Conservancy’s Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center for a lesson in how Upper Newport Bay became a critical wildlife habitat in the heart of an upscale city. Afterward, we hit the Upper Bay Trail (2.2 miles) and the Back Bay Drive (3 1/2 miles, popular with bird watchers).
We chose the Newport Beach Marriott Bayview, across the street from the hiking trails. Our suite had two double beds and a separate living room with a mini-fridge and sleeper-sofa — plenty of space for a family with two daughters, 17 and 20, and all the stuff they can’t leave home without.
We aimed to keep our dining casual, mid-range and close, although it would have been easy to splurge (we were in Newport Beach, after all). Dinner was at Nancy Silverton’s and Mario Batali’s Pizzeria Mozza. Highlights included the Brussels sprouts pizza and caprese with roasted cherry tomatoes and creamy burrata. The next day we strayed down the coast a bit to the Tackle Box, the snack shack of “Top Chef ” contestant Brian Huskey right on the beach in Corona del Mar. We loved the pork belly bánh mi, fried catfish sandwich and buffalo cauliflower.
Thanks to the Newport Bay Conservancy’s two-hour kayak tour, we witnessed an animated spat between a heron and a duck, gawked as a flock of birds flew by at eye level and paddled past tall cordgrass used by endangered Ridgway’s rails to weave nests that rise and sink with the tide. The tour, which leaves from the Newport Aquatic Center, started with a quick lesson, but we moved across the bay at a leisurely pace. Tours are at 10 a.m. on weekends.
Miles one way from downtown L.A.: 43 Resources: Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center, www.lat.ms/newportbay; Newport Beach Marriott Bayview, www.lat.ms/bayview; Pizzeria Mozza, newportbeach.pizzeria mozza.com; Tackle Box, www .tackleboxoc.com; Newport
Aquatic Center, www.lat.ms/ kayaktour