San Clemente by train

This Saturday we went on a train for the first time! The options are not great around here, there were only two trains in the morning and two in the afternoon to choose from. Luckily, they went the direction we wanted, as when I say two trains in the morning, I mean there were only two trains going to San Clemente that day and they were both in the morning. 

We chose the 9am train (rather than the 7am one) and settled in. It was pretty busy with families going for beach days, but we were able to get seats together on the right hand side of the train which would give us great coastal views as we travelled. The train was also three stories high and we went straight to the top! 

The train took just under two hours, which isn't bad when you think that it would take us at least an hour and a half to drive there and we didn't have to worry about parking. We passed through some other towns in Riverside County and Orange County on our way, including one that looked very cute. It was the historic district of San Juan Capistrano and had some very interesting buildings and small cafes. Next time we go, we might get the earlier train and stop here for breakfast before catching the next one. 

We arrived in a lovely tiny town, with the beach to one side of the tracks, and a couple of shops on the other. 

The view from the train

Our first stop however, was some food! We walked up the hill, past some very full car parks and a few residential streets to a little town centre where there were cafes, bars, quirky tourist shops and fancy wine and cheese shops. The Spanish architecture was very pretty, and it was definitely a fancy tourist destination to stay in. We had brunch in a cafe which had some great vegetarian options and wasn't too fancy compared with some of the other bars. I had California eggs benedict (which had avocado instead of ham) and fruit and Mitchell had a huge breakfast burrito. Fueled, we walked back to the seaside.

First, we walked along the pier. There were a few people fishing and a little snack shop at the end. The toilets here had a giant octopus painted on the door which was pretty. The water was so blue, and from up here we could watch the surfers ride the waves. 

It was a very busy beach, so we walked along a little bit to find a space to lie down. There seemed to be some sort of event (maybe a surf event?) going on, with big Red Bull tents, music and announcers, so we walked past that too. It emptied out a little bit, but the beach was still very full. It wasn't a very big beach though, so there weren't too many people all things considered. 

We went out to the ocean to do some swimming, and it wasn't too cold for once! California may be hot, but the sea is right on the Pacific and stays pretty chilly. Today though, it wasn't too bad and once we were in, didn't really feel cold at all. This was good, as the waves were so much fun to play in! You could jump them, but really they were so big, you had to jump right into them and I would turn and just let myself be blown away. After all that, we went and dried out in the sun. Mitchell fell asleep and I did some reading. 

Mitchell's hair went all curly!

We hung out and did go into the water again that afternoon. A bit later, we went for ice-cream and sat in a little grassy area which overlooked the beach and the pier. 

And then it was time to go home! The only trains going to Riverside that day were at 3pm or 5pm. 3pm was too early for us, so we waited on the platform for the 5pm one. It was a little bit late which was worrying, as that was our only way home, but it arrived, and it wasn't as busy as we thought it might be. We were able to get our seats with no problem and enjoyed the setting sun out the window. 

A very fun day out!

Lots of Love,

Emily and Mitchell

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