Mission Beach- The Beach of my Tween-age Fantasies

We had a case of the post Disney trip blues when we woke up on Wednesday. I was curious if this would be the case as we still had three more trip days left. The power of the Disney bubble is strong, and returning to the normal world is hard, even if that normal world still includes several more days of fun.

We discussed what we should do with our day over coffee and our Matterhorn macaroons. The day should be low key and leisurely, we thought, so we set out for Mission Beach.

As a tween, I loved Beverly Hills, 90210 and Saved by the Bell. Both shows painted an enticing portrait of what it would be like to be a teenager living in California. 

The school buildings surrounded by palm trees, volleyball and bonfires on the beach, surfing every weekend, riding in Dillon’s convertible along the cliffs, and oh the adolescent shenanigans. 

The shows made going to high school on the East Coast seem down right depressing.

All of the fantasies of my unrequited high school days spent in California flooded back to me as we walked Mission Beach. It looked just like the beaches in the shows that improperly informed me of what high school would be like (I was sure high school would be just like Saved by the Bell. Boy was I wrong). Mission Beach had the distinct West Coast looking life guard stands,

wet suited surfers catching some waves,

volleyball,

and an all around chill West Coast vibe.

 We stopped for lunch at Arslan's & Vahida's. 

I’m always curious if anyone can surpass our much loved gyros at Bill’s in Atlantic City.  

Though the gyros at Arslan's & Vahida's were not better than Bill’s, they were right on par.  The key to a good gyro, I think anyway, is the tender juiciness of the meat, and the quality of the feta and sauce. The gyros were excellent. If I lived in the area, it would be my go to gyro place. The fries weren't bad, but the individual fry textures ranged from very soggy to super crispy depending on which fry you popped in your mouth.

We were still pretty worn out from our Disneyland escapades, so after lunch, we pulled up a piece of concrete wall, and vegged out while watching people surf/wipe out on the Wave House's man made waves. 

I’m sure on the weekends Mission Beach is jumping, but on a random Wednesday afternoon, the place was fairly sparse. 

There were aspects that reminded me of the boardwalks back home, sans the boards.

There were stores selling beach wares,

and an amusement area.

Mission Beach, where you can ride a kitty

There was lovely scenery up and down the paved walkway.  

I imagine it would be a nice place to take a bike ride.

 Mission Beach was a perfect match for how we were feeling that day, laid back and a little sleepy. I certainly loved seeing the imagines that were seared into my tween brain through the bright screen of my television set. Sadly, Zack and the gang weren't around to invite me to join some sort of hijinx that would inevitably end in a valuable life lesson. 

Additional Note:

My obsession with high school in California really began as a kid with Beverly Hills Teens.  I loved the cartoon so much, several of my Barbies were named after characters in the show.