Laguna Canyon Here We Come...
We are off to Laguna Canyon for lunch and a visit to the art festivals. We will have lunch at Tivoli Too which is an outdoor restaurant on the grounds of Art A Fair. We then walked around Art A Fair before going next door to the Sawdust Festival. Great way to spend an afternoon!
Highway 133 down Laguna Canyon toward Laguna Beach on the coast
Did You Know? - Laguna Canyon is approximately 8 miles (13 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide at the widest points. The city of Irvine lies to the northeast, Lake Forest and Aliso Viejo to the east, the undeveloped San Joaquin Hills to the west, and Laguna Beach to the south. The drainage divide of the canyon near its northern end separates Laguna Canyon Creek from the San Diego Creek watershed.
State Route 133, locally called Laguna Canyon Road, winds through Laguna Canyon for the entire length of the gorge. California State Route 73 bisects the gorge east-west. The lower section of the canyon is part of the Laguna Coast Wilderness, while the upper section also has a few smaller wilderness preserves. The upper section contains the Laguna Lakes, a series of small natural lakes formed by groundwater rising along a local fault line, which are the namesake of the canyon. A section of the lower canyon within the city limits of Laguna Beach is heavily developed. The northernmost extreme of the canyon lies near a residential area that adjoins Interstate 405.
The canyon was most likely formed by San Diego Creek cutting through the rising San Joaquin Hills over a span of about 1.22 million years. At some point, however, the creek changed course, and the water gap it had formed was walled off by the mountains and became a separate watershed. The gradient of the drainage divide separating Laguna Canyon and the San Diego Creek watershed is very small, allowing for the canyon's modern use as a transportation route.
We park next door and they charge a whopping $10.00
It's a short walk to the festival grounds
Art A Fair began in 1967 and spawned the Sawdust Festival
We got our season passes here... Now we can go all summer long.
We head to lunch at Tivoli Too
Welcome Senior to our restaurant
Did You Know? - Tivoli Too! is open for lunch and dinner to the public in July and August only during the run of the Art-A-Fair Festival. A romantic European plaza with cascading waterfalls, blooming flowers and dramatic hillside views. Located on the grounds of the famous Art-A-Fair. Featuring southwest dining along with sandwiches, salads and burgers.
A delightful oasis in the canyon
First a glass of vino and then lunch!
Simple menu and everything was excellent!
Sue attacked the quesadilla
Paul did the Chicken Tostada Salad
Kona Coffee Mud Pie.... Before
After - All gone!
Enjoying our wine!
We get to sit right next to the artwork!
The waterfall provides for a tranquil setting
Paul wore the shorts to scare away tiny children and vicious animals!
The view through the tent in the art exhibit area is breath taking!
Out the front door and up the canyon to the Sawdust Festival we go!
Did You Know? - The Sawdust Art Festival, also known as The Sawdust, is an art festival held annually from late June through August in Laguna Beach, California. The festival features handicrafts as well as traditional fine art. It is non-juried, but exhibitors are required to be Laguna Beach residents.
About 200,000 visitors attend each year. The Sawdust also hosts an annual Winter Fantasy art fair in mid-November through December, which is open to non-resident exhibitors.
The walk is lined with shrubs and flowers
Loads of cactus in recent years!
Through these doors the festival awaits
Every stand is unique
Inside the fair we take few pictures as the artists want to protect their work
We cooperate as we do not blame them!
Mushrooms everywhere!
More waterfalls...
It's peaceful just to sit and listen to the water
Lights shine on the bubbles and bangles and bright shiny beads!
Did You Know? - Bangles are rigid bracelets, usually from metal, wood, or plastic. They are traditional ornaments worn mostly by South Asian women in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is a common tradition to see a new bride wearing glass bangles at her wedding and the honeymoon will end when the last bangle breaks. Bangles also have a very traditional value in Hinduism and it is considered inauspicious to be bare armed for a married woman. Toddler to older woman could wear bangles based on the type of bangles. Bangles made of gold or silver are preferred for toddlers.
Water everywhere... But it is recycled
Where be the faeries?
"Squeak, grind, whirl, splash!"
The "sawdust" is really wood chips!
The fishy looks mad!
Fifty years! Wow!
Great memories
We head back to the car!