Fun things to do in Orange County

Things to do on the weekends

Newport Landing Whale Watching offers year round whale watching cruises daily from Newport Beach. Their cruises are 2 1/2 hours and the price is hard to believe. My friends went out in early July and saw 2 blue whales...their tails were huge! They also saw tons of beautiful dolphins. Great scenery, amazing time on the water, and it only costs $20.

• Newport Landing Whale Watching

There are a lot of great parks in Orange County. Here are our favorites:

• Carbon Canyon Park
• Craig Park
• Irvine Park
• Orange County Harbors, Beaches and Parks

I like looking at old, tricked out cars. Sometimes I can drag Jessica along. It's a good way to spend the day. Car shows usually appear in the Orange County Register Events Calendar. Some of them are weekly.

Bike riding can be fun, but we have hard time committing to it. I think the secret is to just get up and go.

• Fullerton Loop
• Newport Beach Boardwalk
• Huntington Beach

There are a bunch of great beaches in Orange County. Although they are usually best in the summer, sometimes it's fun to walk around even in the cold.

• Newport Beach
• Huntington Beach
• San Onofre State Beach
• San Clemente State Beach

Take your dog to the beach and let him sniff other dogs. If you don't have a dog, take some beef jerky and see how much trouble you can cause.

• Dog Beach - Huntington - Free poop bags
• San Onofre State Beach - Trails 1 & 6 allow dogs

We're not really "art people", but a little while ago we went down to the Santa Ana Arts District and saw some really weird stuff. That was definitely fun.

• The Bowers Museum of Culture and Art
• Fullerton Museum Center
• Orange County Museum of Art
• Orange County Center for Contemporary Art
• Santa Ana Arts District

Matinee's for $1.50 and evenings for $2.00. Sounds good to me.

• Starplex Movies 7 - La Mirada
• Starplex Woodbridge Movies 5 - Irvine

We've been going to the Imperial Ballroom in downtown Fullerton for group dance lessons. It's pretty fun, even though I suck.

• Imperial Academy and Ballroom

Local colleges put on a lot of cheap plays. Unfortunately they do musicals as well. Avoid musicals at all costs.

• Concordia University, Irvine - Theater
• Fullerton College - Fine Arts Calendar
• Cal State Fullerton Arts Calendar
• University of California, Irvine - Events Calendar
• Chapman University Events Calendar
• Orange Coast College Performing Arts Calendar

Garage sales are fun on a Friday or Saturday morning. Get up early and drive around looking at people's old crap. Sometimes you find some really cool stuff for 25 cents. Mostly just furniture from the 80's though.

• Pennysaver
• Craigslist - Orange County - Garage Sales

Go see a college football game, or go watch your old high school's team play baseball. Sounds fun, in theory. I will have to try this one out.

• List of Orange County Public High Schools
• Higher Education in Orange County

Not everybody likes fishing, but they should. Fakelake or salt water... your pick. All of these places will rent equipment if you don't own a fishing pole.

• Irvine Lake
• Newport Landing Sportfishing
• Davey's Locker
• Dana Warf Sportfishing

It's a lot of fun to watch all of these amazing boats decorated for Christmas, cruising through the harbor.

• Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade

You're in "The OC", the world capital of Conspicuous Consumption. Go to the local mall and watch it in action. Leave your wallet at home.

• Fashion Island
• South Coast Plaza
• Brea Mall
• The Block at Orange
• The Irvine Spectrum

Shooting is a healthy sport that can be enjoyed by anyone. If you can't get out to the desert, try one of the local ranges. If you don't have any guns, these places will be happy to rent one to you and show you how to use it.

• Orange County Indoor Shooting Range
• The Firing Line

OK, this one is obvious, but do yourself a favor and get an Entertainment Book. Here are some of our favorite restaurants where you get buy-one-get-one-free with the book.

• P.J.'s Abbey
• Renaissance Bistro
• Pane e Vino Trattoria
  

Just like a garage sale, except you pay $2 to get in. (Hint: when we were punk kids, we used to jump the fence in the back)

• Orange County Marketplace

Things to do any day of the Week

Drive-In Theaters are a cheap way to see a movie. Just make sure to stay in your car and lock the doors, because they're usually in the ghetto. Don't forget to hit up 7-11 on the way in.

• Van Buren Drive-In - Way out in the 909, $5.
• Pacific Vineland Drive-In Theater - City of Industry. Bring a gun. $7, what a ripoff.

It sounds boring, but the local library holds a vast wealth of knowledge that you can use to broaden your mind and gain exposure to foreign cultures.

I go there because they have lots of magazines.

• Fullerton Public Library
• Newport Beach Public Library

Local coffee shops have live music all the time. You usually get to see alot of final performances, because most of the bands won't be around in six months.

Cooking is fun because you don't have to leave the house to do it, and anything that involves eating is good.

Take a walk through some neighborhoods around where you live. Point out people's poor taste in lawn ornaments.

Park at Downtown Disney, but walk towards the big parking structure. Head up the tallest escalator and wait for the fireworks. It's a pretty good show, and if you don't stay too long, it's free. Check the calendar for times.

Seasonal

Deep fried Oreos, cow poop and rednecks. Enough said.

• Orange County Fair

Finally, you get to use your yacht for the real reason that you bought it... so other people can stare at you.

• Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade

Now this is what it's all about.

• Gun Shows
• Off Road Expo
• Sand Sports Super Show
• Tattoo Expo
• Hot Rod Shows
• Sportsmans Expo
• Other random events at the OC Fairgrounds
• Pomona Fairplex Event Schedule

Ah yes, 10,000 nine-o-niners gather in the parking lot at Anaheim Stadium for an afternoon of drinking, mopeding and BBQ, and then proceed into the stadium for four hours of dirt bike action. Good times.

• Supercross