At the mark of one month of being a full time college student, a stuffy nose, sore throat, messy room and tired soul prompted my roommate and I to decide to take the chance to get off campus for 72 hours in an attempt to re-energize and reboot ourselves for the coming weeks ahead. Sitting in the lair on on Monday we began to plan our trip. Deciding on Laguna, we embarked on our weekend getaway Friday morning after class. With so many things to do, I narrowed down the top things to do in Laguna Niguel with the time frame of 72 hours to maximize a fun yet rejuvenating weekend away…
1.Transportation
In an effort to avoid the friday freeway traffic at all costs, we decided to test out taking the train at Union Station to the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Station. We left in the morning around 10:30, grabbed a crepe at Union station and off we went! With a direct route with just a few stops, no lines for tickets at the station and no traffic on the freeway, we managed to get to Laguna in about an hour and 15 minutes. The time truly did go by fast, as we were able to take a look at scenery along the way and enjoy the ride… with a student without her car on campus, I highly recommend taking the train!
2. Relax and Rewind with a bath or nice shower
After dealing with the low water pressure in the dorm showers all I wanted to do was take a nice hot bath and shower. After departing the train we went straight to the house we were staying with and had the chance to take a long warm shower with an actual shower head,amazing to say the least!!
4. Treat yourself
At LMU we are fortunate enough to have access to three dining facilities, however, all I had been craving was a burger and fries, so that was the plan. IN-N-OUT is such a fast food classic and completely satisfied my cravings, a must have when in dire need of a reliable burger.
3. Walk it off
The next morning we were able to stroll through the neighborhood and took it all in, it was so nice to be able to walk in the morning as a form of exercise and way to see the ocean and beautiful houses.
4.Hit the Beach
Of course the Beach is inevitable when discussing the must do’s to get completely refreshed. With multiple beach access’, Laguna makes it easy, fun and free to enjoy some time in the sun. Take a book, some tanning oil and a water and let the sun kiss your skin as you lay and can truly worry about nothing.
5.Enjoy the Art
Laguna’s hidden secret is most definitely their multitude of unique art galleries. Each with their own quirks, it is so fun to wander in and out of the multiple art galleries in downtown Laguna. The best time to go is a Sunday morning where you can find parking or take the trolley that is still running year round on the weekends!
8. Treat yourself
Weather it is an impulse buy(which i’m guilty of, my latest purchase were earrings from LF Laguna, in love), a trip to the flower market, See’s chocolate, or an Acai Bowl from Active Culture allow yourself to forget the college budget for a minute and get/do something that makes you happy and feel more at ease!
The whole purpose of the weekend for me was to get away and feel refreshed. Hesitant on what kind of a difference 72 hours could make, I realize writing this that it definitely served as enough time to restore my state of mind to be motivated and excited for the weeks ahead. When feeling overwhelmed with the whole college adjustment don’t hesitate to take the weekend to refresh your state of mind by getting away…even if it is just for 72 hours:)