Today is the peak of the Big Swell, with the swell pushing in from dead-south, bringing 10-14ft waves to the big beaches and 20ft waves being generated at The Wedge– estimates which many claim are noticeably low. Last night’s swell overtook much of the sandbars in the area north/west of the Balboa Pier, creating a lake-like scene, shown here: The peak today will be …

Did you know that in the Kentucky Derby, “Mr Z”s owner was born and raised in Newport Beach?  He was!  He’s a longshot bet, but it’s really cool having our hometown represented! 🙂 Mr Z now appears to be based out of Indian Wells, California (near Palm Desert) Mr Z is also the most experienced horse on the track! But …

The storm that we’ve been tracking for the last week is finally arriving this weekend– and we aren’t talking about boxing.  This Saturday through Wednesday we will see higher than normal swells, with the Wedge seeing waves up to 20 feet high. Monday or Tuesday will likely be the biggest waves, but we’ll start seeing major increases as early as Sunday morning, …

Saturday April 25th will be the final Balboa Island Garage Sale put on by Carolyn Carr-Kamps.  The tradition begins at 7:30am and will officially end at 3pm– though the ones who sell out of their goods will surely begin to close before that! It seems that everyone has learned the hard way here: Get there early!! Parking will most certainly be problematic so …

Today is Shirley Temple’s birthday.  As the story goes, Shirley Temple was first a local star of Balboa, being named the first “Miss Newport Beach” at the age of 13. The house she used to live in on Balboa Peninsula was in Peninsula Point near M Street, just past the Bartholomew house, at the closest point to the Coast Guard Beach (right …

By now, you’ve heard about the water crisis throughout California.  For many reasons, our water supply is simply too low.  In Orange County, we have a reservoir that we pump most of our water from, but we are only allowed to pull 72% from the OC’s reservoir, meaning still need to import 28% of it from northern water supplies– the same supplies that …

One of the items in Tuesday’s City Council meeting was whether or not to add more police to Newport Beach’s Balboa Peninsula, which councilwoman Dixon has repeatedly referred to as having a  “crime problem”.  This is part of Dixon’s “Lights Out” proposal, and 1,746 signatures were submitted to show public disapproval.  All were summarily ignored by council. First, let’s start with the police …

A “Taste of Balboa” event will be held as part of the Newport to Enscenda annual sail race.  Located in the parking lot where Balboa Market used to be (on the corner of Palm and Balboa Blvd), this event is always a fun-filled and kid-friendly event.  Establishments new and old from all over the peninsula will be represented in their corresponding booths, …

Those of us who have poured concrete more than once in our lives know that there are a number of things you need to get right while doing the job.  The most obvious is smoothing, but you also need to make sure that it doesn’t dry too quickly, that the mix is correct, that it is deep enough to support the …

El Ranchito is offering its original menu prices on three items today and next Thursday to wrap up their 40th birthday celebration!  The original location has always been right here on Balboa Peninsula on the corner of Balboa Blvd and 28th St. Originally, it was just on the sidestreet  (pictured as the main photo here), where the traditional “Irish Fish Market” …