In our two trips to California this year, we rode over 1200 miles in Orange County. As you roll thru the O.C. at 15 MPH, you see a lot of strange sights. Here are a few things that made us scratch our heads…

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
In the tiny ocean community of Seal Beach, there are three Irish bars within a tenth of a mile of each other.

Saint Patrick’s Day must be a lot of fun in Seal Beach.

Got Milk?
When riding through Dana Point, we came across this beauty.

Nothing says California more than a milk cow. Sadly, Bessie was gone the next time we came by.

A House Is Not A Home…
Unless you have at least a million dollars. Here’s a house in Costa Mesa that doesn’t quite fit in with the neighborhood.

Someone decided to put a full-blown Victorian mansion in the middle of a neighborhood of one-story beach houses. An old house or a new one? Turns out it’s a new house made to look old. It can be yours for $1.5 million.

There’s Oil In The Sand
They still drill for oil offshore and onshore in Orange County. You would think it would all be gone by now, but they are still pumping it out. Here’s a relic from the past.

This rig has been around since 1920. It doesn’t work anymore, and is now used as “yard art” near Huntington Beach.

Power to the People
Speaking of Huntington Beach, also known as “Surf City USA”, it’s a beautiful expanse of wide California beach that goes for about five miles. It’s pristine coastline, except for this:

Apparently back in 1957, someone thought it would be a good idea to put a power plant right in the middle of the unspoiled wetlands near the ocean.

Sports Car Paradise
You may not know it, but Orange County has the highest-volume Mercedes Benz dealership in the United States. Mercedes are like cheap Chevys here. Everyone seems to own one. Teslas are everywhere as are Ferraris, Maseratis, Porsches, Bentleys and Rolls-Royces. You get the picture. On one stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach, it’s sports car heaven. Need a Maserati, go to the dealer disguised as a Ferrari showroom.

Or walk next door to the “real” Ferrari dealer…

I’ll take the red one out front. A half a mile away is the Bentley/Porsche/Audi dealer. The BMW dealer is the other way. They have you covered in Newport Beach.

Yes, We Have No Bananas
On Balboa Island, there are two places you can get frozen bananas. The first is Dad’s.

And the other is Sugar and Spice.

They are within a block of each other. Both claim to have the “original frozen banana”.

Someone is lying here. Our Tandempalooza research shows that Sugar and Spice was here twenty years before Dad’s. By the way, we like the Sugar and Spice bananas better.

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