I had forgotten that Strands Beach in Dana Point (also known as The Strand, Salt Creek Beach Park and Strand Vista Park) is one of my favorite places in the world, until Mila and I visited last weekend. It's a bit of work to get down to the beach, but wow, is it worth it. This is the beach my dreams are made of.

The waves are big but there's lots of shallow water for the kids to sit and play in before that point.

Beautiful path along the beach.

Looking out at the ocean from Strand Vista Park, the funicular on the left and stairs on the right, both lead down to the beach.

After leaving this glorious place, we ended the day with dinner at Gulfstream and dessert at Sprinkles Ice Cream. Perfect summer day!

Next up on our ice cream must list - Sprinkles. Our favorite cupcake-maker has expanded to take on another beloved American classic and as always, they are doing it well. With several California locations and more Nationwide, you can now get your summer sugar fix fairly easily. We recently stopped by their Orange County location to scoop up.

Why we love Sprinkles Ice Cream: They use organic California dairy and slow churn their ice cream for a more densely flavorful and creamier ice cream. And it's also just plain old fun in there.