Summer in San Clemente

By, Ily Macpherson | Sports Editor

June 3, 2016

As the final days of the 2016-17 school year approach, students and their friends and families begin to plan summer trips and outings. Others begin to change their work schedules to work longer days in hopes of making more money to spend on summer fun. For those staying in San Clemente for the summer, there is plenty to do without the high price of airfare hotels and exhaustion.

Some of the more popular things for people to do during summer includes taking exotic trips to places like Hawaii or the Bahamas. Senior Hana Fransz-Myers revealed, “My family and I are supposed to be going on a trip to Cuba this summer but we’re still in the process of planning everything around the end of the school year and around summer classes.” On the other end of the spectrum, students like Junior Sam Dixon are excited because summer allows “sleeping and not being at San Clemente High for two months.”

Despite the fact that it’s there every Sunday, the farmers market on Avenida Del Mar is a fun weekly trip to make if you’re looking for something to do on a Sunday morning. On the first Sunday of every month, there is an additional arts and crafts fair that occupies the entire streets, lining the sidewalks with handmade blown glass sculptures, jewelry, paintings, professional photographs, and even succulent plant art pieces. Though it may seem ordinary in comparison to the other activities in San Clemente, attending the farmers market and occasional arts and crafts fair are great ways to please your aesthetic conscience and even makes for a great photo op for Instagram!

In addition to the farmers market, there are other events that draw San Clemente residents from the air-conditioned haven that is their Talega homes. The Ocean Festival is a great outing for families to watch the surfing and paddleboarding contests, buy a duck for the annual duck race, and try some delicious turkey legs or lobster on the beach. There is also a small area of vendors on the grassy bluff near the pier where people sell different wooden and metal art pieces, clothing, jewelry, and much more.

Just after the Ocean Festival, the biggest event that draws the most attendees is the San Clemente Fiesta on Avenida Del Mar. While the city lines the entire street with food and drink vendors, a series of local artists sing and dance near the center of the street. Towards the end of the street, a kids area features a bungee trampoline and several bounce house obstacle courses. Every year, thousands of people travel to San Clemente or even just travel out of their San Clemente homes to take part in the fun of the Fiesta. When things start to quiet down, many people travel down to the beach to cool off before heading home yet the fun never stops.

And let’s not forget about the Fourth of July. People from all around San Clemente herd themselves to the beaches close to 5:00 in the morning, hoping to snag a spot as close to the San Clemente Pier as possible, where the city lights fireworks off the end. While the beaches are jampacked with people, restaurants like the Fisherman’s are also jampacked with customers who sometimes even reserve spots one month in advance on a private area to watch the fireworks from the pier itself. Even though the place is swamped with customers for the majority of the day, students that work at the pier restaurant like junior Graham Miller note that, “Everyone goes there so you get to see friends and family and meet new people at the same time. Even though Fourth of July is one of the busiest days, I like variety of customers that come through the restaurant and are here to vacation or live here and are coming out of their Talega homes to enjoy a bit of what San Clemente [and Fisherman’s] has to offer.”

If the high price of airfare and hotels tends to give you a minor panic attack, don’t fret! Even if you cannot bring yourself to leave your air-conditioned homes to attend these events, there is still plenty to do during summer in San Clemente that doesn’t require much effort. Try every restaurant, volunteer at the local Boys & Girls Club or the animal shelter, or even hit the hiking trails in Talega! No matter what you try, there is always an unexplored corner for you to discover.