COSTA MESA
Trains on the tracks
On the third weekend of each month, engineers climb aboard their
trains and travel on three miles of track at Fairview Park to display
their steam and diesel engines. The public is welcome to join them at
the park at Placentia Avenue and Estancia North. The Orange County
Model Engineer program started in 1989, when engineers wanted to
display their engines, while educating and entertaining the community
about the past. (949) 548-7246.
Mobile Skate Park
The Recreation Division's Mobile Skate Park travels to various
park locations throughout the city three days a week to provide
skateboarders and in-line skaters a state-of-the-art skate park.
Participants are required to have a signed waiver and release form to
use the park. Appropriate safety equipment, including a helmet, elbow
and kneepads, are required at all times. Access the city's Web site
at www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us to get a form. Call (714) 327-7560 for schedule of days, times and locations of the skate park.
NEWPORT BEACH
Balboa Fun Zone
Children can ride the Ferris wheel, the merry-go-round and the
bumper cars, as well as play video games, pose for a portrait or
browse through souvenir shops along the boardwalk, at the Balboa Fun
Zone, which has been attracting businesses since 1936. The fun zone
offers many eating choices, including Balboa Bars, which are
chocolate-covered ice cream bars sprinkled with toppings. Open daily
from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. 400 E. Bay St., Balboa Peninsula. (949)
673-0408. www.BalboaNewportBeach.com.
Upper Newport Bay Ecological Preserve and Nature Preserve
Canoe and kayak tours are available to experience six diverse
habitats for more than 200 bird species that either live there or
visit during the birds' Pacific flyway migration. Campfire programs
are also offered, as are free two-hour walking nature tours departing
from Shellmaker Island every first and third Saturday at 9 a.m. Call
the Department of Fish and Game at (949) 640-6746, or the Friends of
the Newport Bay at (949) 646-8009.
Upper Newport Bay Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center
Adults and children can explore 15 hands-on interactive exhibits
and communicate with the Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends through
interpretive educational opportunities or watch a ''visual poem'' of
Upper Newport Bay presented on five monitors, showing such acts as
birds in flight and the flow of running water in an estuary. The
10,000-square-foot interpretive center offers hands-on opportunities
