My family rented a beach house on the Balboa Peninsula in the Newport Beach area of Orange County every summer when I was growing up and those family vacation memories stand out as vivid highlights of my childhood. We had the beach, a boardwalk and a soccer field right at our doorstep for nonstop fun and games like boogie boarding, biking, roller-skating and smash ball. We’d hit the Balboa Pier daily to fish, grab a snack at Ruby’s or watch the sunset. Every night we walked over to the Fun Zone to play arcade games, ride the Ferris Wheel and devour Balboa Bars. Whenever there was a big swell, we’d walk to The Wedge to watch the body surfers. We always had to take the ferry to Balboa Island at least once, too. I could go on and on recounting all of the good times and adventures we got into back then. But I have new, current memories and travel intelligence to share because we went back as a family this summer and I’m pleased to report the blissful vibe of Balboa lives on! In this case, you can go “home” again.