BIVALVES AND BUBBLY: Whoever decided that Champagne might go nicely with found-in-the-ocean edibles, say, like oysters, is probably one of the smartest foodies ever to have paired eatable things with drinkable things. They don't seem like a natural pairing at first glance, perhaps, but when you consider how the bubbles of the drink correspond rather fittingly with the bubbles of the deep, it all makes perfect and beautiful sense. Throw in an ocean view, and a Sunday afternoon in autumn, and you just about an ideal experience.
BUT... what if you could also score a gratis hotel room to boot? The ideal experience would become more ideal, or, er, idealer? That. The Pacific Edge Hotel in Laguna Beach is hosting a contest right now, and it is as savory and flavorful as a slurped oyster followed by a swig of bubbly. The upshot: You could win two tickets to Sip & Shuck, a benefit for the Orange County Surfrider Foundation happening on Sunday, Nov. 10. The ocean-close, afternoon-nice oyster-meets-Champagne affair will be plenty swank, indeed, but just as swank is your free ocean-view room at the Pacific Edge. What do you need to do? "Upload a picture of you enjoying 'Beach Life.'" Yep, you have one of those photos, right? We all do, or should, at least, if we've called the Golden State home for long enough.
GET ON THIS: Here's the way to get going on the photo contest, but if you want to skip the photo-submitting and just purchase tickets to the oyster-beer-Champagne dealie, you can do that, too. Surfrider is a most excellent cause to support, bivalves are a quintessential ocean foodstuff, grown-up beverages can be nice to sip, the Pacific Edge is Laguna Posh, and the water itself? That's your oyster-slurping view.
