What to See and Do in O.C.

I was insulted by Steve Lopez’s Feb. 4 Orange County column. Having grown up in San Francisco, I know the joys of an urban setting. However, I also remember the sound of the MUNI bus roaring past my home every 15 minutes, the sight of a drunk falling off his seat on the bus ride home and the whispers of my parents discussing a friend assaulted in a downtown parking garage.

So, I ask Lopez to take another look at Orange County, not through the eyes of a critical columnist, but through the eyes of a 2-year-old boy, like my son. Maybe he’ll find joy in spending the day at Corona del Mar beach watching sailboats and building sandcastles. Or maybe he would enjoy a pony ride at Irvine Regional Park or find delight in a big and soft vanilla ice cream cone at Strickland’s, allowing the rich melted cream to run down his chin. Maybe he would love to run through the pop-jet fountain at Fashion Island or ride a live steam model train at Fairview Park. And that’s just the beginning.

I invite Lopez to come again and see why so many families are proud to call Orange County home.

Carmela Rossi-Lane

Irvine

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I was amazed to find that the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau could not come up with anything to do in Orange County except shopping, the Pageant of the Masters and chain restaurants.

I am a Los Angeles resident, but even I can offer a more interesting list of destinations in O.C. I offer:

* The South Coast Repertory Theater in Costa Mesa, which presents exciting theater that reflects its artistic commitment to challenging new works as well as the classics.

* Bolsa Chica Interpretive Center in Huntington Beach, an 1,200-acre ecological preserve and restored wetlands that supports rare waterfowl.

* The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana, which holds exhibitions that reflect the cultural arts of the Americas, Pacific Rim and Africa.

* Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa, which presents major symphonies, concerts, opera, ballet and Broadway musicals.

* The Orange County Museum in Newport Beach, which houses more than 3,000 works of art, with the main focus on the modern and contemporary.

* Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Orange, where more than 150 species of birds have been sighted, especially the hummingbirds.

Libby Motika

Los Angeles