My wife and I recently had the opportunity to enjoy two popular passtimes in Costa Mesa (www.travelcostamesa.com) – people watching and play watching. 

The first was accomplished by grabbing a prime table in the Lobby Bar of the impressively renovated Costa Mesa landmark, Westin South Coast Plaza (www.westin.com/southcoastplaza). Weeknights from 5 until 7, you can join locals and overnight guests alike for the hotel’s Unwind Hour, a new social experience.  We ordered from the bar menu and watched as the crowd grew in size, with groups reassembling from meetings held in the hotel earlier that day, as well as other couples like us, and singles, too.

We were told that during June, the hotel’s Executive Chef Hussain Zouhbi is pairing two Napa Valley California favorites, the Ghost Pines 2006 Chardonnay and the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, with delicious appetizers. Each month the libation and the food pairings will change.

The next part of our evening was also easily accomplished. Known as the City of the Arts, Costa Mesa is home to The Orange County Performing Artscenter and South Coast Repertory.  On this evening, we made the short walk to the Repertory (http://www.scr.org/) to watch the often hilariously funny play, Taking Steps, by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn.  Appearing on the Segerstrom Stage through June 15, the play is a farce about a group of eccentric people occupying a Victorian home for an evening and the next day.

As luck would have it, the play’s director Art Manke, who also directs UPN sitcoms Eve and One on One, and Disney’s Hannah Montana, addressed a group of theatergoers ahead of the curtain. One challenge he overcame:  the “home” has three stories with action taking place on each, yet the stage is only one level.  Watching the actors pretend to climb imaginary staircases and slip past one another undetected was amazing and entertaining. 

For watching people and plays, Costa Mesa’s hard to beat.