Upon finding the Sacramento UBarre last month, I noticed on their website that they were offering a retreat in Newport Beach to promote their new studio on July 22-24! I instantly wanted to go, so my father’s girlfriend (who actually has a membership to the Sacramento studio) and I signed up!
We were to fly down on Friday midday to arrive to the John Wayne Airport in Orange County to first go on a sunset cruise for the start of the retreat. Unfortunately, in the middle of the Southwest Airlines chaos, our flight was delayed several times and then canceled at the time that we were supposed to be taking off. We rushed to grab our checked luggage and got booked on a later Delta Airlines flight that went into LAX. We changed our rental car location pick up and ended up getting in, driving to the OC and arriving at about 11pm. Sadly, we very much missed the cruise!
Day 1
We arrived to the studio promptly at 8:30, which is right on the Pacific Coast Hwy above the Rockfire Grill. It was very similar to the set up of the Sacramento studio, except you could smell the ocean and even see over to the harbor! The location is incredible, and there’s plenty of parking.
First, we started off with snacks and Nekter juices. This was the first time that I have tried these juices, which were graciously donated by the owner of the juice bar, Alexis. Although they have 60 locations, the original one was started in Costa Mesa, a location that borders Newport Beach. I had the Classic Greens and it was fresh, light and delicious!
We did two classes, first a barre class and then a Buti Yoga class, which I had never done before. It was a blast!! Nicole, the instructor, was super fun and although I was sweating profusely during the work out, it felt like a party! I didn’t even notice that I was working out! I would highly recommend. It is a challenging work out for sure, and very intense doing the barre and buti class together.
From there, we got ready and went to the beach for a couple hours at Balboa in the heart of Newport, before going to dinner at the Gulf Stream restaurant. Although I lived in Newport for a little while, I had never seen or heard of the restaurant. I got their special of the night, which was a sea bass that I customized to my eating style with veggies on the side. All of the girls at the retreat were really great and fun!
Day 2
On the second day, we met at 10:30 to start with a ballet core class taught by the new UBarre instructor, McKenzie. Seeing as though I was a ballerina for most of my childhood, it was very easy to catch on, although I’m not at all flexible like I used to be! Following this class, another instructor (from the Sacramento studio), Kris, taught another Buti Yoga class, which was a great work out and a slightly different style than Nicole’s Saturday class.
Immediately following the classes, we walked down to the Newport Harbor to paddle board! We spent a couple hours paddle boarding, which I had only done once in the ocean in Hawaii. The harbor is much smoother and easier! They even had a 6-person paddle board that some of the girls went on, and apparently that was much more challenging and wobbly than a single person board. On one of our “pit stops” at a small beach, some of the girls were doing yoga poses on their heads and I was impressed to say the least!
Upon heading back to where we started, the wind and the current was against us. That was probably the most challenging work out of the whole weekend! It felt like it was never going to end, but was a very accomplished feeling when I finally got to home base. After a quick walk back and bite at the Rockfire Grill, I headed home.
I will say that I am so glad that I attended the retreat!! I had an amazing time and met some amazing girls! I will definitely be visiting the Sacramento studio when I am up there, as well as the Newport studio when I head down there. For more information on the Newport studio, click here. Now, onto recovering!
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