Thanks everyone for the feedback. We did the ride you guys confirmed for me. Me and my wife had a great time. We live in Redlands which is a good bike friendly town but that was before riding the network of trails around Newport and Irvine. Holy crap, it was awesome. I am so jealous of locals that can hit those trails daily. Back Bay Drive was especially gorgeous. Not to mention it was 82 degrees and sunny on an end of January day.
We ate lunch at the Veggie Grill across from the campus in the Trader Joe's shopping center. Great food. Once again very jealous.
Thanks again for the replies. They were very helpful and much appreciated (especially the tip to avoid PCH).