California Style

For 5 years before I moved back to Arkansas, I lived in So.Cal...4 of those years were spent in college at Biola, and the 5th year as a grad student in Rosemead School of Psyc (doctoral program of Biola).

Most that hear me talk of Biola and my time there, follow up our conversation with "You should seriously be a recruiter for that school!"

I love it that much.

I've already told Jason if he ever gets a call from them and they are interested in hiring him as the Bball coach, he not ask my permission...just give them a definite "Can we be there tomorrow?"...and maybe "Do you have an opening in the recruiting office?".

I have some amazing memories of my time there that stem from even more amazing friendships. When I moved back there were some things that I definitely missed! It's funny because some of things have actually appeared now here in NWA which bring great delight to my Biolian heart.

Anyway, today at Sam's, I discovered another one of "those things" that they're recently started carrying and I got all giddy:

Yes. The best gummy's in the WHOLE world...and they come in a 5lb bag (in Cali, only Ralph's carried this bad boy bag!).

It got me thinking about the things I loved in California and I thought I'd share some of them.
**Disclaimer** Most of these (I realized after the fact) have to do with food. :)

1. Trader Joe's: lots of healthy, unique options, and super cheap - but great quality - wine. And only a few miles down the road.

2. Albertson's: Right across the street from Biola and for some reason I just LOVED this grocery store and so badly wish we had one! They had the best bakery items and great prices on everything.



3. Bristol Farms (I know - I seriously have THREE grocery stores on my list): This one is FANTASTIC and provides the ultra grocery shopping experience. If you see one, you must try it!

Okay. I'm done with grocery stores.

4. Baja Fresh: This is one of those better-fast-food places that had the most amazing shrimp salad. Super fresh ingredients and really you can't go wrong with anything you order.

5. Miyagi's: This place was my first real sushi experience. They claim to have the most sushi combinations (not sure how broad that claim is), and the place has a few different levels right in the heart of Sunset Blvd. It turns into a dance place at night and sometimes they have karaoke (my lil sis can tell you that story sometime). We went here a lot (it seemed).

6. Wahoo's Fish Tacos: Love. This. Place. This was my first fish taco experience and I feel like anytime I have seen one since on a menu, I order it. This one's down on Huntington Beach and if you're ever there, you must try one.

And while we're on the Huntington subject, here's the next...

7. Running Huntington to Newport Beach: This was a long run day and I would do it every now and then. There's a boardwalk between both beaches so no, it wasn't hardcore on the sand! I would park at Huntington (closest to Biola), and run to Newport and back. The reward? The most AMAZING farmer's market you've ever experienced on the beach in Huntington on Saturdays. It's massive and consists of Cali and Mexico farmers with all their goods.

8. 1000 Steps at Laguna Beach: My friends and I went camping on the beach numerous times and we always went to the same spot in Laguna called 1000 steps. You park on the street and the steps are kind of hidden, and when you find them, it's a long way down (but and even longer way up - ha):

But those steps lead you here:

9. Skid Row (Downtown LA): This is one of the saddest places I've seen. It's 10 blocks of approximately 10K homeless people. It's the police's attempt to congregate these people to one location where they can legally sleep in boxes lining the streets and be somewhat confined to these 10 blocks. And it's a only a few exits of the 101 away from some of the richest places in LA.  I went here often. Me and Jana worked on one of the blocks at a church with kids one year, and then I would frequently re-visit, talk with people, and bring things I didn't want/need to give away down there. I loved going down there. If you visited me out there, you know that because I took you :)

10. Francis Chan: What a fantastic man of God and dynamic speaker! He spoke in chapel at Biola at least twice a year and the place was packed when he came...always.

11. And then there was my church, Rock Harbor: I struggled with leaving this one the most. I still listen to podcasts from there. I fell deeper in love with Jesus those years of attending this church. I was the first time I was giddy excited about going to church and heart sick when it was over. I had never experienced church like that and it was such an amazing experience to have the Holy Spirit work in my life through that church. It's funny because when I moved to Siloam and started attending CCF, 2 pastors left CCF while I was there to go be pastors at Rock Harbor - crazy!

Thanks for indulging in my nostalgia with me. :)