As Of Late
Catching up with my journal here:
- My wife and I and the two girls went on a five-day trip to California to visit my parents and enjoy some vacation.
- We took our girls to Disney California Adventure and Disneyland Proper. The Thursday we went to California Adventure was great—park was empty so we got to the rides we wanted. On Friday, Disneyland was a mess; crazy amounts of people because of the holiday. We ended up asking for a refund and leaving at noon. Oh well.
- We also went to the beach while we were there. Seal Beach is our preference although Huntington is closer to my parents' house. I love Seal Beach—lots of memories surfing and fishing there. As my parents contemplate on moving here to Utah, I said my goodbyes to the beach and pier. It will be difficult to go back there if that ever happens.
- A trek to Ikea. Although not a big, big fan of Ikea, I do admire their style and price. Their home accessories and toys are great. Their furniture is changing so I like that. I was particularly looking for artwork for my home office so I was happy when I found this line drawing of flowers (white) on a red background for $9. Nice. They're finishing construction of an Ikea here in Salt Lake this spring. I tell you, they will run out of stuff.
- We went to a Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese restaurants while down there. They are all sooo good. I was only introduced to Vietnamese food in the last two years and I love it. Oh the soup with the beef, sprouts, basil leaves and lime. Heaven.
- The Chinese restaurant that my parents take us frequently changed from Orange County B to Orange County A. It's OC's rating system for restaurant cleanliness, I guess. My wife and I smirked at each other on the way in. I also noticed that the entire restaurant had three efficient waiters (with about 20 big tables). The key for them was that no waiter was "assigned" to a table so whoever it was that was asked just gets the job done, quickly. No need to pass on information to "your waiter." It was a small restaurant but it was busy and efficient.
- There's a Japanese dollar store near my parents' house that my wife and I love to go to. They should take down their $1 sign outside though because over half of their stuff is over a dollar :) Anyway, we found these beautiful wooden bowls that my wife wanted. I also got my mom some square bowls as a thank-you present for letting us stay at their house.
- My mom threw a great party for us with our extended family. It's fun to see uncles, aunts and cousins again. Good food yum!
As much as I like southern California, I cannot see myself ever moving back there again. The crowd and the traffic is just way too much. Utah is still home. Home sweet home.