I would have to admit that the nine days in SoCAL was very productive in meeting friends, who I haven't seen for a long time, a few of them for years, and meeting up with my family for another time for this 2012, after seeing more during the San Francisco Chinese New Year's trip in February.
I thought that the best experience would be my Sunshine enjoying herself at Disneyland, however, it didn't work out that way because she got sick on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. She was not her usual fast, let's-go-here-to-there experience at a Disney park. Because she didn't get the full experience on her second visit, I promised her we'd go back again in the future. Next time, we are going to spend time at Disneyland first before we meet up with my friends.
If I were to summarize our trip to SoCAL, it would have to be the meetings with my friends during the visit. Because my Sunshine wasn't feeling her best, we didn't really blitz the theme park. I did get a lot of pictures, but we really missed the full Christmas decoration of Disneyland because the official day was the next day after our plane touched down back home.
We did spend time with my sister and her husband, the primary reason why we scheduled the trip to SoCAL, especially with our dining experience at the chef's table at Napa Rose. We all had different dishes to try. It was a very interesting experience, not like anything before. Usually, I like sticking with dishes I want to eat at certain locations that I regularly visit.
Pictured with my sister, Edwina, on the last night we were at Disneyland
I would say the first night was something special. We met up with friends, Joel and Maria Bumanglag, I haven't seen in fifteen years! This was the couple who helped me initially moved to the mainland. I stayed with them upon my arrival to Temecula, California. It was good catching up with the memories even before my life on the mainland. I am thankful for their hospitality for giving me a start on the mainland where I had no family or anything.
Pictured with Joel and Maria at Pechanga Casino
On Sunday, I appreciated seeing Melody Fredricks and her family. The added bonus was that we spent time with Melody and Theodore at the Victorian Gardens walking around. Other than the expensive store fronts, it was good to visit a Yard House, the restaurant chain that Darden purchased to be part of the family. I took a picture at my visit to the restaurant at Traveling Self-Portraits. I have seen Melody grow up from years from her hard work, many hours working at Boston Market, even working twenty-four hours the day before Thanksgiving for the company's customers.
Pictured with the Fredricks family: l to r: Melody, Jacob, Cadence; front row: Theodore
The next person we met was Claudia from the Boston Market days, from the last years of living and working in Orange County. I'm glad to hear that the days of being on call at last minute to go in for a catering delivery has changed. That doesn't happen anymore. There are still good memories of the time working at Boston Market, especially when McDonald's owned the restaurant chain. With the changes in our nation, with people who speak Spanish, it was a blessing to have Claudia on the team to translate for me during that period of my life.
Pictured: Claudia, Bryan, and my Sunshine.
We visited with Joe and Diane Northington. I will never forget the sense of family that they exhibited when I lived in SoCAL and I didn't have any family there. This is the second visit back to SoCAL. I notice that Blake, their son, has really grown older, and bigger as the years goes on. I would call them family when I didn't have any in the region. I will never forget the day that they watched over me on a holiday when I flipped the Toyota Camry that I shipped from Hawaii.
Pictured: Diane, Blake, Joe, and my Sunshine.
On Wednesday, I met with Evereth, who I haven't seen for nine years, and his wife for a meal at El Pollo Loco, one of four times I visited my favorite restaurant chain. It was the first time meeting his wife. Evereth was always there for me during my Pizza Hut days to help to deliver those pizzas when I didn't have a driver. For his availability, I will never forget the sacrifices he made for his personal quality of life.
Evereth and his wife
I am thankful for all these people in my past. They have touched my life in their own unique way. I look forward to the next time we meet.
