California Food and Fires

For Thanksgiving weekend, my family and I went out of town to enjoy the holiday with my grandparents who live in La Mirada, California. Well, maybe it was not all about my grandparents. Having lived in Southern California for at least ten years of my life, it is always fun to come back and visit the places that I used to frequent so often. While we did have the traditional Thanksgiving meal at my grandparents’ house, we also plan to eat at all of the restaurants we have so missed while living in Utah. I have come to the conclusion that eating was a far more important aspect of my life while living in California than it is now when residing in Utah. So far, we have already dined at In N’Out, which used to be a weekly meal for me when I lived here, and possibly the best Mexican food restaurant of all time, Don Jose (which I once also, ate weekly). It is probably a good thing that I moved away or else I would be extremely unhealthy. The rest of our trip we plan to also eat at Northwoods, Chris and Pitts, and Todai (a wonderful sushi bar). It might be a little odd that all I seem able to talk about is the food choices, but honestly, that was probably one of the biggest pulls of the trip for me. Sure the weather is warmer and there is more moisture in the air from the considerably closer ocean, but overall, the food is what got my family and I excited.
It’s so funny how, even after being away for at least a year (we usually drive down for Thanksgiving to visit with my mom’s side of the family), it feels like we never left. The congested freeways and the browned hills from the fires (although it was way worse than it usually is this year as detailed by news reports) seemed a familiar sight. I guess they were for me for a long time. The Orange County area was kind of always home base for me; although my family and I have lived in at least ten different houses throughout my life, this area is where my parents grew up and where they would always take me as a child. I do not really remember that I miss this place until I come back.
Okay, but on a completely different and less sentimental note, the fires were completely devastating. As we were driving, we could see the scorched trees and skeleton remains of buildings. The fire had apparently hopped the freeway and it was evident since apartment buildings were half burned only a few feet from where cars were driving. Strips of houses lay spared as the ground all around them were completely black. It was frightening but extremely eye opening, especially on Thanksgiving.
For the rest of the trip, my family and I plan on heading back through Vegas on the way home. We will stop at The Excalibur and kill a few hours until heading back to good ol’ chilly Utah. So far the trip has been fun, and I’m sure the rest of it will be too.