california nostalgia

 

Yesterday I had to pass by the 17th Street in Tustin freeway exit. It is the one closest to the house where I grew up. On the way back to San Diego, I decided to go and have a look. My dad designed the house, about 47 years ago now.  Practically an antique for California. Daddy probably doubled his money when he sold it for something like $40,000. He understood real estate and decided to move to Newport Beach when I was a freshman at BYU.

 

My first date was with a boy named Sted. He was in our ward, but attended the military academy in San Diego. He asked me to come down for a dance. His parents picked me up and took me to this beautiful restaurant in Carlsbad where they ordered lobster for me and then taught me how to eat it. Afterwards, they dropped me off at the school. I wore a navy wool skirt and matching vest. My white shirt had a long ruffled tie and I pinned a jeweled frog in the center of it. Too bad I don’t still have the frog, it could be trendy again!

Lastly,  I ordered Mexican food to go and sat on the beach watching the Pacific sunset.   I really miss the great Mexican food they have in southern California, even  garnished with sand, it was delicious! There were a few surfers looking for a final set and a various assortment of families and friends. Often in the summertime families in our ward growing up would gather for dinner and swimming. Doug was amongst a group of young men that liked to dive off the cliffs and into the ocean displaying their athletic prowess and daring. I recall being huddled up in a sweatshirt on the sand as California beaches are often cool. But  there was no need for that. It was a perfect day for remembering.