California

I've been to California twice.

In August 1995, I flew out to visit my mom's youngest brother in Pomona, CA. It was my first time to fly so far from home by myself. I stayed at his apartment. My grandma came up from San Diego, CA, to spend time with me and her son. On Sunday, we went to Newport Beach, CA, for some fun in the sun and water. My uncle's three sons went along too. We had met their mother the night before so the boys could spend Sunday with their dad. It was the first time I had ever been to the ocean. After some fun on the beach, we rented a boat so we could boat around Newport Harbor. At one point, I actually drove the boat. :-) We went shopping in Newport Beach as well. We got back to the apartment to meet my grandma. She and I would spend a lot of time together over the next six days. One day, my grandma, uncle, and I drove to Hollywood, CA, to sightsee. I saw the famous Hollywood Sign sitting in its spot on a hillside above Hollywood. We visited the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame, where many connected to Hollywood are immortalized. I visited the court outside of Mann's Chinese Theatre. As we walked along the Walk of Fame, we stopped and shopped in many of the stores along Hollywood Boulevard. After walking around Hollywood for awhile, we drove over to Beverly Hills. I bought a t-shirt at the Hard Rock Cafe. We walked through the Beverly Center in Los Angeles at the edge of Beverly Hills. We couldn't find Rodeo Drive. We drove to the LA County Courthouse where the O.J. Simpson trial was being held. I spent a lot of time shopping at Montclair Plaza, which is a very nice mall in Montclair, CA. I had my nails professionally done for the first and only time in my life. My grandma had her nails done too. :-)

In August 1996, my mom and I flew out together to California to visit her brother (the uncluye whom I visited the previous August). We spent the first full day at Newport Beach, CA, with my uncle and his three sons. We enjoyed fun and sun on the beach. The waves were huge that day. We walked up on the Balboa Pier. After that, we walked around Newport Beach. On Tuesday, we went to Catalina Island. We took a boat over to Avalon on Catalina Island. We walked through Avalon. We shopped. We took a Seal Point tour, which is a boat ride out to see the seals and other wildlife along the eastern shore of Catalina Island. In spite of my uncle and I taking too much Dramamine® (which made us drowsy all day long), we had a great time. On another day, we went back to Newport Beach and spent a couple of hours on the beach. After spending time on the beach, we went over the ferry to Balboa Island. We just drove through Balboa Island. We drove through Corona del Mar and Dana Point. We ended up in Laguna Beach. We walked a little bit of the main street in Laguna Beach. In betwen days at the beach, my mom and I went shopping at Montclair Plaza in Montclair, CA. On our final full day in California, all of us went to San Clemente to meet my mom's only sister. We went to both beaches in both the north and South areas of San Clemente.