February 6-10, 2014 was when I visited California for the first time on as a solo trip. My best friend Karis had recently moved there to attend grad school and I saw it as the perfect opportunity to visit and experience her new life on the West Coast. Also, if you all remember in my first post I said that going to Carson was a difficult trip for me, this post will explain why.
Fullerton
Karis attended California State University, Fullerton. She had a very cute, but also very expensive, one bedroom apartment and an on campus job. She always knew that she wanted to live in California and she stopped at nothing to make that happen. She took me to so many fun places while I was there.
Honestly, this trip was spur of the moment. We had been discussing me going out there to visit her since before she moved but she really sparked the fire under me to come sooner. I planned on waiting until the summer but she was really persistent and convincing of me coming in February.
I am SO glad that God put that on her heart for me to insist that I come because had I waited until the summer the trip never would have happened. Unfortunately, a little over a month after my trip Karis passed away. She was home visiting her family and she passed in her sleep. We had plans to hang out while she was home especially because my birthday was in 2 weeks.
Honestly, this trip was spur of the moment. We had been discussing me going out there to visit her since before she moved but she really sparked the fire under me to come sooner. I planned on waiting until the summer but she was really persistent and convincing of me coming in February.
I am SO glad that God put that on her heart for me to insist that I come because had I waited until the summer the trip never would have happened. Unfortunately, a little over a month after my trip Karis passed away. She was home visiting her family and she passed in her sleep. We had plans to hang out while she was home especially because my birthday was in 2 weeks.
While in Fullerton she took me to her favorite restaurants. After she picked me up from the airport, and we sat through a little traffic, we went to her favorite mom and pop place called MexicaZn. It's a place that brings together Mexican and Asian foods. We both got a Korean barbeque avocado burritos. I was following her lead with this one and she led me down the right path. The food was excellent. We tried out an Italian place on my last night there called Roman Cucina. It was really good, if you are ever in Fullerton I recommend trying it out. We also went to a place called Rutabegorz that had a HUGE shrimp salad.
We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant where the main mission was for us to try pho. But then we decided that only one of us would order it just in case we didn't like it very much. That one brave soul was me, lol and to my surprise, I loved it. Karis has all the videos on her Instagram page but it is private so I can't share them for all to see. But I do have pictures of the food.
My favorite meal while there was probably the homemade burger with cabbage (substitute for lettuce) and wedged potatoes. That meal was the BOMB. I was so glad that she decided to cook for me. I was so jet-lagged that I didn't have the strength to go out anywhere to grab food.
As far as activities we did A LOT, at least to me it seemed like we did. All throughout our friendship we would always say that we loved hanging with one another because we were both always so willing to try new things together. The adventurous side of us led us to Skyzone in Anaheim, CA.
Skyzone was great and I am so glad that my first time going was with my best friend in California. After we posted pics and videos on Instagram of us at Skyzone all our friends were asking about it.Three of my friends, Kristen, Tamika and Brea, who are all currently living in Los Angeles, went the next day!
Fullerton is about a 45 minute drive, with no traffic, so we decided to go on a Hollywood Club Crawl on Saturday night. It was my first time ever going on a club crawl so I had no idea what to expect. Karis told me that she had done it before with some of her friends that she made since moving there and she thought I would love it.
There's a website Hollywood Club Crawl where you go and buy your $25.00 ticket. You attend four clubs in one night. It was just the two of us but we went with a group of about 25-30 people in this crawl. We got to mix and mingle with a lot of different people and we had a lot of great laughs that night. Unfortunately, I cannot find any of the names of the clubs because the schedules change. But if you are ever in Hollywood and want to have a fun night on a Friday or Saturday try out the club crawl.
Shrimp Alfredo
We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant where the main mission was for us to try pho. But then we decided that only one of us would order it just in case we didn't like it very much. That one brave soul was me, lol and to my surprise, I loved it. Karis has all the videos on her Instagram page but it is private so I can't share them for all to see. But I do have pictures of the food.
My favorite meal while there was probably the homemade burger with cabbage (substitute for lettuce) and wedged potatoes. That meal was the BOMB. I was so glad that she decided to cook for me. I was so jet-lagged that I didn't have the strength to go out anywhere to grab food.
As far as activities we did A LOT, at least to me it seemed like we did. All throughout our friendship we would always say that we loved hanging with one another because we were both always so willing to try new things together. The adventurous side of us led us to Skyzone in Anaheim, CA.
Skyzone was great and I am so glad that my first time going was with my best friend in California. After we posted pics and videos on Instagram of us at Skyzone all our friends were asking about it.Three of my friends, Kristen, Tamika and Brea, who are all currently living in Los Angeles, went the next day!
Fullerton is about a 45 minute drive, with no traffic, so we decided to go on a Hollywood Club Crawl on Saturday night. It was my first time ever going on a club crawl so I had no idea what to expect. Karis told me that she had done it before with some of her friends that she made since moving there and she thought I would love it.
There's a website Hollywood Club Crawl where you go and buy your $25.00 ticket. You attend four clubs in one night. It was just the two of us but we went with a group of about 25-30 people in this crawl. We got to mix and mingle with a lot of different people and we had a lot of great laughs that night. Unfortunately, I cannot find any of the names of the clubs because the schedules change. But if you are ever in Hollywood and want to have a fun night on a Friday or Saturday try out the club crawl.
Huntington Beach
Karis and I went to Huntington Beach for the day on that Saturday. It was a little cool so we decided not to walk out on the sand but we did walk on the boardwalk and the pier. The view was beautiful and I really wish I was able to take more pictures. At the time I had an 8gb iPhone 4, so all the iPhone users know that I was having storage problems. Karis took A LOT of pictures on her phone.
For Brunch we ate at place on the boardwalk called Sugar Shake Shack. We ate at a table outside and enjoyed the views of all the people riding bikes, skateboards and motorcycles. All of this took place in February! For both of us East Coast girls this was so fascinating!
I would definitely recommend all to try out Sugar Shake Shack because the food was simply amazing. I ordered a ham and cheese omelet with home fries and Karis ordered the Keppler's which she said was great.
After brunch we decided to walk out on the pier. I totally wanted to do that before I went back home to the cold weather and snow. I have such a fascination with water. I love any kind of water from a swimming pool to the ocean. So I literally walked to the end of the pier and just stared out at the water. Looking out into the water and the sky always makes me feel closer to God. Here are some pictures of our view.
One of the hardest I've ever experienced was losing my best friend. She was only 24. We shared so many things together that I will never forget. I cherish all of our memories and I am glad that I was able to honor her and share my trip with my readers at the same time. Thank you Lord for allowing me to know such an angel before she gained her wings.
I urge you all to remain close to the ones you love and cherish. Life is SHORT.
To Karis, I love you, I miss you and I cannot wait to see you again. I hope that I am making you proud by following in your footsteps and stopping at nothing to make my dreams come true. You were and still are such an inspiration to me and all who knew you.
In honor of Karis A. Wade
Forever in our hearts
Janisha
For Brunch we ate at place on the boardwalk called Sugar Shake Shack. We ate at a table outside and enjoyed the views of all the people riding bikes, skateboards and motorcycles. All of this took place in February! For both of us East Coast girls this was so fascinating!
I would definitely recommend all to try out Sugar Shake Shack because the food was simply amazing. I ordered a ham and cheese omelet with home fries and Karis ordered the Keppler's which she said was great.
After brunch we decided to walk out on the pier. I totally wanted to do that before I went back home to the cold weather and snow. I have such a fascination with water. I love any kind of water from a swimming pool to the ocean. So I literally walked to the end of the pier and just stared out at the water. Looking out into the water and the sky always makes me feel closer to God. Here are some pictures of our view.
One of the hardest I've ever experienced was losing my best friend. She was only 24. We shared so many things together that I will never forget. I cherish all of our memories and I am glad that I was able to honor her and share my trip with my readers at the same time. Thank you Lord for allowing me to know such an angel before she gained her wings.
I urge you all to remain close to the ones you love and cherish. Life is SHORT.
To Karis, I love you, I miss you and I cannot wait to see you again. I hope that I am making you proud by following in your footsteps and stopping at nothing to make my dreams come true. You were and still are such an inspiration to me and all who knew you.
In honor of Karis A. Wade
Forever in our hearts
Janisha
6 comments:
I am so happy that you shared this. I felt like I was there with y'all. Karis is forever in our hearts, this post means so much.
Aw, Joi thanks girl. I'm so glad that you enjoyed it. I'm glad it made you feel like you were with us!!! *kisses and hugs*
I love this Nish! I was so sad that I never got to Visit Karis in CA, but reading this really makes me smile and I am able to live through your experience.
Aww, I'm so glad you enjoyed it and that you feel you can live through my experience. That warms my heart. Thanks so much!!
I'm really sorry for your loss, but I'm glad you have such great memories with your friend. As soon as I read Carson, I got excited because that's where I'm from / live. I do hope you're able to make it back here again.
Thank you for your condolences, I really appreciate it!! Carson was a beautiful place I definitely want to go back and enjoy the city. Thank you for reading and leaving a comment. :)
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