Five Places I Love to Visit

Since my move to California from Mexico, I have always resided in Orange County.  It has become my home a place filled with wonderful memories.  If you came to visit and wanted a tour - these are the places I would take you to.  They are not touristic areas, just ordinary places that I love to visit and spend time at.

Central Park- It’s a park behind the HB Public Library.  I grew up visiting this park, it served my family and relatives as the backyard we didn’t have growing up.  A place where Easter egg hunts and parties galore occurred during my childhood.  Now, it’s a quiet place I visit to get perspective.  Dollar and I love to go on walks there and listen to the various sounds of nature.  It’s a place that holds tons of great memories and also hosts the Civil War reenactment.

Christ Cathedral- The Diocese of OC is my favorite place to visit, the grounds are wonderful for walks filled with beautiful art work to contemplate.  I loved it even before it converted to Catholicism.  Since, I take classes on campus (throughout the year) I get to roam around it weekly.  It has so many secluded areas for prayer, I love all the little nooks.  

HB Dog Park- We don’t visit it as much as we used to, but we do love the fun enclosed doggy heaven.  Usually the park is full of regulars, people that really care about their animals and keeping them safe.  There’s two areas one for small dogs and another for the bigger ones, Dollar is allowed in both.  He prefers the little guys though, maybe that’s because they are not as aggressive.

Open Sesame- This is one of my favorite restaurants, it’s in Long Beach.  The Lebanese food is amazingly good, though there can be a bit of wait since it’s so popular.  It’s also a place to go with only a couple of friends because the venue is small and big groups are not easily accommodated.

Trinity Broadcasting Center- It sadden me when I heard that this place was sold.  It used to be one of my favorite places to spend time with God.  The outside gardens with religious artwork and the inside palace like decor made it one of my favorite locations to stop by.  It was a place that also had a theatre and featured Christian films daily.  A lot of good times were spent there.

Since the Trinity Broadcasting Center doesn't count, due to its closure- I had to include the beach.  I live ten minutes away from it, though usually the parking situation keeps me from regularly going- when I do make it, I love it.  There's a doggy beach so I can even bring my dog along!  

Places can help us think about our world, reflect, pray or simply offer us a place for relaxation.  Public gardens, museums, art galleries, churches… What are your top five?