Today we took the high school kids (Bay and his two cousins) to the UCLA campus to check it out. There were actually quite a few people there visiting, unlike the ghost town that Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was, so that was cool. Unfortunately, almost all the buildings were closed for Winter break. Still, it was fun to walk around one of the top schools in the country.
For myself, it was very 懐かしい (nostalgic) because I used to work at UCLA for a couple years in the mid 90s. There were quite a few changes, but for the most part, it felt the same. Lots of memories came floating back to me, especially remembering places we used to rollerblade, the route we used to take when we went running, and the places we used to get lunch. Good memories for sure!
In the afternoon we hit the bowling alley, then it was time for dinner at one of our Torrance mainstays: CoCo Ichibanya. When you order curry there, you can specify the level of spiciness, with 1 being the mildest and 10 the hottest. I usually get 10, and today was no different. I’d have to say it was the mildest 10 I’ve had there so far, but it was still satisfying and yummy. 🍛
Today we made a pilgrimage of sorts to the home of our favorite baseball team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. We’ve done the tour before, by it was my nephew’s first time so we decided to all take it again. I’m glad we did, because the tour has been improved since we took it a few years ago, with more interesting historical facts, a tour of the press box, and generally more time to spend in each location, including the dugout.
It was a great little highlight of the vacation! I definitely recommend the Dodger Stadium Tour to any baseball fan. ⚾️
Today Bay, Mariko, and I drove up to Monterey Park so Mariko could meet up with her friend. Bay and I decided to join them for a light Taiwanese breakfast. It was pretty good, although it was more fried food than I was expecting.
After that, Bay and I visited a record store where I bought a few albums for myself and a couple gifts for friends, and then we met up with my family for a trip up to an escape room in North Hollywood. It was lot of fun, and we successfully escaped!
After the escape room, we asked the guy working there if he knew a good Mexican restaurant, and he immediately recommended Salsa & Beer. His suggestion was right on, as it was an excellent meal! I’d have to rate it towards the top of my Mexican restaurants. Delicious, inexpensive, and huge portions. Definitely worth a visit!
Tonight we ate our traditional Hawaiian feast: lau lau, kalua pig, dried fish, lomi salmon, mac salad, char siu, poké, and musubi. This meal is one of the highlights of my year! I hope you also enjoyed a nice Christmas dinner with your loved ones. ❤️💚