Redondo Beach, California

Before my freshman year of high school, our family moved from Idaho to Southern California. My Dad was working for a company in the City of Orange as a welder and moved with my Mom, sister, and two brothers from farm town to big city. Dad always wanted us to live our later years in a big city, saying it was good for us to be in a place that would provide more opportunities for us. Perfect timing, considering I was just starting to feel comfortable with my friends in Jr. High. So moving to a completely different place right before high school was, you know, pretty sucky. I attended and graduated from Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, about one mile from one of Dad's favorite places to take us on the weekends: the Redondo Beach Pier. There we would order loads of shrimp, fish, crab and sit by the pier enjoying time together and the gorgeous beach weather we had grown to love. After we ate we would walk along the pier to enjoy the different shops and would sometimes stay long enough to watch the sun set.
Fast forward almost 20 years to last weekend, where I had the opportunity to take my babies and my husband to enjoy the same scenery and seafood we used to enjoy during my high school years. Although it was raining, we still had a great time and even stopped off to take a few pictures where we once did with my Dad, who passed away in 1992 before I graduated high school. I miss my Dad everyday since then, but at least I'll always have Redondo to go back to and relive those memories forever...and now with my own little family.