As an Orange County native, growing up, I often took for granted how incredibly stunning my surroundings were . Being predominantly raised in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, I stayed close to home until I graduated college.
With my studies winding down at California State University Long Beach, I noticed I had acquired a travel itch that desperately needed to be scratched. I spent three adventure packed summers backpacking across Europe. On my final return I made the spontaneous decision to leave the OC and my family behind. What began was an unintentional 15 year somewhat nomadic existence in which I resided in places such as Maui, Chicago, Napa, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Hong Kong.
A few years ago, exhausted from countless moves, I ended up settling back in the place I so desperately wanted to flee in my early 20's. I often wonder why I ever left Orange County to begin with, and even more importantly, why did it take me so long to get back here? Coming full circle, I feel fortunate that my doggie Maximus and I made our way back to our beautiful Southern California coast.
Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz got it right when she said, "there’s no place like home." We love where we live!
