Some shopping in the area led Summer and me to a lunch at California Fish Grill in Woodland Hills today. It took me right back to the pandemic era when I rented my first apartment on De Soto Ave. Sunil and Dips had helped me move in and were checking on me the first week to see if I was ok. After all, it was the first time in life that I was living alone. I loved my apartment – the cozy layout with kitchen attached to the living room, the balcony with a partial view of the street, the built in granite table in the bedroom where I worked out of. Along the new job, life in Bella Vista had all the makings of a new beginning.
Today, I remembered those long walks to this very strip mall to get a haircut at Supercuts or a coffee at Starbucks. I also remembered my short-lived stint with a wonderful CrossFit gym called Iron Batallion. And then there was my favorite gastropub – HQ – where I met so many new people and made so many friends. Woodland Hills is also where I discovered the Will Geer theatre in Topanga Canyon. Just a 20-min ride from my apartment, this place became my theatre hub. It’s also where I made some amazing friends and met Summer.
Topanga beach and Malibu were also just 30-40 min rides on my motorcycle. Baba sweets, Indian sweets and spices, Gasolina (deserves its own separate blog entry), Copper Mine, Chennai Tiffins, Antique flea market, The Village… the list goes on and on. Truly an extraordinary place to live!