Reminiscing....

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Yee Hawww...we all got a hankerin for some good ole' original BBQ last Saturday, so a bunch of us piled in the car and headed about 40 minutes west to the original Chris & Pitts Bar-B-Q in Bellflower.


just look at this charming vintage Western restaurant...


they just don't build places like this anymore.

look, even a walk up order window...Levi loved it!

and if you are into 1950's vintage western like I am than you will love this place.


Here we are gathered outside, chompin at the bit to get inside...come on Frankie, snap the pic!



the inside is so quaint and hasn't changed a bit since I was a little girl who came to eat here with the family on Sundays after church. 

I feel so lucky to get to share it with Frankie and Levi now.

Oh yeah...did I forget to mention that the live wood fire BBQ pit still puts forth the same yummy flavor that Chris & Pitts is known for all these years.

This is definately on the list of my Highly Recommends!

Next we headed about 10 minutes west to the neighborhood where I grew up... 
Fabulous Los Cerritos located in the historical Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach.

I was a lucky little girl to get to grow up in a country club and here is how my childhood home looks now...



That's my bedroom on the upper left...wow, look at all those windows.  I used to love the way my room glowed in the afternoon from the sun streaming in.

  This house is probably what first inspired my love for vintage/historical architecture. 

Every house in this neighborhood is unique and each property was purchased and developed years ago by the owners.  Not like the tract house scenarios of today. 
Most of the original family members still own these properties. 

In fact while taking a picture of the Ferris Bueller house that is around the corner from the street I grew up on, I ran into the girl who lived in the house next door to it. 
She still resides there with her 90 year old father who built the house originally and we had a great time reminiscing about the same schools we attended.


When I was a teenager, I used to babysit for the family that owned this house, but it was way before they filmed Ferris Bueller's Day Off here.


This is the house they call the Weird Science house...


This awesome house is just down the street from the Ferris Bueller house and is also the location for several movie and TV events. 

Hollywood loves this neighborhood...click here!



This is my elementary school...I remember every detail of it! 


My wonderful sister is two years older than I and we always have such fun driving around the old neigborhood remembering our friends and the houses they lived in. 

My parents sold our childhood home in 2000 when my father retired and moved to Lake Arrowhead.  I often talk to my father about his decision to sell and he tells me of the huge regret that he feels about letting this house and all of its memories go.

We try to come and visit often especially since our mother passed away two years ago...it feels as if we are getting to spend time with her again each time we come to reminisce.


1 of you say...:

Zootsuitmama said...

It's bittersweet, but like an old friend of mine used to say, "At least we have the good memories, and I'm grateful for that!" Sounds like a great time, and I will definitely look for that Bar B Q if I'm ever around those parts!