Surf City - Los Angeles

I moved to Orange County in December 1998. I had graduated at UNT and I put all my belongings in my 1986 Camaro and headed West to Irvine, California. The road trip itself was memorable. Seeing the landscape change from Texas, to New Mexico to Arizona... wow... In new mexico, my mind was calmed by the sight of the amazing brown moon scapes... In Arizona my heart jumped when I was the tall cactii...
Entering California felt like entering the promised land... The minute I saw the first Palm Trees, a feeling of joy and The Sacred Awe entered my heart.

I moved in with Joe Saab in a house with 3 roommates near UCI. I used to play guitar for the guys and swim in the apartment complex swimming pool. One day there was three girls giggling

in the jakuzzi and I joined them. I ended up making out with one of them, Candy... I will never forget the beautiful feeling... I fell in love with Candy instantly. 

I lived two years in Irvine and I used to surf the Wedge in Newport Beach. I also visited Laguna Beach which is gorgeous and Huntington Beach. Met some more Lebanese friends and we formed the So Cal Leb Gang. We used to hang out with some cute Korean and Japanese girls. Me, Ali Hamadeh and Ibrahim Sayid Abou.

Then I moved to Los Angeles.... The Place to Be... That is where I fell in love with a woman named Amalid. I also met Luigi my half Lebanese/Italian half Palestinian friend. We used to camp and mountain bike together. Politics made us drift apart. I am pro Israel he is pro-Palestine. I lived in Sherman Oaks then in Santa Monica then the hostel in Venice Beach. Beautiful memories. There is something very special about California. A piece of my heart is still there and a piece of California is still in my heart... Some of the best days of my single life... Photography... spear fishing... surfing... snorkeling... beauty everwhere... I discovered Rumi in LA too and fell in love with his poetry. Fast forward to 2004. I was jobless. No one wanted to sponsor my work visa post 9/11. I left LA with a broken heart... I will miss you forever Los Angeles.... May you remain beautiful forever...
Rami Elias Kremesti