Paradise Found

Our family was fortunate enough to have found Paradise in 1973, my parents moving right before my graduation from Marina High School. (so I opted to not attend graduation) I consider Paradise to be my second hometown, with Huntington Beach being my first! When my parents moved to Paradise I stayed behind living with friends and family for a few months. Eventually my parents persuaded me to move home with them, where I would fall in love with the place; the people, the small town feel, and the beautiful scenery.

Our kids grew up going to Paradise for almost any vacation they can remember! They, too, love the area. We actually lived there for two years during the time I was expecting Amy, who has the distinction of being able to say that she was born in Paradise!

This is the sign you see as you enter Paradise on Clark Rd. I personally like the one on Skyway best because it states, "May you find Paradise to be all it's name implies." And it has a halo above it... LOVE it!

The reason Rachel and I went to Paradise in April was to enjoy it in the Spring! The grass on the way up the hill is so gorgeous at this time of year! Truly, these pictures do not do it justice!

Another reason we went was to revisit places we love, that hold so many memories for our family! First, a tour of where we used to live... this is our own little meadow in Paradise. The following picture was taken on the road going out of my parents old property - most of what you see, all along that road, was theirs. They had nearly 3 acres, with a creek running through it!

Picture of the creek from their road, they called it Pebble Creek, since we lived on Pebble Lane.

The blackberry bushes lining the dirt road, part of their old property, but they always maintained it. :) Oh, and the blackberries in Paradise - AMAZING!

This is the A-frame that my parents had built in 1974. We lived in the walkout basement the first year while the rest of the house was being built. I remember when my dad had Gary Wells build the shed in the background. The house looked much nicer when we had it, sadly the owners now don't take very good care of it. :(

Another reason to go to Paradise right after Easter - Joy Lyn's candies! Seriously a family tradition! It's in this cute little cottage-type front of the owner's house, nestled in the pines. I took some interior shots just because it is way cute!

Here is their display of their Easter candy. Chocolate baskets, bunnies, and creamy chocolate, and divinity Easter eggs. I ate about 2 of the eggs, and have discovered that I can no longer eat them - way too sweet for me! But the memories, ah, the memories... are to die for! :)

Here is an overall picture of their shop now. They even have a window where you can watch them make the chocolate - and the chocolate is hand dipped! Yummers!

Cute little bunnies -- they all need a home.

So, now we go from one extreme to another --

This is where my dad is buried, Paradise Cemetery. Below is a picture of his headstone, and eventually my mom's.

The dirt in Paradise is red clay, so the headstone is orangeish. We have a picture of a rubber raft because my dad was not only a successful attorney, but he also owned a rafting company where he took hundreds and hundreds of people on white water rafting trips, practically for free. He LOVED it! There is also a picture of the temple because they both love that, and so do I.

This is the chapel on Bille Rd. where we had dad's funeral...

This is the church we attended when we first moved to Paradise, before the other one was built.

This is the house we lived in on Thomason Way when Amy was born!

This was my Aunt Bev's mobile home, right next to my mom's.

After my dad passed away mom sold the house and moved to this mobile home.

This is my dad's old office. It used to be a home and he converted it. It has obviously fallen on hard times.

This was the house we rented in Paradise in 1973 while we had the walkout basement built for the A-frame house.

Ponderosa Elementary School - where Sam attended Kindergarten in 1984.

And here is the store that my kids used to walk to with their Aunt Kate where they would buy warheads candy! They loved that walk and the candy! ;)

Foster's Freeze. Yes, there are many Foster's Freeze out there but this is the best! Great corn dogs! (but none are as good as the Little Red Wagon on Main Street in Disneyland!)

The End.