LOS ANGELES

Over Thanksgiving, Grace and I headed out to “sunny” CA to visit my Dad and Anitra to see their new digs and their new partner Mary Jane.

Last year, my Dad’s new business venture, Vertical, permanently relocated him and Anitra to California. You see, my dad joined the Cannabis industry back in early 2018. His business is the “seed-to-shelf” of the industry where they are managing a legal grow operation, building a portfolio of CBD and THC brands, and securing distribution to the local/national markets.

We knew them moving out West was a possibility when Talli went to college, but we did not think it would happen so quickly. When we are all busy hustlin’ it can be difficult to find time to catch up or see each other especially when living across the country. This past year with wedding festivities, we were fortunate to meet up semi-frequently. It took Grace and me awhile to get out to California to visit, but we are glad we were finally able to see them in their new home.

It was a troubling time for LA and the greater California area because this was just a couple weeks into the terrible fires that were ravaging the state. My dad and Anitra had to evacuate in the middle of the night when the fires hit his neighborhood in Thousand Oaks (fortunately, everyone was OK). Here are just a couple of photos of the hills that are completely burned out, truly incredible and sad at the same time.

The four of us spent Thanksgiving at home eating Italian: a little chicken parmesan and charcuterie. While we missed the turkey and the rest of our families, it was nice to relax and have a quiet dinner with just the four of us. The next day, we piled into the car and headed up to Santa Barbara to visit the “Ranch.” On our ~2hr drive up, we drove through hills and hills of burnt land. Once we arrived at Iron Angel, we hopped onto some 4-wheelers and roamed around the 1500+ acre ranch to check out the “product.” Of course, there was bubbly.

On a rare “cloudy/rainy” day in LA (we were told this place was always sunny!!), we ventured up the mountain to the nursery where the baby plants are grown in enclosed areas. Once they are old enough (just after a couple weeks — remember, just like a weed in your yard, these weeds grow very quickly), they get moved to the open-air pods. The plants will grow to 9-10ft tall! We stopped at the top for a cocktail and a little meat and cheese. What an incredible experience.

My good friends Ryan and John joined us, too. While it was cloudy (it also poured on us for about 10 minutes), it was still beautiful.

Before heading out to the extraction facility, the flower is hung to dry out and clipped.

We left the ranch and set out to Malibu for dinner. The sun started poking through after the rain and we saw some epic rainbows.

We pulled off for a quick pit-stop and cocktail at this old inn on the beach. What’s a Wallin trip without a few cocktails?

We had an incredibly tasty meal at Nobu Malibu. If you know Grace and me, this was definitely a highlight. Amazing sushi on the beach, what more could you ask for?

On Saturday, Grace and I got up early and headed down to Beverly Hills/Rodeo Drive to check it out. We had brunch with my cousin Carter before heading to LAX for our long trip home. It was a great adventure and luckily we know we will be returning soon. Next up, a birthday trip to NYC. Stay tuned…