This was such a beautiful piece encompassing what it means to experience new adventures if only for a few hours. Vital for our sense of being and satisfying our need to wander.
I grew up in ND and always wanted to escape the homogenous confines of flat plains, occasional rolling hills, and snow. Once I ventured out, my whole world changed.
Jeff, welcome to my adopted state. This was a nice tribute to it. I am glad to be back in cool and low humidity San Francisco after going to the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, an event where I learned a lot. I have had a love/hate relationship with California for decades. Like you, I went out of my way 40+ years ago to leave the Grand Canyon and drive all the way to LA with my friend (both of us from Virginia) to see the Pacific. Little did I know I would live here one day. You speak of El Dorado. That’s my CA county. It’s an escape from the quite different vibe of LA and San Francisco, especially culturally and politically. And the next thing I recommend Jeff, is to venture north to see an Aurora Borealis. I did so a few years ago in Alaska but the green sky got obliterated by a blizzard. So in December I’m heading to Norway to try again. Enjoy the weather (our best feature)!
Thanks, Tim! Will do. Sounds like we're swapping sides of the country right now. I've never been up to the Derby but would like to go. Hope it's a blast.
I've never been to California and despite all of the current negativity, I would love to explore every inch of it. I have a dream to travel all 50 states via RV. I'm pretty sure a lot of people have that same dream and a lot have also done it, but it's still on the bucket list. Thanks for this beautiful piece!
One frigid January in Wisconsin, many years ago, my friend Tom and I got into his Triumph TR-3 and took off for California. It was so cold that the sandwiches packed for us froze in the car. We got to Los Angeles, drove to the end of US 66 in Santa Monica. It was a cold and drizzly day. No matter; we parked, took off our shoes, and ran out into the Pacific. On that day I became a Reborn Californian. I went to UCLA, had a stint as a hippie potter living in a barn, then met and married a beautiful blond who drove a red-orange sports car. That's been my California dream. I never looked back--even after the earthquakes and wildfires.
I like that you can ignore the ‘bad’ and totally (CA word here) absorb and be blissfully stunned by the good. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty close imho. I fled the Midwest after college and even though I live and have lived in other places too, I adore California.
I really loved this. Jeff, you remind me of myself when we moved to California from Massachusetts over a decade ago. In our first months living on the Central Coast, I walked along some cliffs overlooking the Pacific and promised myself I would never, ever get used to this place. We have seen drought, fire, and flood out here, which seem to be the price of living in paradise, in addition to the high cost of living you mention. But on all the other days, which are many, I wouldn't change it (and no, we don't miss the seasons enough to move back). And yet, I completely understand your need to keep moving, keep reaching, because I feel it too. Even in paradise, there is always somewhere else, another adventure to be had.
I traveled to California in 2021 and I finally had an ounce of understanding what the fuss was all about.
Leaving LAX and driving north, I gasped at first sight of the Pacific. Immediately pulled a u-turn, parked and jogged to the water. Couldn’t get there fast enough.
Days later I drove the PCH north and spent a few delicious hours in Santa Barbara. The air smelled like salt water and fragrant flowers.
I could go on and on. But I’d really rather just go to California.
Hi Jeff -- I lived in L.A. County for nearly 30 years, Redondo Beach, raised my daughter there. The U.S. Navy brought us out from Phila. & Wash., D. C., in 1967. Arriving in SoCal felt like entering a room where somebody had opened a door and let in the fresh air. L.A.'s very different now from what it was then; when we first moved there, there was sand on the sidewalks in the Redondo Riviera Village (now pricey, upscale) and we drove down the 405 thru Orange Co. thru nothing but orange groves. I left SoCal in 1994. I will write plenty about my SoCal adventures on my "The Scheherazade Chronicles" Substack site. Meanwhile, find a book on Amazon, if you can, by the late daily newspaper columnist Matt Weinstock, "My L.A.," published in 1947. He arrived in L.A. in 1911, a "small, wide-eyed boy in knickers." He writes about the real L.A., and it hasn't changed -- or has it? --Samantha Mozart
I’m here now, up north in San Francisco. I was born in Sacramento and tend to think of myself as a Californian to this day, despite having now lived in Tennessee more than two decades. Soon I’ll have lived as long outside the state as within it, and I’ll still be a Californian; the state is as much an approach to thinking and living as a place. I wrote about that here a few months ago: https://www.millersbookreview.com/p/joan-didion-california-dream
Fun! I love SF. It's one of my favorite cities I've ever visited. I don't know why, I just find it fun for some reason. It doesn't feel like most cities feel. I love Chinatown, love the Golden Gate Bridge, love the Muir woods so close you can almost walk to them. I love Sausalito and renting a bike each time I visit and riding out across the bay, stopping for a beer at some random pub, and seeing how close I can get to the redwoods. Have fun. I doubt I'll ever live in California, which is probably why I'll keep admiring it.
I use to travel to CA from Chicago and then NYC to celebrate my birthday with a really fun friend, I couldn't wait to see the sun set in the evenings. I recall one night having one too many adult beverages and ended up in the ocean fully clothed at midnight, I love that memory. These days my magical place is going back to visit NYC - living in Franklin, TN can be pretty bland. I love all the sites, sounds and the diverse people of the Big Apple. Thank you for this post today because it's encouraged me to take a trip too.
This was such a beautiful piece encompassing what it means to experience new adventures if only for a few hours. Vital for our sense of being and satisfying our need to wander.
Thank you, Michelle. I'm glad you liked it.
I grew up in ND and always wanted to escape the homogenous confines of flat plains, occasional rolling hills, and snow. Once I ventured out, my whole world changed.
As an IL native, I totally get that. Same thing happened to me when I went to Spain, leaving the country for the first time in my life, in college.
Jeff, welcome to my adopted state. This was a nice tribute to it. I am glad to be back in cool and low humidity San Francisco after going to the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, an event where I learned a lot. I have had a love/hate relationship with California for decades. Like you, I went out of my way 40+ years ago to leave the Grand Canyon and drive all the way to LA with my friend (both of us from Virginia) to see the Pacific. Little did I know I would live here one day. You speak of El Dorado. That’s my CA county. It’s an escape from the quite different vibe of LA and San Francisco, especially culturally and politically. And the next thing I recommend Jeff, is to venture north to see an Aurora Borealis. I did so a few years ago in Alaska but the green sky got obliterated by a blizzard. So in December I’m heading to Norway to try again. Enjoy the weather (our best feature)!
Thanks, Tim! Will do. Sounds like we're swapping sides of the country right now. I've never been up to the Derby but would like to go. Hope it's a blast.
The best word I can use to describe Derby is “fun”.
I've never been to California and despite all of the current negativity, I would love to explore every inch of it. I have a dream to travel all 50 states via RV. I'm pretty sure a lot of people have that same dream and a lot have also done it, but it's still on the bucket list. Thanks for this beautiful piece!
That sounds fun!
One frigid January in Wisconsin, many years ago, my friend Tom and I got into his Triumph TR-3 and took off for California. It was so cold that the sandwiches packed for us froze in the car. We got to Los Angeles, drove to the end of US 66 in Santa Monica. It was a cold and drizzly day. No matter; we parked, took off our shoes, and ran out into the Pacific. On that day I became a Reborn Californian. I went to UCLA, had a stint as a hippie potter living in a barn, then met and married a beautiful blond who drove a red-orange sports car. That's been my California dream. I never looked back--even after the earthquakes and wildfires.
Oh, wow. What a dream, Mike. Love that story. Thank you for sharing. :)
I like that you can ignore the ‘bad’ and totally (CA word here) absorb and be blissfully stunned by the good. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty close imho. I fled the Midwest after college and even though I live and have lived in other places too, I adore California.
Yeah, it's like everything the Midwest is not and could never be.
So true.
I really loved this. Jeff, you remind me of myself when we moved to California from Massachusetts over a decade ago. In our first months living on the Central Coast, I walked along some cliffs overlooking the Pacific and promised myself I would never, ever get used to this place. We have seen drought, fire, and flood out here, which seem to be the price of living in paradise, in addition to the high cost of living you mention. But on all the other days, which are many, I wouldn't change it (and no, we don't miss the seasons enough to move back). And yet, I completely understand your need to keep moving, keep reaching, because I feel it too. Even in paradise, there is always somewhere else, another adventure to be had.
Yeah.
Jeff, your words in this piece were poignantly breathtaking; I became overwhelmed with emotion while reading. Thank you for this gift.
LOVE THIS and welcome back! May your California dreams be golden! 💛
I so needed to hear this. Eat this. Yum and Peace. Thankyou.
As a somewhat blasé LA resident, you've managed to paint the city fresh again.
Heh. I'm happy to assist. Of course, it helps that I am not from here. ;)
I traveled to California in 2021 and I finally had an ounce of understanding what the fuss was all about.
Leaving LAX and driving north, I gasped at first sight of the Pacific. Immediately pulled a u-turn, parked and jogged to the water. Couldn’t get there fast enough.
Days later I drove the PCH north and spent a few delicious hours in Santa Barbara. The air smelled like salt water and fragrant flowers.
I could go on and on. But I’d really rather just go to California.
Yes, that's exactly right.
Hi Jeff -- I lived in L.A. County for nearly 30 years, Redondo Beach, raised my daughter there. The U.S. Navy brought us out from Phila. & Wash., D. C., in 1967. Arriving in SoCal felt like entering a room where somebody had opened a door and let in the fresh air. L.A.'s very different now from what it was then; when we first moved there, there was sand on the sidewalks in the Redondo Riviera Village (now pricey, upscale) and we drove down the 405 thru Orange Co. thru nothing but orange groves. I left SoCal in 1994. I will write plenty about my SoCal adventures on my "The Scheherazade Chronicles" Substack site. Meanwhile, find a book on Amazon, if you can, by the late daily newspaper columnist Matt Weinstock, "My L.A.," published in 1947. He arrived in L.A. in 1911, a "small, wide-eyed boy in knickers." He writes about the real L.A., and it hasn't changed -- or has it? --Samantha Mozart
I’m here now, up north in San Francisco. I was born in Sacramento and tend to think of myself as a Californian to this day, despite having now lived in Tennessee more than two decades. Soon I’ll have lived as long outside the state as within it, and I’ll still be a Californian; the state is as much an approach to thinking and living as a place. I wrote about that here a few months ago: https://www.millersbookreview.com/p/joan-didion-california-dream
Fun! I love SF. It's one of my favorite cities I've ever visited. I don't know why, I just find it fun for some reason. It doesn't feel like most cities feel. I love Chinatown, love the Golden Gate Bridge, love the Muir woods so close you can almost walk to them. I love Sausalito and renting a bike each time I visit and riding out across the bay, stopping for a beer at some random pub, and seeing how close I can get to the redwoods. Have fun. I doubt I'll ever live in California, which is probably why I'll keep admiring it.
I enjoyed reading about how you see my home state of California ✨ I am always interested in how others see it and respond to it!
I use to travel to CA from Chicago and then NYC to celebrate my birthday with a really fun friend, I couldn't wait to see the sun set in the evenings. I recall one night having one too many adult beverages and ended up in the ocean fully clothed at midnight, I love that memory. These days my magical place is going back to visit NYC - living in Franklin, TN can be pretty bland. I love all the sites, sounds and the diverse people of the Big Apple. Thank you for this post today because it's encouraged me to take a trip too.
That sounds fun!