Driving to California

Shakespeare wrote, “"Better three hours too soon than one minute too late." I am not a minute late in my web log writings, but rather a week. This entry is now far from timely. I’ve been busy with business and traveling. It is a lame excuse in the modern connected world since the Internet is available just about anywhere but that is my excuse and I’m sticking with it.

I drove down to the Southland this week, passing from Salt Lake City through Las Vegas to Los Angeles. It’s a long drive but there are many things to see along the way -- places such as the Mohave Desert, Calico Man, Las Vegas, or Zion's National Park. Travelling on a crisp Fall day is particularly breath taking. One of my favorite scenic areas on I-15 is the Virgin River Gorge just below Saint George, Utah on the Arizona side.

We have a home in both Utah and California, so my heart is in both places. Still, California does stands apart. Of course, Utah has the spectacular rocky mountain range that is the geographical backbone of the state. California has its own backbone, the equally spectacular Sierra Nevada mountain range that seperates it from the deserts of Nevada. But that frame is garnished with the front profile of a buff gymnast, an eye-quenching waterfront view that runs from top to bottom. The beach communities and coastal areas particularly feel like what the Brits nickname “LaLa Land”. It looks like a piece of the mediterranean, plentiful with milk, honey and oh yes, let's not forget silicon implants.

If there were a Republic of California, a separate country from the United States, its 30 million people would have the fifth largest economy in the world, while probably ranking first in the length of its traffic jams. People come in all shades in California. It is a place of diversity. With a per capita income of $33,000, it ranks only as the twelfth richest in the union so it shouldn’t feel that rich. But California is a place of diversity. Migrant workers, immigrants and the disadvantaged lower its per capita income but it also has some of the richest communities in the country. The palm trees of the Southland accentuate these affluent neighborhoods from the rest of the country and its seperateness -- at least to my eyes.

When I am in the Southland, if time permits I try to drive to a favorite place. The photo above (taken by me) is of that quiet, private and deeply enrichening spot. You know, one of those places that one can look out to the abyss and feel invigorated by nature and yet feel so insignificant. On an overlook, I like watching the sea lions on a close by rock that sticks out of the Pacific. These pinapeds are far enough away that I'm not deafened by their calls or physically threatened by their bulls. I mean, ever have a thousand pound bull sit on you? The cool salt air is carried up the cliffs by a brisk coastal wind. The salt air quickens me.