The nation’s third largest state is a vast stretch of sand, mountains, palm trees, vineyards and freeways. Hollywood, Mickey Mouse, fast food, Google…they all began here, in California.
We’re in Los Angeles, a city wedged between sea and mountains, yet it’s a city with no real borders, for it’s impossible to tell where Los Angeles ends and its neighbors begin. California’s post-war optimism still thrives 60 years later; you can feel it riding across the many webbed ribbons of aging freeways, past the many drive-thru burger joints. Even in traffic, there’s a sense of the open road, of going forward, of endless possibilities. California’s soul is a tireless one and that’s why I love coming back here. More to come about the beaches, biking, restaurants, Disneyland, and life on “the 10,” as the freeway to Santa Monica is known. Right now, some rustic eye candy. It’s always refreshing to see the sea and mountains together in one frame; the natural world is long gone in New York, but here, Mother Nature is still in charge. And of course, California is a car culture, so the point of view here is often from behind the wheel…or in my case, next to it while Mike takes our Kia rental to new heights of speed.
