California Dreamin'

We've spent the last two weeks in California, and it's been awesome. Lots of good quality time with our siblings – I hadn't seen my sister Ashleigh and her husband Jeff, who live in LA, in 18 months – plus lots of barbeques, sleeping in, and living the California dream (as much of a dream as a bankrupt state can have). We divided our time between Los Angeles (staying with Ash and Jeff), the desert near Edwards Air Force Base (two hours north of LA, staying with John), and then a roadtrip up California Route 1 to Monterey (midweek trip for just the two of us).

A few things I love about California:

1)Predictability. Primarily this comes into play with the weather. During our time in Los Angeles, the daytime high varied wildly between 73 and 74 degrees. Out in the desert where John lives, it was predictably 95 degrees. Along the Monterey coast, it was 68 degrees each day without fail. It never rained. If this state employs even one weatherman, it's gross overkill.

2)The food. I have eaten – I kid you not – three straight days at a place called Tacos Delta. It's a walk up stand near Ashleigh and Jeff's, selling tacos for $1.29 apiece – nothing fancy, just good fresh Mexican food. There is just so much good stuff here – the farmers markets have gleaming produce, the seafood counter here has piles of line-caught California fish, and the local wines and microbrewed beers are just incredible. We have grilled about 10 times in the past two weeks and it has made me very, very happy.

3)The scenery. This state has a little bit of everything -- in LA, we did 2 hikes in the Hollywood hills, and watched seal lions swim along the gorgeous Malibu coast one afternoon. Out near John there are mountains and giant dry lakebeds in the desert, which fill up with about a foot of water each winter. Heading up towards Monterey, we drove through more mountains, lush crops in the valley, and vineyards along the coast. And of course there is the indescribable coastal drive from San Simeon to Monterey. It is simply one of the best in the world – cliffside cruising with mountains on one side and the Pacific on the other, and cove after beautiful cove with teal water crashing below. Just breathtaking.

Tonight we are flying to Portland, Oregon to buy a car and begin the cross country drive. We are excited to be getting on the road, but it's been so good to see everyone out west. A big thanks to Ashleigh, Jeff, and John for hosting us...and to Laura, Matthew, and Dana for flying out for the 4th of July weekend.