California evokes a whole range of emotions for many people. Simply, some love it and some hate it. I’ve never hated it. I’ve just been jealous of those who could actually afford to live there. Then again, if it was easy to live in California, the place would be overrun with all sorts of people. As it is, it’s the most populous state in the union with over 39 million people living within its borders.
In my lifetime, I’ve been from top to bottom, right to left of the place. I’ve walked its beaches, and I’ve been snowed in in its mountains (three days in Truckee). And yet I’ve only seen a fraction of it all. I’ve actually lived in the state for a period of time that I will leave undisclosed for tax purposes (those guys are just crazy enough to figure out a way to get me). They’ve tried. It’s one of the few places in the United States that taxes military retirement pay.
Ingrates. Someone gives twenty years or more of their life defending the country (which, last time I checked, includes California), and the state feels compelled to reach out and snag what little those men and women make from that service. There should be a law…
Still, California has one major thing going for it. It’s probably the most all-around beautiful state in the union. It’s got everything (admittedly, some of which will kill you), and everything it’s got is pretty incredible. Even with the problems elsewhere. It’s whole left side is awe-inspiring. The right and the middle, too. It just depends on what you like best.
I was reminded of this today after Micha and I had dinner tonight. We’re in Monterey right now and will be leaving before sunrise tomorrow, so she wanted to take a short drive. We went up over the hill into Carmel, drove to the turnaround at the beach, then back out. I was about to turn left back to Monterey when Micha asked, “Are we going back already?” I knew the tone. There was more she wanted to see, and as I turned right, I found out what it was. “I want to see the ocean again. For the last time.” She’s not dying or anything. It’s just that we both know she won’t be back. This will be her last trip with me to Monterey, where we’d lived for that undisclosed period of time so long ago. And she wanted to see the ocean.
I was more than ready to oblige. Because the ocean (and the coastline) around here — especially as you drive south from Carmel — is spectacular. Neither words nor pictures can do it any justice. You have to be there. You have to smell it and hear it and take it all in. You have to see the beautiful sea-greens and blues, the white of the waves swelling and crashing on the rocks. It still takes my breath away, even having lived here so long (and so long ago). I have no real regrets for having had to leave. I just count myself blessed to have been able to experience it. Everyone should have such a precious memory as to have seen something so beautiful.
