California than Failed Dreams in NEw Fashions

I’m a cold-hearted, East Coast snob. And while it’s probably warranted most of the time because, well, the East Coast is awesome the West Coast has far more to offer than I initially believed. I was born and raised on the Atlantic. I thought it perfectly normal for sea water to be Jersey-shore brown. I was under the illusion that houses can only be shades of eggshell white, faded forest green, weird-weathered-wood, or burnt orange brick. I have never known weather to be anything but unpredictable and I’m still not quite sure how you’re really supposed to pronounce “caw-fee” (coffee) and “chaw-clate” (chocolate). As someone who prides herself on being worldly and accepting of other cultures, I had a shocking distaste for what I thought the West Coast (really, I mean Southern California) represents. I can get on board with camel riding, galibeyah wearing Middle Easterners; I can accept Spaniards teasing and goring bulls; I can even come to understand the body modification rituals of tribal peoples. But surf toting, starry-eyed brahs with no sense of time no way man! Waste of my time! I had pretty much convinced myself that California was full of nothing but well, to put it frankly, losers with dreams too big to catch up to. I had conjured up images of talentless actresses, drug addicted musicians and free loading 20-somethings with nothing better to do with their daddy’s money (I’m still not convinced that LA isn’t like this, I’ll let you know next time I visit SoCal).

Balboa Park
It’s a friggin’ cornucopia of culture out there! I heard more languages during my 9 day stint in San Diego than I’ve heard in Maine over the past 5 years. English, Spanish, Arabic, Korean, Chinese, the list goes on … Add to that, the variations in the landscape. I could swim in the Pacific Ocean upon waking, hike in the desert by noon and climb a mountain before dinner (I’d be exhausted, but it’s probably feasible for someone in better shape). Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. There were so many awesome things to do and see in the San Diego area. The Anza Borrego Desert was absolutely beautiful (and hot!). I had no idea it even existed until my San Diego-ite (San Dieg-in? San Diegun?) boyfriend told me about it. Cacti and palm trees are everywhere! I had never seen a cactus (outside of a pot) before and the many varieties in SoCal are pretty nifty. The city’s famous zoo blew me away with its fauna and flora. And just minutes away from the zoo is the most perfect park I have ever seen, Balboa Park. There, between museums which in themselves are architectural jewels – and rose/cactus gardens, the United Nations set up a tiny global village where different countries showcase their cultures in itty bitty, red-roofed cottages. And let’s not forget, San Diego is the perfect place to quote Ron Burgundian  Sometime before my visit, California must have sensed my doubts because it treated me to a rare phenomenon. Thanks to perfectly timed red tide blooms in the Pacific, the ocean was literally aglow! It’s called bioluminescence  (err, I’m not a scientist but Wikipedia tells me it was caused by ” flagellation which emit short flashes of light when disturbed.” Please don’t ask me what flagellation are). The crashing waves lit up a neon blue. And while that was mind-numbingly awesome, what was even more incredible was that the sand was also chock full o’ dinoflagellates (or whatever). As you walked upon the sand, it lit up! It was like walking on starshine! If you kicked the sand, it sent out ripples of neon blue light. The only thing I can compare it to was that movie Avatar, where the blue people lived in that bad ass forest until the imperialist Americans-by-another-name destroyed it.