California'ii

[NuttyFluffers]

my slice o' heaven.

discuss.

[BeTheChange]

1. Where to start...

I'd never really seen mountains (not the hills of the appalachians or smokies) till my first drive to Tahoe. I cried in awe of the beauty of it all.

I'd never seen trees like the Sequoias, till I went to Muir woods up the coast to drive the Avenue of the Giants. I remember stopping to go hike through them, and standing in the middle of Cathedral Grove, again crying, because they were so amazing.. older then anything I'd ever seen.

I'd never seen an ocean sparkle at you like it does on the Mendocino coast. One of my favorite places in the world.

I'd never seen a river as awesomely rugged as the North Fork of the American running full blast.

I'd never seen a river so green, like it was transported from the Carribean, as the Trinity on the drive to Eureka.

I'd never seen a lake as clear as Sly Park in Pollock Pines, where I had the awesome pleasure to live.

Or a view as beautiful as the one from the top of Pyramid Peak in Desolation Wilderness.

Or a slope glistening with a 14 foot base and 3 ft of fresh powder, with nobody else on it below a cloudless blue sky.. like Sierra at Tahoe..

I've never felt so at home, surrounded by a bunch of strangers.

I've never made such wonderful friends.

Never partaken of such gloriously uplifting greenery ;)

Sigh...

I can't wait to get back to Cali.. I could go on and on for days. All of the things I took so much for granted.

I've been stuck in Texas for the last 8 months and I feel like I'm going insane. It never bothered me growing up.. because I didn't know that places like what I've seen in California actually existed.

[gardenista]

4. Sigh.... You just made me fall in love all over again.

Our beautiful State. You've captured it so beautifully.

[Suich]

5. No kidding!!! I'm in awe!

[BeTheChange]

6. It's easy, when it's so beautiful :)

Okay, now I've entered that dangerous memory lane that creeps up late at night...

Just a few more things, and then Im done.

I love having tea in Golden gate park, then schlepping over to Hippie hill to meet fabulous people and play my old coke can like a drum.

I love summer concerts at Sac Valley Ampitheater.

I love Kings games at Arco, the loudest arena anywhere!

I love driving a freshly plowed Immigrant Gap on the first full moon where there is snow and everything is so bright you dont need headlights.

I love watching the Perseid's meteor shower in August at little Lake Arrowbee in Placerville, CA.

I love reenacting the Goonies at Goat Rock SB.

I love pallet fires, a keg and a bunch of good friends at any beach we can get away with it at in San Diego.

I love being out on a boat on Lake Tahoe for the Fourth of July, and yes, blaring whatever Patriotic tunes they pick to coreograph with the Fireworks.

I love partying in the Gas Lamp for Mardi Gras.

I love Chinese New year and the sounds of SF's china town..

I love sunset cruises to Alcatraz, with the lights of the Golden Gate and the skyline twinkling back at you.

I love staying at Pidgeon Point Youth Hostel.. one of the cheapest, best views you can find anywhere.

I love getting a slice of cheese Pizza at Pizza my Heart in Santa Cruz, then heading over to Logos to waste a whole afternoon.

I love camping at Limkiln in Big Sur, or Dillion's right on the beach up the coast.

I love that McWay waterfall comes of a sheer cliff and falls into the pacific ocean, roaring down 80 feet.. and after a hot mid summer hike, I can stand under it and have it cool me and wash away all the ick and grime of this world in a way no shower ever could.

Sigh again.. its time to sleep and perchance, to dream :)

[BeTheChange]

7. ack.. not McWay..

Dont try hiking down to the bottom of McWay! Alamere falls is for hiking McWay is for sea kayaking.

I cant believe nobody else has posted anything.

[Taverner]

10. Yes it is nothing short of miraculous here

Also I'll bet you never saw a sunset so beautiful as one in Monterey Bay...

Or saw Redwoods so beautiful as those in Humboldt County...

Or a city as diverse as San Francisco...

Or a park like Tilden could exist so close to the city of Oakland....

[BeTheChange]

2. Okay.. one more thing...

Canoeing the russian river in early summer, in the early morning.. starting at Duncan's mill and working your way to meet the fog as it rolls in from the pacific.

Then stopping at the mouth of the pacific to watch baby seals frolic in the inlet.

[Suich]

3. Where's your "slice o'heaven"?

[Shell Beau]

8. California ....knows how to party

California....knows how to party
In the city
City of Compton
You keep it rockin
You keep it rockin

[Neshanic]

9. It is dreamlike in it;s beauty. The green hills in Thousand Oaks

[Taverner]

11. California truly is the greatest state on Terra

Of course, the real estate is outragously expensive

But other than that, its perfect!

[jandrok]

12. Loved it when I visited.

But your housing prices are WAY out of whack.

[SCDem]

13. Camping out at Joshua Tree and

watching sunrise or sunset in the spring!

Hiking Mt Baldy on a clear day and being able to see Catalina Island from the peak.

Taking the tram up to the top of Mt San Jacinto.

I could go on!

[gardenista]

14. The beach at Pt. Reyes, can't remember the name

There's a ranger station, nature center, and a little snack bar.

On a Sunday evening, after the crowd has gone home.

The moon rising in the east, the sun setting in the west.

Whales breaching off the coast.

Pelicans jetlining up the shore.

This is renewal personified.