California Life

As you would expect, the weather is nicer in California than Minnesota. My skin lost the typical winter alligator luster and was hydrated again. My sinus headache cleared up within a day or so. The roads in California were in good repair and well designed. The drivers I encountered were courteous. Motorcyclists are allowed to weave in and out of traffic between the lanes when traffic is stopped and even when traffic is not stopped. I freaked a little the first time I saw that but eventually I got used to it. Gasoline was between $2.19 and $2.25 per gallon. We rented a Toyota Sierra van and were very happy with our choice because it drove like a car and had all the modern features. Our van was white as are most of the cars we saw in California - better to reflect the heat I suppose. One evening we were invited to dinner. My nephew’s adopted aunt and uncle had us over for a simple barbeque. We were happy to accept and were treated with a huge feast of steak, chicken, potato salad, green bean hot dish, baked beans, watermelon, biscuits, muskmelon, cheese, crackers, rice rolled up in grape leaves and Turkish Tea. My nephew refers to Turkish Tea as Turkish Crack - must have lots of caffeine in it. We were grateful that this nice couple took our nephew under their wings. There were several teenagers living in this house and a couple Italian greyhounds and everybody got along just fine. This family used to live in Minnesota but moved to San Diego 20 years ago because Minnesota was too cold. Why do I wait here in this Vitamin D deprived frozen tundra? We talked about how green and lush everything was. Hibiscus and birds of paradise were blooming. Birds of paradise are used as shrubs or hedges and were as common as lilac bushes in Minnesota. To real San Diegoite’s the landscape at this time of year is drab. Some trees shed their leaves in February and hardly anything is blooming. California has drawbacks as well. Instead of a state income tax refund, my nephew got a state income tax IOU. He could really use that money now. On the day we arrived, Feb. 6, the state told the workers to take the day off unpaid. If we had needed any state services, we would have had to wait until Monday. Sales tax was applied to every item at 7.5%. The newspapers focused on the difficulty the state legislature had balancing the budget. Our hotel was in the city of Carlsbad. The newspaper reported that the city council of Carlsbad voted to decrease their wages by 5% in order to help balance the city budget. I have never heard of any political body voting to decrease their wages before. I was impressed. Cutting your own pay sends a huge message to the voters. Another controversy in Carlsbad was the cutting of a row of older palm trees because they were blocking some condo owner’s view of the ocean. One man was so upset that he resorted to climbing one of the palms and living in it. The trees are down now but people are still writing letters to the editor about the issue. Down the road in La Jolla, there was a controversy about Seal Beach. The city built a sea wall to make a protective beach area for the kids to play and swim. The seals took over the beach. They act like they own the place. Seals bask in the sun out of the wind and the waves and no kids are allowed near them. The seals lollygag around all day oblivious to the cameras taking their pictures. They decorate the sand with the track marks of their flippers as they propel themselves out of the water and through the sand. The photo above was taken on the sea wall at Seal Beach. Supporters of children argue with supporters of seals. I’m not sure what people who like both children and seals think about the issue. Another major issue in the letters to the editor was the woman who had eight children. She and her 14 children live in California and receive some state funds.