This is certainly a challenging time to be living in California. No one will deny the fact that it is hard to keep a "stiff upper lip," be optimistic about California's present and future and to, as they say, see California's glass as half full instead of half empty. As someone that was raised in California during its "Golden Age," left for 22 years, only to return to the "eighth largest economy in the world" struggling with serious financial and governance issues, I still believe that California is a great place to live and will find a way to work its way out of the its current malaise. Instead of dwelling on the negative, permit me to share with you one example why Californians want to fix our problems and continue to live here. Here's what I was able to do in this great state within a period of two weeks.
An avid Scuba diver for many years, I only half-kid my family and friends that I work in order to afford my diving. International trips to famous diving sites are wonderful--and I go when I accumulate enough greenbacks in my wallet--but I only need to drive to Ventura Harbor just above Los Angeles, clamber aboard the dive boat, Peace (along with 30 other divers), and spend two wonderful days shooting underwater pictures of marine life in the kelp forests of the Channel Islands. While the water is not as warm as the South Pacific, Caribbean or Mediterranean, the diving is affordable and the travel time is measured in only a few hours.
Leaving the Peace as it docks in Ventura Harbor, I drive a half hour north to spend the day with my daughter and son-in-law in beautiful Santa Barbara. I enjoy a run along the beach, shop with the cool dudes on State Street and finish up the day with dinner in their back yard as a beautiful sun sets in the Pacific.
And then off the next morning to Fresno where the temperature is much higher, the crops extending as far as the eye can see, Yosemite and Kings Canyon are nearby, the traffic is much lower, the pace of life a little slower and I don't have to shovel snow as I did in the East and Midwest.
Within the week I head northeast to Lake Tahoe to visit with and assist my sister at her community market. I also take the opportunity to hike Squaw Valley's Shirley Canyon, winding my way up along the mid-summer stream as it languidly descends the canyon leaving cool, refreshing pools for bathers to slide into and then dry off on the surrounding granite.
I climb high enough through the canyon whereby I am very near the Tram's debarkation point, leaving summer visitors on top of Squaw's highest peak where winter skiers begin their descent to the valley below. I can see for miles, to include Lake Tahoe. I decide to rest in the shade as the mid-afternoon sun slants through the trees. I munch on some trail mix I brought along and read All the Pretty Horses, Cormack McCarthy's trilogy of the American West.
As I retrace my steps down Shirley Canyon, I remind myself how fortunate I am to live in California: In less than two weeks I have been Scuba diving below below the ocean surface, watched the sunset over Santa Barbara, relaxed in the friendliness of Fresno in the Central Valley, and hiked to a mountain top over 8000 feet to read a book and view one of the most pristine lakes in the world. And all of this at reasonable distance and cost.
Yes, California has its challenges. But let's work to meet those challenges so we can continue, as in my small example, to enjoy the fruits of this wonderful state.
Coming Soon. . .
1). How much are we paying for "public relations?"
2). Will California compete in President Obama's "Academic Race to the Top?"
Your comments are welcome. Click on "Comments" below or e-mail abriancalhoun@gmail.com.
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