SoCal

I’m from California. Really! To be exact I’m from the San Diego area.

You see I am one of those unfortunate souls who have always felt adrift. I never quite fit in where I was born and raised, or anywhere else for that matter. But, I did when I lived in San Diego. I knew that I belonged. It was as much a part of me as I was of it. I lived there for seven, short, glorious years, and would move back in a heartbeat if I could get my husband to agree and find a house I could afford.

There is so much to be said for California. It is really two states you know, Southern California and Northern California. Those who live up north swear it is the best part of the state, while those in the south claim likewise. I firmly believe that the SoCal is the only place worth living. There is so much to do and it is all FREE!

My days were so simple: Get up in the morning, put on my bathing suit, huaraches, sweatshirt, and shorts. Grab a towel, a bag filled with lotion, sodas, and snacks, and head to the beach! It was great. Something was always going on. If I were bored, I would walk and walk and walk and walk. There were so many people to watch, and the sun was always shining (at least from 10-2). It was so easy to fly a kite in the cool breezes blowing in off the Pacific. No one has air conditioning in their car or their home because of that breeze. The temperatures never get above the mid-70s (unless it is a Santa Ana wind). If it was too hot we just sat in the ocean!

Balboa Park was right down the road, and the picnicking and strolling were divine. Just grab a blanket and a lunch, roll it out, and find instant peace.

I was the healthiest I have been in my entire life while I lived there because I never ate at McDonalds, I was always outside, and could easily run, walk, or find a pick-up game of volleyball just about anywhere.

Stress was never an issue. For instance the sunsets! I would drive to Tourmaline Beach (the surfers would be leaving), park my car, walk to the park and watch the sun go down. Ah. Or going to the ocean. There is no explaining the affect the ocean has on me. The sounds, smells, breezes, sand, salt air, and splash of the waves encompass every square centimeter of my (overactive) brain when I am there.

There was never a dull moment. We explored tide pools and watched whales. I took the kids to the beach on Christmas. We went to Tijuana one Christmas Eve. We visited hydroponic farms, orange and lemon groves, and Disneyland. Shamu was a close, personal friend because we had a year-long pass to Sea World. We were always going, doing, and exploring.

Every once in a while, something comes along that takes me back to that short, happy time of my life. This video did it. Enjoy it, kick back, and think of what you would be doing if you lived there.