CALIFORNIA, THE GOLDEN STATE

CALIFORNIA, THE GOLDEN STATE

Hello there. The other night, 12:30 AM of July 9, 2012 Belle and I departed from our abode in Southern California and pointed our horseless carriage in the direction of the San Francisco Bay Area, 500 miles away to the north.  We were headed for Union City, California where we were scheduled to spend an evening with friends, sleep at their house and proceed to Lake Tahoe, California the next morning.  

This drive is a long and rather uneventful ride since there is not really any breath-taking scenery to make it interesting.  So we drove through the night [it's cooler that way] and arrived in Fremont slightly past mid morning.  

We took some time to feel the nostalgia affect us [we had lived in Fremont for 6 years] before going to the friends who live but five more miles to the north.  All told, it was a good time.  We were there alone and could do nothing to affect the outcome of anything that we could have started in Southern California before leaving.  That is a rare intellectual and emotional state for us to be in.  We seem to always be occupied with constructing something or trying to make something happen.  Now all we had to do was to show up and enjoy the company of our friends.  What a concept!

The evening went well and even contained a very special bit of good news for us.  Turns out that the host was going to be sworn in as an American citizen in Wednesday, July 11.  This was special for us as we had written a letter in support of his good moral character.  That made our sleep all the sweeter.

The next morning we left Fremont, pointed ourselves to the East and started to roll.  We had to go through a section where the land mass changes from coastal plain to hilly ridge before plunging in the Central Valley.   This is a very large and fertile valley that runs for about 300 miles [500 kilometers] north and south and averages about 80 miles [150 kilometers] wide.  I had a friend who was a landowner in this valley and he was fond of saying, "If humans can eat it, we grow it."  

On the way there, we had to go over the separating ridge, as I said.  This is a grass covered, golden yellow/brown mass of rolling hills.  No a sharp point in sight. When the sun hits it, which is about 85% of the year, the grass which has died and withered because of the lack of rain forms an attractive alternative to what
would be green grass in many other parts of the world.  This is a phenomenon that pertains to great expanses of land all throughout California.  This is why it is called the Golden State.

When most of us Easterners get here, we let our minds take us back to Sutter's mill race and the discovery of gold.  Californians let us get away with that for a while, but then they shake their shyness and tell us the truth.

So now you all know.  

The drive across the 75 miles of Central Valley was, of course, uneventful and causes us to turn on the car air-conditioning system.  As our friend Yoda would say, "Warm it was.  This, known you should have."  Anyway, we got through it.  There is another secret that we have to tell you.  It did not get any cooler as we started to climb up to the level of Lake Tahoe.  Nope.  Not at all.  So, up we went. 1,000 feet; 2,000 feet;

3,000; 4,000; 5,000; 6,000...nope, there's still more.  To top it all off, the temperature was not backing off.  Neither were we.  We were not going to be outdone.  So we plowed on, all the way up to 7,328 feet, if my mind is still functioning accurately.  There it was.  The sign said "Summit."

We were at the top of our climb, but not at the top of our enjoyment.  Since I have reached the summit of my word count, I will rejoin you tomorrow with the beginning of "The REST of the Story."