Winter 2011-2012: California

Santa Monica Pier

December 24, 2011-January 2, 2012 -- This past winter I traveled to The Golden State to visit family and friends. I've traversed the entire state multiple times and lived in Los Angeles for nearly nine years so I'm very familiar with California. But every trip reveals something new.

We flew on Virgin America from Washington Dulles International Airport to San Francisco International Airport and spent around four hours at the spectacular new Terminal 2, where I was greeted by a Google representative at something called a Chrome Zone pop-up shop. He explained to me that as a promotion, Google was renting out their new Chromebook laptop to Virgin America customers. The Chromebook could either be used while waiting in the terminal for a connecting flight or on a flight to another airport with a similar pop-up shop where it could be returned.

San Francisco appreciates culture and it even extends to its airport at the SFO Museum, established in 1980 "for the purposes of humanizing the Airport environment, providing visibility for the unique cultural life of San Francisco, and providing educational services for the traveling public." The temporary exhibit on display when I visited was titled "Revolutions Per Minute: The Evolution of the Record," which illustrated the history of records and album cover artwork. S.F. has such a rich rock and roll history, so it was fitting that there was an exhibit at the airport celebrating the history of records and album covers.

We then flew from SFO to San Diego. "America's Finest City" is conservative compared to liberal San Francisco, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of interesting things going on. In fact, architecturally there are some very modern additions to the S.D. cityscape, including the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge. The Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge is one of the longest self-anchored pedestrian bridges in the world. The bridge crosses over the train and trolley tracks and connects pedestrians to the Convention Center and Petco Park, the home of the Padres baseball club. It is an architectural marvel and shows San Diego's commitment to constructing a pedestrian friendly community.

Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge in San Diego

After spending time with family in San Diego, I took the Amtrak train up to Los Angeles to visit friends. We went on a hike around Temescal Canyon. The greater L.A. area offers amazing hiking trails that are easily accessible from the city. Temescal Canyon is a valley lying in the Los Angeles County portion of the Santa Monica Mountains. The hike up to the top provides spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and the Los Angeles basin. On clear days you can see the downtown L.A. skyline and as far as Long Beach and beyond.

L.A. is a sprawling urban jungle that is unique in that within the city and county limits, there are so many excellent hiking trails that provide an easy respite from the constant traffic, smog and stress of the city. High above the city, the hiking trails of the Santa Monica Mountains are an oasis of peace and quiet, clean air and spectacular natural surroundings. Not many cities offer the year-round warm and dry weather and close proximity to so many amazing hiking trails.

Tinseltown's unique proximity to so many excellent hiking trails with breathtaking vistas reminds residents and visitors alike why it is so important to preserve the fragile ecological balance of the planet so future generations can enjoy the same natural surroundings and climate we too often take for granted.

Temescal Canyon in Pacific Palisades looking south.

I also paid a visit to Santa Monica State Beach and the Santa Monica Pier. If you have never visited Santa Monica, it is the crown jewel of the Los Angeles area. The city is progressive politically and geographically compact and manageable compared to big, sprawling L.A. County. It is bike friendly with a fantastic bike trail on the beach called The Strand. It is walkable too, with pedestrian friendly shopping areas like the Third Street Promenade and the newly renovated Santa Monica Place.

There is nothing like watching a sunset on a perfect, balmy Southern California evening and there is no better place to watch the sun set on the far horizon of the Pacific Ocean then the end of the Santa Monica Pier where you feel like you are at the edge of the world. Standing at the edge of the Santa Monica Pier as the sun sets is an exhilarating, spiritually uplifting experience.

While California changes faster than you can charge an electric vehicle, the experience of watching the sun set on the Pacific Ocean is as old as the earth itself. It is an experience that makes California a special place on this spinning blue planet of ours.

Here are more pictures from my winter 2011-2012 trip to California.

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Riding the Rails: Solana Beach to Anaheim

Solana Beach is home to one of the finest little train stations in all of America. The station was designed by architect Rob Wellington Quigley, and was built in 1994 to replace the depot in Del Mar, California. The main terminal is a real gem with a sleek, modern design and the platform is sunken into the earth, creating a surreal environment in which you feel as if you are underground but you are outside, just lower than street level.

The station is served by Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner trains between San Diego and Santa Barbara via Los Angeles and Orange County; and Coaster commuter trains between North San Diego County and downtown San Diego.

Here are photos of the station:



And here is video of a Coaster commuter train departing the station, heading south towards downtown San Diego:



The ride north from Solana Beach to Anaheim on Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner provides passengers with some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. In North San Diego County and South Orange County the train tracks are placed within yards of the Pacific Ocean. The ocean and beach views are breathtaking. At times you feel as though you are riding on the water you are so close to the Pacific. In my view there is perhaps no better way to experience the beauty of Southern California then taking the train through North San Diego County and South Orange County before the tracks veer inwards towards Anaheim and eventually Union Station in downtown L.A.

Here is a video montage of the part of my train trip with the best views of the beaches and Pacific Ocean. The video starts just around Oceanside and ends at San Clemente.

 

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Sun Diego

There are so many reasons to fall in love with San Diego, California. The perfect climate. The pristine beaches and ancient bluffs. The sublime sunsets over the mighty Pacific Ocean. Torrey Pines State Reserve. The Gaslamp Quarter. Balboa Park. But it is the palm trees that always get to me. Even though most of them were imported in the 1920s and 30s, for me Southern California is defined by the sun drenched palm tree swaying against the backdrop of a powder blue sky.

Change is the only constant in life and no people embrace change more than Californians. When you live with earthquakes, mudslides and wildfires you learn to live in the moment and meditate on the temporary nature of all things.

There was change on my visit to San Diego. The Flower Hill Mall movie theater in Del Mar is shuttering after giving North County San Diegans thirty years (ten as an Ultrastar chain) of art house films and the latest blockbusters. It is being replaced by a Whole Foods Market.

More change as the Del Mar Highlands Town Center is undergoing a major renovation and expansion. The UltraStar Cinemas there will be adding new auditoriums and there will be a new courtyard and fountain, along with new shops and restaurants. The expansion will replace the auditoriums lost from the closing of the Flower Hill theater.

What better way to spend the Fourth of July then at the sun-soaked SoCal beach. In this case, a walk on the sand at Del Mar Shores in Solana Beach. Enjoy the pictures.

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