Up until my first visit to LA this past January, the West Coast held little defined interest for me. Coming from practical southern roots, I assumed SoCal would be filled with superficial-silicone cyborgs, traffic, excessive smog from said traffic, and scenery that I was sure I would find lacking in person. The mountains in the distance and beachy sunsets I've seen in pictures and movies must be all cardboard sets and CGI graphics... ultimately as fake as the aesthetically enhanced residents. Seriously... It couldn't really be THAT breathtaking in person.
Wow... Was I wrong. I'm now convinced that Hollywood elitists must have been paying a PR firm to culminate these negative images in the minds of southern and midwestern Americans, thus keeping the masses from immediately converging on paradise in an effort to prevent further overpopulation and inflation of property values in the SoCal area.
Aside from the consistently 72F and sunny conditions (um...with no humidity...in which my hair is almost always perfect with little to no effort, thank you!), it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what charms me so much about LA, but altogether, the culture seems to suit me. Not necessarily the perceived Hollywood culture... I have no intentions of getting a boob job and carrying a chihuahua as an accessory, but the breezy attitude, the happiness to be outside and active, and the wider appreciation of other cultures... Yeah I dig it. I think with all of the joggers, cyclists, and yoga-mat toting residents around, this southern girl could easily find the motivation to lose some of the biscuit and gravy residuals I've been carrying around on my hips.
Well I am back in this lovely place, with my first stop being a Baja Fresh near my hostel. I might have chosen something a bit more exotic as my first meal back in Cali and saved this one for later, but after not eating between 9am Eastern time until 4pm Pacific time (that's 10 hours... I think...?) because I decided against eating during my layover in Houston, I just needed something in walking distance and fast. (P.S. My Mahi Mahi tacos and Salsa Roja are totally hitting the spot!)
I have this tendency to fall in love with every new destination I visit and immediately start planning my permanent relocation there. I've had the same response to LA, Savnnah, Florida, New York City, and Chicago. I've yet to put my house on the market and start circulating resumes in any of these areas... But looking around here at Santa Monica, this could be the place to push me over that edge!
I hope all of you out in the blogosphere are having as great of a day as me! Now, I'm off to the Santa Monica Pier!
No comments:
Post a Comment