California is an unbelievably cool state. I always knew I would enjoy going there; I hadn't realised quite how much. It's so varied - in its terrain, in the cities, in the landscape. You can be in San Francisco or LA one moment, then a couple of hours later driving through the arid desert, where the temperature's 112 and there is literally no life, apart from the eerie Joshua Trees, winding up through the sand. We wound the coastal highway through towering redwoods and misty fogs that rolled in off the Pacific, and we hammered along baked highways where the sun shimmered off everything and it seemed as if we were underwater. Incredible.
The people are so refreshing. We struck up a few conversations with strangers - in bars, by the side of the pool - and almost immediately were talking politics, international relations, gay rights... out here (in Kansas), most of the time I am trying to keep my mouth firmly shut on any of the above, because I know that a) the person with whom I am talking is quite likely to hold a diametrically opposed view and b) that they are unlikely to even listen to an opposing point of view and accept that person might have a point. Not so in California, where we had genuine debates on topics with utter randoms. Of course I'm being sweeping in my generalisations, but it definitely made an impact.
The food.... oh the food. A farmers market in every small town you went through, often on a Thursday night when the whole street would be closed off and families would stroll along in the gathering darkness, eating from stalls, doing their weekly shop and hanging out with friends. Restaurants serving right from the sea seafood. A choice in restaurants - not just burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches, but fresh, flavourful, seasonal food, made from local ingredients. The most amazing wine. Not cheap, mind you, but delicious. And available.
The sea - or rather, the ocean. California's got it, Kansas 'aint. Can't beat that I'm afraid....
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