California is the state in which I live. Although I don't live in a very scenic part of the state, unless you consider traffic and smog scenic, there are some nice places to visit in my home state. The Sierra Nevada mountains, which form the backbone of California, have plenty of unique places and visual wonders. I have seen many of these, including Sequoia and Kings CanyonNational Parks, Yosemite, and Mount Whitney. There are also beautiful beaches and rocky shorelines all along the coast, like in Monterey bay or Crystal Cove. California contains many different ecologies, and many chances for fun. Where else can you go snow skiing in the morning, dirt biking in the afternoon, and still be able to watch the sunset over the ocean, all in the same day?
On the people side of things, you can find some of the best city drivers in the world in California. Then again, you can find a lot of the worst drivers in the world within the same borders. People who have been driving in the metro areas, like Los Angeles or San Francisco, for long periods of time, know how to drive in normal California conditions. Although, throw in some unpredictable situations, like rain in southern CA, and everybody forgets everything they know about driving. Things like merging become incomprehensible to the average driver. When the windshield wipers come on, all hell breaks loose.
To those who think they would enjoy visiting California, I beg of you, stay away from the bigger city areas, like LA and San Francisco. Go see the good parts of the state.
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| Sequoia National Park | Zumwalt Meadow, Kings Canyon |