Our Trip To California Was… …Weird.

Ok, not weird – just strange. More like, unfamiliar.

I was born and raised there, lived most of my life there. So this weekend, Lisa and I had the chance to revisit our home town. We went to visit my daughters whom I haven’t seen in 9 months. We flew from Yakima to San Jose Airport on a Saturday at Noon. I have been flying in and out of San Jose Airport for over 15 years. For a while, I was traveling for work about once a month. I know how busy this airport is. On a Saturday @ Noon, it was dead. No one around. It was a ghost town.

We got our rental car and hit the 101 Freeway – a road I know well. Lisa decided to drive. Not even 5 minutes into our trek down 101, she was acting like a Californian dealing with horrible drivers again. “What’s your problem?!?” “What are you doing?!?” “PICK A LANE!!” I laughed because this is not the gentle Lisa I knew. I chuckled at her and said, “Wow, I haven’t seen that in 9 months.” We laughed because yep, we were back in California where when you hit the freeway, it’s Mad Max style “All about me” driving.

We so didn’t miss that.

After arriving in Monterey, we went to a mall (Del Monte Center) and Whole Foods. It was interesting, all our encounters with people were depressing. The vibe was repressive. We talked to our friends there and they feel it too. California just isn’t the same place I grew up in. It’s changed and not for the better.

Further gas is almost a dollar a gallon more in Cali.

Even after a visit with both my daughters (who are both in school) have said as soon as they graduate, they are outta there.

When we arrived back in Yakima on Monday, I could not tell you how good it felt to be back on sane soil where common sense and courtesy are practiced and people are genuinely happy.

This sealed it for me. California is no longer home - and it's great place to be FROM.

Yakima, is home.

All My Best,

The JimShow