The Dream Becomes Reality

  We finally feel like we have made it to California. Although we spent the night in San Diego, the sun is coming up in the east and we are pointing north on The Pacific Coast Highway. The Pacific Ocean is on our left and beautiful Southern California is to the right. Our first real contact with the Pacific is in the town of Oceanside. We found a parking spot close to the beach, walk through the mist and fog on moist, sticky sand to the water. There were some rocks about ten feet out and I had to stand on them for some reason. So, I rolled up the legs of my sweat pants (no judging) and walked through the freezing water. I have a picture of myself standing on top of this rock with my shirt off, striking a very studly pose. I need to get those out again and show my wife and kids. We stayed on the beach for about another 15 or 20 minutes then moved on. It was very interesting seeing the area come to life as the morning wore on. First the surfers are out with there boards and then the businesses and shops start opening along the street. After a while the bums and homeless people start roaming around to get to there panhandling spots and get to "work". As the sun gets higher in the sky the people on the streets get weirder. I don't want to dwell on this too much but let's just say Southern California is not the place for me.
  By now we are on the 405 near Los Angeles and sitting a near stand still in traffic. We creep along for maybe an hour when we see why the left lane is closed and causing brutal congestion. Apparently someone thought it was a good idea to cross 16 lanes of traffic in morning rush hour. Well, he didn't make it, and they had not removed his body by the time we drove past at 10 miles an hour. I don't know why, but for some reason I didn't call my parents or really tell anyone about this. Maybe because it doesn't even seem real when you drive past a dead person covered by a sheet in morning traffic. So we continue north, next stop Big Sur!
  See you next week for more adventures in Sunny California!