Maybe being a CA girl IS cool....

So after a tough few weeks I am back onto a "America is kinda cool..." kick.  I am definitely NOT saying that it is my favorite country or a place I want to live forever but it is growing on me... from an objective point of view I can understand why people get cocky about America, especially if they are from CA and *gasp* dare I say it... Los Angeles? Now you all have to know that I am not the biggest fan of LA.  In fact, if you asked me a few months ago I definitely would have listed it in my top 3 least favorite cities.  Lately, however, I have had some friends show me the nuances of this area and I have to say that this city may actually make it into my top 50 favorite cities.  Probably number 50. But still. It's a start! :-)

Some of the things I have been doing to budge my thinking:
1) Even though it is a city of a badgillion people, it can still seem small at times.  A few weekends ago I had plans with friends to go out in the city and we decided on the Silver Lake Area.  I had another friend text me to tell me that he was headed to Silver Lake and that I should join.  Low and behold, we ended up at the same bar.  Pretty cool huh? It was an awesome bar too.  Very low key with awesome live music and super friendly people to talk to.

2) After the night out in Silver Lake my friend Ali and I decided to go for a hike in the Hollywood Hills.  Apparently this is THE place to go on a Saturday morning.  The trail was packed and I can definitely understand why.  From our perch we could see all the way to Catalina Island.  The LA skyline set against the ocean was really quite beautiful.  Of course, I still prefer hiking in an area where you don't see someone new every 2 feet but it actually became a kind of people watching experience.  I have never seen so many people who looked like their dogs.  Small little yappy dogs with their blinging collars and women attached to them trying to fit their bodies into tiny little jumpsuits.  Tall, tan, chiseled, men (aspiring actors, I bet) with their black labs and Australian Shepards.  In any case, Ali and I had fun contributing to the swirl of people as we hauled ourselves up the trail.

3) Live Music. LA is truly a musician's haven.  One of my friends from Berkeley, Noah, is a fantastic musician and he practically breaths the LA music scene.  For example, last week he saw three concerts, in the space of four nights.  On his night off we went to this awesome Mexican restaurant on Beverly that was populated with... any guesses? Musicians :) In any case, I am not complaining, he has an amazing taste in music and I a great deal of my new love for LA is due to him.

4) Disneyland.  Always a childhood favorite but let me explain.  This past weekend I went to Disneyland and California Adventure with Liz and Ali.  There is one ride that takes you on a "trip" through CA. Basically it is a ride where you are a swing and you "soar" through video footage of CA.  They have made it as interactive as possible by shifting your seat as you fly and spraying scent into the air that corresponds with the footage (ie. orange smell through an orange grove, pine through trees, etc).  Pretty darn cool in itself but it was amazing to see all these parts of CA that are so unique and undiscovered for me! California really does have an incredible breadth of experiences, cultures, landscapes, people etc...

Ali would kill me if she saw this but I think it's cute! :) 

Such is the randomness of life.  Weird things like amusement park rides make me appreciate one of my identifying labels: a born and bred CA girl.  Just like the Beach Boys said, "I wish they all could be California girls..."  Yah, I guess we are pretty cool ;-)