By: sarah henry

sarah henry — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 18:54:24 +0000

Here’s to the restorative power of the galpal road trip — and for nurturing a friendship while hiking one of the best of Berkeley’s butt-burning trails:)

By: Sonya

Sonya — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 18:01:30 +0000

Even before I read the post I was wondering, is this the Julia Child spot? We’re heading down south in July and will have to stop on the way back up. That and Nepenthe too! Hope to see you soon.

By: Gene Pisasale

Gene Pisasale — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 10:01:00 +0000

Nepenthe- the lovely bar/restaurant with the spectacular view overlooking the beach and ocean 800-feet below the cliffs at Big Sur is a gem, a national treasure. I dined there many times over the years, on trips out to California and also while I lived in San Diego from 1988-98. Santa Barbara- and the cozy artist village of San Juan Capistrano (the “Juan” left out in the above article) are both beautiful places to visit to savor the southern California lifestyle of today…and yesteryear…like taking a drive up into the hills to see the famous “HOLLYWOOD” sign overlooking the valley below….My California experiences are wide and varied…from enjoying good friends and great food at the Old Town Mexican Cafe in Old Town San Diego- where they make fresh tortillas by hand literally right in front of you as you walk in the door, to chatting with Ingrid Croce- Jim Croce’s widow- at Croce’s Restaurant, one of the most popular spots to dine and people-watch in the Gaslamp District…and driving from Canada to Mexico and back, enjoying camping, hiking, backpacking and superb photography in Yosemite, Redwoods National Forest, Kings Canyon, Monterey and so many other spots….listening to the Modern Jazz Quartet, Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Rollins all onstage at the world famous Monterey Jazz Festival…They all remain wonderful memories and will be with me until my final days….but California is still an enigma…a beautiful state with horrible problems….enormous talent in its workforce, spectacular scenery surrounded by encroaching problems of overdevelopment, pollution (drifting up the coast into U.S waters from Tijuana), a tidal wave of illegal immigration, gargantuan budget deficits, a business climate which is the opposite of sunny, causing tens of thousands of small businesses to leave the state due to exhorbitant taxes, overwhelming regulation and unheard of workers compensation rules and regulations and so much more….Add in the inevitable major earthquake which I as a petroleum geologist know will likely hit within the next 20 years and you have something which could be catastophic in its scope…I will always love California… and the times I spent there will be material for my next book…and likely many in the future….which…I know…someday…will be as bright as the sunshine along its beautiful coast…

Comments on: Southern Exposure

By: sarah henry

By: Sonya

By: Gene Pisasale