I've been to California exactly 5 times but 4 out of the 5 were just changing planes at LAX. The other time was earlier this year for work. I flew into San Francisco and drove to Modesto. Unfortunately, other than Modesto and the drive to/from the airport I didn't get to see much.
I have finished high school in Southern California, just north of LA. And have been to LA a couple times on business like four times to San Francisco and like five times to San Diego. My favorite places in California are Santa Barbara and San Diego.
San Diego is beautiful! Camping at Fort Pendleton is a great experience too if you have military ties, it's gorgeous north of San Diego along the coastline! Santa Barbara and Carmel are beautiful too although it's been years since I've visited! I don't usually leave Orange County much anymore, just too much traffic and gas prices so high that I try to budget my usage!
I went to LA en route to Hawaii decades ago and to say I was disappointed was an understatement lol! They had banned smoking in hotels, and I was in shock! I don't remember any of these, thought I would have the Led Zep one.
I've never been to Cali and these days it's not likely to happen anytime soon which is a shame because it's a truly beautiful place. Getting to travel to it for work is cool, just to say you've been.
All songs I've never heard before, so that's awesome dude! Gotta love some Zeppelin. I like Steely Dan but don't know many of his songs but adding another here to the list!
Glad you had a chance to hit Fisherman's Warf, did you get a chance to try a fresh crab sandwich while you were there. Those are good! Hopefully you and the better half will have a chance to make it out here again at some point.
I liked the selections on the music today, not the typical expectations for California songs. You can't go wrong with Led Zeppelin and Steely Dan! John Mayer was an interesting choice, I've never been a big fan of his. But he did a good job that song! It's tough to narrow down all of the options for California, well done!
I did not have a crab sandwich. I can't even remember what I ate on that trip. I am guessing the restaurant probably isn't even open anymore. I think it was an Italian joint. I likely had pasta or something. This one was quite hard deciding on just three. I almost like it better when there aren't so many options!
That kind of trip almost doesn’t count as California, yet in a weird way it absolutely does. In-and-out work travel before smartphones really was its own era. You experienced the state through airports, highways, hotels, and a narrow window of tourist reality before being pulled back into responsibility. Seeing Alcatraz from a distance, walking Fisherman’s Wharf, grabbing one solid meal, then heading inland to Tracy feels exactly like how early-career corporate travel went. You were technically there, but not long enough to absorb it. No photos just makes it feel even more dreamlike now, like something you remember clearly but cannot quite prove.
The Dow consulting work is actually a great backdrop for this story. Fresh out of college, suddenly flying cross-country, touching massive corporate networks, and watching how mergers swallowed entire companies overnight. That kind of exposure shapes how you see work and scale forever. Those trips gave you confidence and perspective, even if they cut into the fun parts. Cutting San Francisco short stings even more because you almost had the perfect balance of work and exploration. One extra day could have turned the trip from a blur into a memory with weight, and you can still feel that disappointment years later.
California fitting Three Tune Tuesday so easily almost feels ironic given how fleeting your actual experience there was. The state dominates music in a way few others do, and narrowing it down to three songs is borderline impossible. Going with mood instead of overthinking it is the right call, especially for a place that has been mythologized this heavily. And starting with “Going To California” is basically unavoidable. Zeppelin captures that restless pull the state has, the promise of something just out of reach. It fits the story perfectly, because your California experience was exactly that. Close enough to feel it, but never quite long enough to stay.
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I've been to California exactly 5 times but 4 out of the 5 were just changing planes at LAX. The other time was earlier this year for work. I flew into San Francisco and drove to Modesto. Unfortunately, other than Modesto and the drive to/from the airport I didn't get to see much.
Sounds about like my trip! I hope you find your way back there at some point. My wife and I are hoping to travel out that way together one day.
I have a love / hate relationship with California. My favorite place in the world is Lake Tahoe but I usually post up on the Nevada side.
I've heard of it, but never been there.
I have finished high school in Southern California, just north of LA. And have been to LA a couple times on business like four times to San Francisco and like five times to San Diego. My favorite places in California are Santa Barbara and San Diego.
The wife and I hope to get there one day, but we have a lot of places to explore yet between here and there!
San Diego is beautiful! Camping at Fort Pendleton is a great experience too if you have military ties, it's gorgeous north of San Diego along the coastline! Santa Barbara and Carmel are beautiful too although it's been years since I've visited! I don't usually leave Orange County much anymore, just too much traffic and gas prices so high that I try to budget my usage!
I went to Camarillo high school, you probably know that town north of Los Angeles in the Ventura county...
I do, I've spent a lot of time in Ventura. You're in Seattle now?
Yes, in Seattle area these days and actually right now sitting in our office downtown Seattle :)
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I went to LA en route to Hawaii decades ago and to say I was disappointed was an understatement lol! They had banned smoking in hotels, and I was in shock! I don't remember any of these, thought I would have the Led Zep one.
I was at a hotel the other day and they still had smoking rooms. I didn't know that was still even a thing!
I've never been to Cali and these days it's not likely to happen anytime soon which is a shame because it's a truly beautiful place. Getting to travel to it for work is cool, just to say you've been.
All songs I've never heard before, so that's awesome dude! Gotta love some Zeppelin. I like Steely Dan but don't know many of his songs but adding another here to the list!
I think if we ever head out that way we are going to try to visit Northern California. That appeals to us more than the big cities.
Yeah man, same here! I have no interest in going to LA lol. I want to see the redwoods!
Californ eye ehh
Glad you had a chance to hit Fisherman's Warf, did you get a chance to try a fresh crab sandwich while you were there. Those are good! Hopefully you and the better half will have a chance to make it out here again at some point.
I liked the selections on the music today, not the typical expectations for California songs. You can't go wrong with Led Zeppelin and Steely Dan! John Mayer was an interesting choice, I've never been a big fan of his. But he did a good job that song! It's tough to narrow down all of the options for California, well done!
I did not have a crab sandwich. I can't even remember what I ate on that trip. I am guessing the restaurant probably isn't even open anymore. I think it was an Italian joint. I likely had pasta or something. This one was quite hard deciding on just three. I almost like it better when there aren't so many options!
That kind of trip almost doesn’t count as California, yet in a weird way it absolutely does. In-and-out work travel before smartphones really was its own era. You experienced the state through airports, highways, hotels, and a narrow window of tourist reality before being pulled back into responsibility. Seeing Alcatraz from a distance, walking Fisherman’s Wharf, grabbing one solid meal, then heading inland to Tracy feels exactly like how early-career corporate travel went. You were technically there, but not long enough to absorb it. No photos just makes it feel even more dreamlike now, like something you remember clearly but cannot quite prove.
The Dow consulting work is actually a great backdrop for this story. Fresh out of college, suddenly flying cross-country, touching massive corporate networks, and watching how mergers swallowed entire companies overnight. That kind of exposure shapes how you see work and scale forever. Those trips gave you confidence and perspective, even if they cut into the fun parts. Cutting San Francisco short stings even more because you almost had the perfect balance of work and exploration. One extra day could have turned the trip from a blur into a memory with weight, and you can still feel that disappointment years later.
California fitting Three Tune Tuesday so easily almost feels ironic given how fleeting your actual experience there was. The state dominates music in a way few others do, and narrowing it down to three songs is borderline impossible. Going with mood instead of overthinking it is the right call, especially for a place that has been mythologized this heavily. And starting with “Going To California” is basically unavoidable. Zeppelin captures that restless pull the state has, the promise of something just out of reach. It fits the story perfectly, because your California experience was exactly that. Close enough to feel it, but never quite long enough to stay.
!BBH
!ALIVE
!PIZZA
!LADY
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