You Shared What You Love About California

“After a year of backpacking through Europe in 1974, my kindergarten school friend Martha lured me out to San Francisco with promises of fine weather, lots of hippies, a burgeoning gay community and food like in Europe. A week later, I was driving over the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. The fog was pouring over Twin Peaks, the sun shining down, and at that moment I knew I was home, never to go roaming again.” — Joe Grubb, San Francisco

“I came to Davis with my husband and 1-year-old daughter 28 years ago. We had a son three years later. My kids biked to school from kindergarten through high school. They had birthdays in neighborhood parks. I walk the green belts of Davis, with friends, with family and alone, listening to music and listening to the birds. I see Swainson’s hawks peering from electric cables down into the tomato farms surrounding the town. There is no place I would rather be than in this sweet, green town in Central Valley.” — Poornima Balasubramanyam, Davis

“I love the state — north and south, east and west. I always answer, ‘I wasn’t born here, but it’s where my life began.’” — Kay Wilson, Desert Hot Springs

“I’ve lived in California for over 50 years, first in San Francisco and now Santa Barbara. One of my most magical moments was hiking to a hot mineral spring on the coast of Big Sur with my wife early on a chilly morning, 2 or 3 a.m., relaxing into the hot water as we watched bioluminescence dance atop the breaking waves as they crashed onto the coast.” — Richard Finn, Santa Barbara

“Being born and raised a U.S. Army brat, you learn to belong in any place pretty fast. When I left my parents’ house, I came to Los Angeles and moved in with my older sister. One day we decided to go to the beach and it was a long, hot grueling drive with many mistaken turns (Culver City, I’m looking at you). When we finally drove into Santa Monica, I was suddenly aware of how happy everyone seemed to be: People walking, in their cars, riding bikes, even at bus stops people were happy. It struck me that I more than belonged here; for the first time in my life, I had come home. And we hadn’t even gotten to the beach yet.” — Susan Alinsangan, Santa Monica