California Dreamin'

Last Saturday evening, we watched a postcard-perfect, orange and purple sunset from Kincaid’s on Redondo Pier, while waves lapped over the breakwater and families leisurely strolled the boardwalk. It was enough to make me forget the 25-minute gridlock we had just escaped in the parking garage. That, in a nutshell, is why people love living in Southern California . . . and why they hate that so many other people love living in Southern California.

In the last several years, condos and town homes have sprung up on every inch of spare land in the South Bay, including industrial/commercial areas and former swamp land, bringing in more people and more cars. As a result, the once laid-back South Bay now has traffic that more resembles downtown LA. While I try to avoid the beach on weekends during the peak summer season, I sometimes forget that there are now so many locals who also want to take advantage of a sunny Saturday during the off-season.

I’m not complaining much, though. After all, it’s February, and most of the country is dealing with snow, ice, and floods while we complain that beach parking is too crowded! This is the good life, folks. (But don’t tell anyone; there are too many people here already.)