Vacation Surprises

[Janice]

All of us have taken vacations in the US to see what areas and sites actually look like in person. There are hundred of parks and sites to see. What is one place you visited where you got a whole different opinion or idea of what you actually saw and what you expected to see?

Me..... the Statue of Liberty is actually a lot smaller than I thought it would be

[O Town]

The Keys were even more beautiful than I imagined, and the snorkling was just breath taking.

[furluvcats]

California...we expected flat land, sandy beaches, and blondes everywhere...instead we were shocked to see how mountainous cali is....even a lot of the beaches...and there are no blondes! Folks have blended blood with all the hispanics and asians and the california cover girl is typically dark haired, darker skinned and ethnic...gone are the days of the California blondes...

[Janice]

Oh, yes, California is very mountainous and hilly. I lived there 12 years and we had a cabin in the mountains. LA has hills and mountains, the coast line mountains and canyon country and that is just southern california. We used to get snow in our cabin. There was a period of hardly any blonds, like the Annette and Gidget era. I think California, especially southern, will eventually be a majority of spanish. They are moving in faster all the time. My aunt who still lives in a LA suburb says they cannot go to any store in southern California that does not hire Spanish that do not speak English. But one day, the dark skin in the US will be the majority. The Spanish population is rapidly catching up and could soon be the majority. We have to remember that the dark skin people were the first people in the Americas. They were here first.

[furluvcats]

Yep, J, you're so right...hey...where was your cabin? You know we're building a cabin in the mountains here too!!!

[Janice]

Yes, I saw that. We have a good friend who has an A frame there. He is about a block from Lloyd Bridges cabin that he lives in permantly. We were there a few years ago and visited him, but Lloyd may have passed away by now. Beautiful area. Our cabin was in the SanFranando Valley area. It was my fathers, so I do not know the exact area. They lived in Canyon Country. We would spend weekends up there with the family. I hope you enjoy your new home. The fires always scared me. There have been some bad ones there, so take care and put that in your plans for protection, water system or such.

[furluvcats]

Fires ARE our biggest concern, for sure...our mnt. side is still treed but alot of the area is bare from a fire back in 87...makes our land more valuable, but also more vulnerable....especially since we are backed up to National Forest land...We actually have to have water tanks out there....no city anything...lol...so, one huge tank is for the house usage and then every house has to have another large tank for fire water...bc there are no hydrants...we're most likely building out of log, so yeah, its a concern. Fire insurance will be a big thing...a very important thing...

How neat that you were there recently...maybe you'll be able to see our cabin once we build. We're only building one lot now...keep it 2 years...sell it or rent it and build the other lot...