About four months ago, I moved to a new part of California and started a new job. It's been great! A longer and different post later on may dive deeper into the positive changes I've found. My workplace is between San Jose and San Francisco and borders the Santa Cruz mountains. It's only a few miles from Stanford University and feels like a great blend of being in the middle of a busy and exciting area, but also in the country. Even now, nearly half a year later, I often find myself reflecting on how different the weather and my route to work are compared to anywhere else I've lived.
I love that the highway that I drive on (pictured here today!) is free of billboards and has views of the Santa Cruz mountains. It can get crowded, but extreme traffic is rare on this highway as it's not as commonly traveled as others in the bay area.
In the spring, the hills were still green from the winter rain. By late May, they had turned the golden color that many native Californians rave about. At first, I missed the vividly green summers on the east coast and dreaded the upcoming "golden hills" that seemed brown to me. Now I see that they are truly straw-colored, or, a shade of gold, and they can be quite beautiful paired with live oak trees.
In early May as the grass was just turning golden...
Today, on August 14. The freeway I drive on is on the far right. The winding road is the pullout for this scenic view! The trees in the center are live oak trees. The fog at the top of the mountains is coming in from the ocean.
Most days in the summer are 85 degrees or higher with bright sunshine. I do enjoy the heat (and that I can step back into air conditioning!) but I've found it hard to keep up with re-application of sunscreen each time I'm outside. I like the predictability of each day being warm and truly a summer day, but to have some change, I'm looking forward to when it rains again in the late fall and winter.
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