Sunset

I know I will miss California at night. When I lived in New York, you could be getting home at 2 a.m. (or later), cabs whizzing by, people still spilling out of restaurants, the night sky glowing pink overhead - an absence of moon and stars, just a reflection of all that was below. And if you didn't want to go home at 2 a.m. there was always another place you could go, another party, or after party, or late night happening that got even more interesting in the early morning hours. If New York is 'work hard, play hard' then people in California are an almost clichéd 'early to bed, early to rise' - waking, sun salutation, wheat grass shot, blending a smoothie, excercising and seizing the day before New Yorkers have gotten their coffee and New York Times and decided upon a place for brunch at a more civilized hour.

Nights end early in small beach towns in Southern California, much more 'geri' as my friend Dave would say. Restaurants close by 10 on the weekend, and there's only a distant hum of cars from the freeway, and the Surfliner train going up and down the coast. When I first moved to San Clemente it took me a while to get used to how dark and quiet it was at night. I frequently went to a midweek evening yoga class in Laguna Beach, about 20 minutes north up the Coast Highway, and always enjoyed driving home, smelling the salt air and just sensing the presence of the mighty ocean nearby. I enjoyed walking the beach trail right before dusk, a time when most people have left the beach and just the surfers remain, and I'd watch them paddle out and wait for the last waves of the day before the sun would slip past the horizon.

California at night means: a chill in the air; wrapping up in a blanket and Uggs; firepits; a glass of wine in a hot tub; beach bonfires with someone strumming a guitar; flip flops in January; a night quiet enough to hear waves lapping against the shore; looking up at the inky sky and seeing the missing moon, and a dusting of stars scattered overhead.

Good night California. I sure will miss you.