Why we pay the big bucks to live in California

I've heard rumors that much of the country is crazy cold. I'd bet it's probably too cold to pound rivets and probably too snowy to fly as well. Out here in California, the weather is beautiful. Well, maybe too beautiful. We are currently in the middle of the biggest drought since they've been keeping records so we are really in for some rough times real soon. Until then, we might as well fly.

Today my friend Anthony and I decided to spend a little time off the surface of the Earth and get some breakfast down in Salinas. Salinas is just a short flight from my home airport of Reid-Hillview (KRHV) but it makes for a relatively cheap way to de-stress.

I forgot to bring the awesome camera my wife bought me for Christmas but I did have my iPhone and iPad which didn't do too bad.

Here is Anthony at Salinas Airport. Our breakfast awaits behind him at the Landing Zone Cafe:



It was warm and gorgeous:



Hey, I built that....the most awesome plane in the world because it's mine!



After breakfast we flew down over Soledad prison (home of Sirhan Sirhan among others) then flew north. This is a shot of the Salinas Airport where we had just departed from minutes earlier. Salinas was the home of John Steinbeck and lies at the north end of the Salinas Valley, the "Salad Bowl of the World". Monterrey is way out there by the water to the left.



The twin stacks are at the power plant at Moss Landing. I recently found a photo that I took of the same place from a rented Cessna 150 way back when I was a teenager. Same plant, different plane, no film, and less hair!



Anthony flew us north for a bit. We are near Pajaro Dunes. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is located a little north where the coast curves to the left. It's home to the last operating seaside amusement park on the west coast and took a starring role in one of the Dirty Harry movies:



Over Watsonville on the way back home. The Santa Clara Valley lies between the two sets of hills ahead:



We put 1.6 hours on the Hobbs but that is all it took to recharge our batteries before having to once again become land based mammals.

Stay warm and keep pounding those rivets!

Nice photos of a good day flying! I graduated UC Santa Cruz in 1982 and soloed at Watsonville around 1984 so your photos take me back. I had a nice flight last Monday from Corona to Whiteman to Sacramento to Columbia and back to Corona. We are lucky to be able to fly all year round here. That said, I hope we get some rain, a lot of rain... we need it.

Great motivation to fly thanks! It's above zero here in NJ and I go up for exactly 1.6 hours

I spent 1.9 yesterday bombing around Kansas with temps in the upper 40's, looking forward to the mid 50's today! On the other hand it's highs in the teens for tomorrow

ArVeeNiner said:

I've heard rumors that much of the country is crazy cold. I'd bet it's probably too cold to pound rivets and probably too snowy to fly as well.

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Not the cold that is getting me here in STL. I fly in the cold. It is the crazy high gusty winds and low level wind sheer AIRMET. Today surface wind 210 @ 15 gusting 25 kts; 1500 ft winds 270 @ 55 kts. Tonight surface winds switching to 330 @ 27 gusting to 45 kts.
Not going to spend money bouncing around in that.

Yesterday we also enjoyed a beautiful day of flying in southern California. We had a T-6, L-2, Citabria, and a Cessna 170 & 172 giving rides to AFROTC cadets. The 170 was equipped with special monitoring devices to track tagged wildlife. One of the cadets got to go out on a tracking mission to locate a nearby wildcat. They located him!

To answer the question as to why we live in such a high tax state: using California versus Florida as an example, here is my detailed analysis:

FL: Great wx, low taxes, lots of bugs and gators
CA: Great wx, high taxes, few bugs and no gators

Conclusion: We choose to pay high taxes to live in CA to avoid bugs and gators.

TomVal said:

FL: Great wx, low taxes, lots of bugs and gators
CA: Great wx, high taxes, few bugs and no gators

Conclusion: We choose to pay high taxes to live in CA to avoid bugs and gators.

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Or live in the Reno/Carson area of Nevada, be seven RV minutes from California, have low taxes, no bugs, no gators, great Wx and the Eastern Sierra!

Nice photos indeed. Saw some of that country when the -7A was flown from STL to SOCAL and up coast to Oregon. Your weather this time of the year is to envied.

Do hope it rains again in California or you all will be drinking beer instead of water.

The downside

i did a round trip to Mammoth Lakes (KMMH) yesterday from Chino.
Beautiful California winter weather. Mild temps and smooth air.



Notice anything missing? The snow pack is critically low. If we don't
get lots of moisture soon, our drought will be a disaster. This is our
third dry year, and this one is the worst. We could use some bad flying
weather for the next two months!

Beer Run!

I enjoyed our California weather yesterday by making a Beer Run from San Luis Obispo out to Redlands. Picked up 6 growlers from Hangar 24 Brewery, flew home, and enjoyed a nice post-flight debrief over a pint.

I have to agree that California has beautiful weather and scenery, great pictures, I am jealous. Illinois has been increasing taxes for property, sales, and income (etc). As a result, I hope that soon, we too, will have weather and scenery to match California!

( but not today, -3F this AM. Topology still flat outside too. )