California the Beautiful

I just feel so lucky to be a resident of this state.  And today it was made official!  I am now a card carrying (well, driver's license paper, but soon to be actual card) Californian.  While I appreciate the uniqueness of each place I have traveled or lived, it is always nice to be "home".  So, to celebrate, I wanted to share some snapshots I took just today while I was driving around for work.  While the iPhone is not ideal for many things (as a phone especially), it's at least handy when I leave my cameras at home.

My iPhone loves LA:

 the best of both worlds…palms and pines

a little fire in the sky

Everyone says the 5 is Ugly…..they must be blind

So, yesterday I was stuck in a car for, wait for it, 12 HOURS….. What could have been a horrendous day turned out to be fun, silly, and a great time to catch up with a good friend. We were diverted from the 5 south to the 101 when the grapevine pass was closed due to SNOW. California's weather is sure confusing me this year….Rain, snow in low altitude, and green pastures. It's like a different state completely! Overall, even with the weather, it was a great day. We sang, told stories, and took random photos of the world going (often slowly) by.

Here are a few gems of the 5 Freeway coming south from the bay area:

Want to go? I'm sure you do! These photos were taken in Gilroy, and on the 5 Freeway between Tracy & Lost Hills, CA.