California Day Dreamin

A childhood friend of mine who I don't see all that often, was coming to Huntington Beach for a conference. Knowing I am intermittenly employed, she asked if I would like to come along. As luck (or really just circumstance) would have it, I had a break between my placement "gigs." So I've come along. And here I am on a Monday afternoon, in from having roamed around my temporary "neighborhood."

One thing became very clear right away - this place is all about surfing. Now, this is not exactly a ground-breaking observation. I'm in California. Still. I'm used to seeing the trendy, rip-off California culture sprinkled all over - Jams from the 80s, the Billabong stickers on skateboards, The Beach Boys touring every state fair from Jersey to New Mexico.

Here, it's been interesting to see the vast variety of people changing into wet suits in the parking lot. And just in case you're curious, the VW bus is still king out here, and isn't necessarily a symbol of aging hippie burn out.

One thing they're not big on is WiFi internet access. Not even at Starbucks (well, they did, but you had to pay for it. You don't pay for WiFi in the Midwest...) But my search did lead me to a cool little neighborhood coffee shop (a tourist from Utah overheard me asking around and found me a place by accessing his iPod 3G.) It's a little further from the hotel than I'd like, but the walk will do me good.