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Thursday, February 4. 2010
A Recall Of My Miasmas
San Diego, despite its reputation for having little change in weather patterns, is a place of diversity. A 45-minute drive from here and one can be in mountains of snow. Truly. Julian, a quaint little town known chiefly for it’s apples and apple pies, has snow.We have the Cuyamaca Mountains in San Diego County, which are connected to the San Jacinto Mountains, which are connected to the Laguna Mountains, which are connected to the San Bernardino Mountains, that are connected to the San Gabriel Mountains, connected to the … I’m forgetting here … it all connects in some way to the great mountain ranges of the West Coast.
You see, this being California, we can’t have just one mountain range, like say the Rockies, which are shared by several states. Naah. We have a number of ranges and who the Hell can keep them all straight? Geologists, one might suspect and they could probably tell you where each one begins and ends and every significant feature of each and every mountain range. Did you know: the San Andreas Fault, most commonly recognized for its earthquakes in Northern California, divides the San Gabriel Mountains from the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. That’s a pretty long fault line.
Anyway, all of those mountain ranges, all of which are less than a four-hour drive away from here, are covered in snow. People from San Diego coastal areas, where we have sunny days like we are having now (between rain storms) perfect for going to the beach, go to the snow resorts in these various Southern California ranges for skiing and snowboarding.
Olympic and X-Game snowboarding champion Shaun White is from Carlsbad, a suburb of San Diego. He obviously spends a lot of winter somewhere in the snow. He’s also a pretty good skateboarder, but after getting badly hurt as a young lad his parents put him on a snowboard, thinking that would be a slower, safer sport. Parents! You gotta love their optimism! I saw all that on 60 Minutes the other night.Read this on Wikipedia so you know it’s true: you can go surfing in the morning and snowboarding in the afternoon during winter, if you live in Southern California! Hell yeah! People here do that. Put their surfboards and snow boards on top of the Toyota Priuses and zlip! Off they go from South Carlsbad Beach to Big Bear Mountain resort!
Well, maybe they’ve brought their Prius — or other Toyota vehicle — back to the dealer due to the massive recall, which, in toto, may cost the world’s largest automaker 3-4 billion dollars or more when all the recalls are done. Toyota is a big brand in California. Ask 10 people in San Diego, “What brand of car should I buy?” and most likely nine of them will say “Toyota.” It’s been the most reliable brand of automobile for 25-plus years and it all started in America right here in San Diego County! Rose Toyota is America’s first Toyota dealership! Or so they say.
So would it be wise to drive a small vehicle like a Prius into snowy ranges like the San Bernardino Mountains, even if it didn’t have a problem with its brake pedals? Back in the day I drove that Mazda RX-7 up I-15 over the Cajon Pass on my way to Las Vegas. It scared me, as much as spinning out on Hwy 76.Can’t imagine driving such a small vehicle up to a snow resort. You need chains on the tires and maybe that wouldn’t even be enough to keep it from going off the road and over a cliff. My brother Carl and I took my 1994 Lincoln Mark-XIII to the Denver area twice, once for Thanksgiving and again for my sister Lainey’s wedding. Getting over the Vail Pass on I-70 just a few hours west of Denver in late November scared the crap out of us. And there was snow on the ground when we made the trip in August. A lot of snow.
Wouldn’t do that again, at least not during the winter.Now, I don’t and won’t go find snow. Growing up in Wisconsin cured me of any affection for the stuff. Possibly, if there were a girlfriend and I were truly, truly in love and she loved the cold and snow … err … I’d wave as she drove away for the weekend. Besides, having the girlfriend — or wife — away for the weekend means we can spend a night or two at Cheetah’s or Pure Platinum! I prefer Cheetah’s; it’s all-nude.
I have friends with wives who think I’m a bad influence. Let’s be honest, I enjoy that noteriety!
Occasionally, I have to scroll back to the top of this screed just to remember what in the Hell this is about. I’ve forgotten. Whatever the original intent, it’s been lost in a miasma of snow, geography, auto recalls and now, if it continues, nude women.
Were it possible, I’d write a lot about nude women, but to be honest, I get too distracted looking at nude women. Don’t think I could write more than a few words.
This was intended to have a connection to the awesome weather of San Diego and Southern California in general. The Great Lakes and Mid Atlantic areas are getting buried in snow as they have all winter long with the rest of the Snow Belt. When I watch the Weather Channel, as I often do before going to work, I can’t help but smile! And then get worried about family members who live in those areas. We are getting older and things like cleaning snow off the sidewalks, even if you use a snowblower, can be deadly.
Not to mention having your vehicle slide off the road or into another vehicle, falling and breaking a limb — sheesh, the list could go on. Wish my brother Rick would move to SoCal. We could share a place somewhere in the Los Angeles area.
If a guy is going to think and act like a teenager for the rest of his life, this is the place to do it. The other day I was riding the Trusty Trek down Mira Mesa Blvd and saw a guy, a little younger than me, driving a nice Toyota. Maybe he didn’t get the e-mail about the recall. Anyway, the thought ran through my mind, I should grow up, get a real job and start driving a car.
Then I saw the line of 50 cars (or more) in each of the East-West lanes waiting for the light to change and dispensed that thought but quickly. Eh, pedaling up Erma Rd every morning has its drawbacks and quite frankly, it’s getting old. But the idea of monthly automobile expenses?One of these days and maybe sooner than later. Being “green” is nice, and the daily exercise is great. My body was letting me know it has been too long without the daily workout, but after a while, reality sets in. Once in a while, having a car instead of relying on a bicycle and public transit makes more sense. Especially when sharing a bus with a bunch of people who are as wet and smelly as me, after pedaling to the bus stop in the rain.
The question is, do I get something “economical” like a small car that has obvious problems in bad weather, or get a big vehicle, like that Lincoln Mark-XIII? Which, by-the-bye, got 32 miles to the gallon on the highway.
Don’t know, but I’m fairly certain my next car won’t be a Toyota.
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