Heads Carolina, tails California
19 July 2007
Just about a year ago I moved from Southern California, where I have lived most of my life, to North Carolina. North Carolina and California both have advertised to draw tourist that their state have both the sea and the coast to visit. That is one of the few things these two states that hold special places in my heart have in common. I’m here however to offer you different things I have experienced between these two great states.
The summers are what get to me most about the south. This is probably the biggest difference that I can not seem to get myself to accept. Everyone out here reminds me when I complain of the heat that its hot in California all the time. 72 degrees and sunny is much different there than it is here. In California this thing called humidity rarely visits us since after all California, even on the coast is essentially a desert. I’m used to dry heat, as awful as it sounds we just put a little more lotion on our skins in the summer. Here in North Carolina I have to change clothes four times a day becasue how often I sweat. My body many never convert to a Carolina summer, but I do love a good summer storm.
Now that I have experienced fall in North Carolina for myself, there are few things in the world Id trade it for. Some people really like the beautiful weather in California year round. I got a little bored with it to be honest, especially after watching the leaves change to amazing colors that palm trees couldn’t do even if they tired. Fall here isn’t too cold, like winter but I do like winter with little snows days that are just so magical. Well maybe I’m still in the lovely-dovey-you-can-do-nothing-wrong stage with winter. My favorite season in North Carolina is fall becasue its perfect weather for me to put on a comfy sweater, cute pair of jeans and some doc martins and take a walk down the street as the leaves fall around me.
Food is another big difference but not as hard to get used to as summer. Sure I miss my In N Out burger but Carolina does have BBQ. I know, they are totally different, if not maybe in completely different categorizes. Its hard to explain Carolina BBQ to people who haven’t experienced it. Oh that’s another difference between west coast and east coast, out there BBQ is an experience where as here, BBQ is a type of food. I know, I don’t get it ether. Mexican food is something else I really miss food wise. I have given up on trying to find Mexican food here like there is in San Diego. Maybe it was becasue we were so close to the boarder that we had really good Mexican food and I got spoiled. So when I moved out here I became a Mexican food snob. But really southerners, what gives with you asking for no guacamole? Only reason I can excuse that move with is you never had a really good avocado, but even then, guacamole is not of the devil. But you guys do make really good sweet tea.
Speaking of drinks, there is as I already have mentioned, sweet tea. You have to be a real stranger to the south to not know of the sweet tea greatness. Something special to the Carolinas is a soda (or is it coke out here?) called Cheerwine. There is no wine in it, sorry to be the one to tell you that. I also was a bit disappointed to hear a drink called Cheerwine had no actual wine in it and I’m not even a wine person. Its got a sweet cherry bubbly taste you can not find anywhere else but here.
Of course there are many more things different between North Carolina and California, but for now I offer you food and weather. There will be more in their series, stayed tuned for more pros and cons from my two favorite states.
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