They have mountains here too?

When I was learning how to drive, I remember my dad freaking me out and asking me what direction were we headed in. Mind you, this was on a busy street, in the midst of crazy traffic, with my mom and brother in the back seat. And suddenly, he wanted to know if we were going north or south? How was I to know? I was trying to get in another lane and I couldn't see where the mountains were.

Yes, that is how I learned to tell my cardinal directions. It is  well known fact (at least for me) that in Colorado, you can tell you are going west because the mountains are ALWAYS to the west.

So moving to California I was nervous. Doug is scared of my driving enough as it is, but throw this Colorado kid loose on the streets of California, not knowing where west is anymore and there was bound to be trouble. So flying out here for the first time into the Ontario airport, I was shocked. There in front of me, as the plane touched down were...MOUNTAINS! My savior for my directionally challenged soul, had also made the move with me!

Ok, so I will admit, I guess as a sheltered kid in Colorado, I had NO clue that Southern California had mountains. But there they were, outside the plane window. Oh joy, I might be able to find my way around AFTER all, I mean with mountains to remind me where west was, I couldn't loose right?

Well duh, mountains in CA don't mean west, they actually mean you are heading north. But oddly, seeing mountains when it is a clear day, provides a comfort to me. How did I NOT notice these on previous trips out here? Was the allure of LA, Disneyland, Universal Studios overshadowing the obvious San Gabriel Mountain ranges all around? Even my dad, whose busy travel schedule brought him out here this week said the same thing when we met for lunch on Sunday, "you have mountains here? Look at how close they are?"

Guess as someone who values and appreciates those mountains in the distance off of I-25, even if I am not always up there playing in them, I assumed nothing else could compare to the Rockies. While the San Gabriels are not as massive, they are a comforting, familiar reminder of home, and they are magnificent to see..as I drive next to them, going west.