I’ve never been to a place in the world like California. Granted, it’s my home state, it’s where I grew up. But of all the countries and places I’ve visited, few can compare to the Golden State. How many other places are there where you can be in the center of a major city and still be less than an hour away from beach, desert, forest, snow and mountain? In the Santa Monica Mountains, twenty minutes away from downtown LA, it’s so dark you can see the light from shooting stars on the ground...and still hear the roar of the waves. You can drive along the ribbon of coastline and be two feet removed from a 300-foot plunge into the foamy Pacific. Seriously...not a place like it.