After moving to the US way back in the early 80′s, I still didn’t get a chance to live the four seasons. Technically speaking, San Diego has 2-3 seasons. 2 or 3? you might ask. To me personally, Spring feels virtually the same as Fall in southern California. For those who don’t know, I had called San Diego home for over 2 decades. Isn’t it nice to have nice weather all year round? Yes, for the most part.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about the climate in San Diego. Look at the chart below, what’s not to like about the weather in San Diego? Nearly 6-7 out of 10 days the weather is nice. It may sound strange to you but I do like the changes in weather/climate. My wife was in Palm Springs this past Spring on a business trip. People were wandering around in shorts in January! As much as I am outdoorsy, the perfect weather does provide the best environment to soak up some rays. I was mistaken as an overseas laborer during one of my Taiwan visits. Street vendors in Taipei thought I was from the Southeast Asia, the Philippines or Indonesia. Yeah, my complexion was very dark.
Things get old when they are repetitive, the same goes with weather, at least for me. Sunny, temperatures in the high 70′s to low 80′s for the next 2 weeks – too predictable! Laugh if you wish, I never did come in contact with natural snow (snow cones don’t count!) until 1994 while on a trip up northern California. I visited a good friend in the Bay Area as well as Yosemite National Park – it was where I scooped up a handful of snow for the first time in my life. Spring felt different there, the air was very refreshing. The park was recovering from one of the most prolific wildfires in history. Thousands of acres were burned to ashes. Despite the charred remains, Nature had been healing itself, slowly.
Snow was melting on the mountain tops. With it, traces of new life began to emerge. Sprouting out from the ashes, were the seedlings that had fallen and were buried in the soil. I made several stops alone side the road. I remembered thinking to myself, "This is what Spring is like!" It was then I thought it would be really nice to visit the park during the Fall and Winter seasons. This thought would remain a dream for over 8 years.
In early 2002, the US job market was on a steady decline. My wife and I were faced with the decision to either relocate or lose our jobs. The offer on the table was – relocating to Indianapolis. For sure it was a big decision, but first, we had to find out where Indianapolis was on the US map! I had heard of the Indy 500 for years and had seen race cars going around in circles numerous times on TV, but where is the city located? we were totally clueless. We were given two opportunities to visit the city before making the decision. It just so happened that our first trip to Indy was in the Spring of ’02. The city had just thawed out from the Winter season. My first impression "Green was everywhere!" Not the $$$ green, but the plantation green.
Just about every major US cities I have flown in, there are skyscrapers everywhere. San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, Minneapolis, etc. Indy, however, has this luscious "green belt" around the city center and without many imposing, tall buildings. The Indianapolis Zoo and the White River State Park are minutes from the airport. Although the air was not quite as refreshing as in Yosemite National Park, it "felt" different than in San Diego. We visited the suburbs around Indy and were greeted by Spring, literally! The thought I had some 8 years ago had finally become a reality when we agreed to the relocation offer. Later in the year, I got to experience the transitions in climate, wow! Each season is distinctive and the scenery varies very differently. 7 years later, I still enjoy experiencing the four seasons like I did in our first year. Living in San Diego was nice, but Indy is where I belong!
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