Sunday, March 22, 2009

The Bay Area


I am reminded every time I come back to the Bay Area just how big the Bay Area really is. I can only imagine how its geographic giantity would stump those who've never been here. For example, yesterday I drove from Sunnyvale to Sonoma and back, covering over 200 miles in 1 day and neither of those destinations are considered the "tip" or the "edge" of the Bay Area. Having lived in Oregon for the last 3 years, I now consider a drive from Portland to Salem (45 min.) to be "far," and from Portland to Eugene (approx. 2 hours) to be a bona fide road trip.

In addition to its titanic territory, I am also reminded of how many people live here. Adding 1 hour to google map's estimates results in a more accurate travel time on account of the traffic. There are people everywhere - no matter what day it is or what time it is or which direction you're going- you will always get stuck in certain trouble spots. And of course, there are great reasons for living here as well, which explains the plentiful population - it's hard to beat world culture at your fingertips with nearly perfect weather all year round.