california girl

Just a little comment about some silly things we noticed in Cali.
I have only been there once before, to San Diego, which I know is warmer and different, but Mark and I found that our expectations were very different from what Cali was truly like.
1. People were not as friendly as we expected. On my runs in the morning no other runners ever nodded or waved as they passed, (except one guy ironically wearing a red sox shirt). People did not seem inclined to help when we asked for recommendations from locals on where to eat, visit, etc. They seemed like they didn't care.
2. It was not a runner friendly city, and for a vegan there were hardly any specialized vegetarian or vegan joints to eat. I always found stuff where we would eat, but I was not impressed with their selection. I thought they would be more health oriented or a running city (very few runners were ever on the roads in the morning with me).
3. A lot of people seemed fake. Depending on the area you were in, the salespeople seemed to change their approach to sell there stuff. It was SO Touristy. In Little Italy it was obvious the hosts and waiters had fake Italian accents, which was quite tacky.
4. I guess overall Mark and I had heard that people from California are so much more laid back then East Coasters. Also there is the sterotype that East Coasters are cold and too work obsessed. That may be, but rather then hippy, free spirit like attitudes that were friendly and relaxed, the overall attitude felt like "I don't give a shit". Sure, us East Coasters might be workaholics, but at least we have passion about something.

So I know that was all generalizations, but those were my general opinions. Not as impressed as I thought I would have been, but I am still very glad we visited San Fran.