California [antikvár]

Destination California The moment you arrive in the Golden State, you may suspect you've been cast as the ingenue in a road-trip movie. Everything seems staged for a script riddled with exclamation points: no way are they going to surf those skyscraper-sized waves at Mavericks! That can't be the Terminator in the governor's mansion - in his second term\ Brrrrrrr don't all those naked people ever get cold?! The dialogue is all improvised, though you'll note some recurring themes. Recently the hot topic has been same-sex marriage, and the proposed constitutional amendment to ban it and annul the marriages legally performed in California since June 2008. Medical marijuana is old news for Californians, who approved a state proposition allowing its use back in 1996 - though the proliferation of marijuana clubs in urban areas and rumors of mafia intervention have raised even California eyebrows lately. Even if you've seen it on TV, California still comes as a shock to the system. The Venice Beach skateboarders, San Francisco same-sex-wedding planners, Santa Cruz wild-mushroom hunters. Rodeo Dr-pillaging trophy wives and cheerful San Diego doomsday cult members aren't on different channels. They live here. To strike up conversation with a local, skip the weather and start in on the food. If you say, "Nice weather we've been having,' you'll get a puzzled look: of course it's nice, it's California. But ask, 'So where's a good place for a taco around here?' and now you're talking. Mulling over menus means taking a stand on issues close to many California hearts: organics, veganism, grass-fed versus grain-fed, biodynamics, fair-trade coffee, and the importance of buying local food (the New Oxford American Dictionary-approved term 'locavore,' meaning people who eat food grown nearby, was invented here). Californians will listen with interest to your perspective, even if they do tend to proselytize about their own - but once you try the food, you'll understand the obsession. Unless you want to stir up old NorCal/SoCal rivalries dating from the 19th century - a diverting local pastime when played with good sports - don't get Californians started about water. NorCal scolds SoCal for watering its lavms and fiUing its pools with water piped in from the Sierras, while SoCal points out that NorCal shouldn't talk with its mouth fuU of organic veggies grown in the Sierras-irrigated Central Valley. You might not get a word in edgewise when it comes to technology or the environment - but listen up, because those wild California ideas might become the next big thing. California's technological innovations need no introduction: perhaps you've heard of PCs, iPods, Google and the internet? European and Japanese visitors may find it a bit rich to hear Americans holding forth on global warming and the need for emissions reductions, since the US is a holdout on international conventions on these issues. To be fair, Californians helped start the conservation movement in the midst of the 19th-century industrial revolution, with environmental action groups, laws curbing industrial dumping, swaths of prime real estate set aside as urban green space, and pristine wilderness preserved as national and state parks. While California's culture of conspicuous consumption (a la Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous) is exported via TV and movies, California's environmentalists have diligently chipped away at the glossy varnish Stateside. Since the 1960s, Californians have trailblazed with sustainable FAST FACTS Population: 36.5 million (the largest of any US state) Highest point: Mt Wliitney (14,497ft) Lowest point: Death Valley (-282ft) Area of national and state parks: 5.4 million acres Tallest waves ever surfed in California: 100ft, at Mavericks, 2003 Miles of shoreline with guaranteed public access: 1100 Number of nude and clothing-optional beaches: 50 Annual tax earned from medical marijuana sales: $100 million Proportion of US GDP contributed by California: 67% ($1.7 trillion)