Back From a Foreign Land

I'm in the middle of a 3-day business trip, and am currently ensconced in my plush San Diego hotel suite (don't believe it - it's a motel). Yesterday and this morning I spent most of my time in El Centro and Brawley, which for those of you outside of California, are about 100 miles east of San Diego in Imperial Valley. The area out there is growing rapidly, but every visit seems like a trip to a foreign country.

Both the TV and radio are full of Spanish language programming, most employees in the service industry are Mexican (though that's true of much of California), and at the grocery store I stopped at last night there was a big sign at the entrance that said "Acceptamos Pesos!" I should have asked for my change in pesos.

In the nine years or so that I've been going out there, the area between El Centro and Imperial has completely grown in with brand a brand new Costco, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart...you name it. What used to be empty desert is blooming with commerce and new housing. Why anyone would want to live out there is beyond me. Summer lasts about six months with temperatures frequently over 100 and warm, humid mornings (thanks to all the irrigation in the neighboring farm fields). I think the warmest I ever saw out there was 113, and on another trip in February I nearly froze to death. It's a tough climate.

San Diego is a lot more my style, but there's no place like home.