Thinking of moving to or away from the beach? In California, some consider a move away like a death in the family. Those afternoon ocean breezes, the long drives along California’s coast highway 1, and the strolls at sunset with that huge orange globe dropping into the Pacific all become part of your life–and sometimes your first love (or only) love.
Yet when you “leave” the beach to visit other destinations in California, you discover people are truly happy. They share the joys of life after the beach and how the beach wasn’t necessarily the end point in a life of learning.
Take for instance, a wine-maker, Robert Renzoni, in Temecula. Hoping to establish himself as the only true Italian wine producer in the Southern California wine region, he left Manhattan Beach for the wine country, and now is building his dream winery soon to be launched in this land of 30 wineries, a casino, over 15 hotels, and golfing galore. The newest golf course, Journey, at Pechanga Casino Resort is billed as on of the top five golf courses in the U.S.
Locals say that they don’t miss the beach. Why? “At 3 p.m. every afternoon like clockwork we get the ocean breezes of San Diego County moving through the mountain pass, cooling our wine grapes and providing us with refreshing, cool air on hot summer days,” said Carolyn Fittipaldi, marketing manager at Temuca’s visitors bureau.
Is there life after “beach”? You bet! I’m on a wine vacation and discovering that the good life exists in so many inland spots, located even 30 minutes from the Pacific. If you think you’ve found paradise, keep searching. It is just around the bend in the road that winds through California.