As Russ and I make our way through movie history, we have come as far as 1941, and so we recently watched the first of the Bing and Bob “Road” pictures, Road to Singapore. After this, we went to the internet to look up info on Bing and Bob and discovered that Bob Hope’s “UFO” house in Palm Springs is currently on the market for $25 million. 
It’s unique enough that I felt we might very likely see a splendid aerial view of this strange piece of real estate when we next took to the skies to see the great state of California.
So imagine my surprise when we finished our next Aerial America episode, and not only did we not see the Hope mansion, but we didn’t see even one single thing in all of Southern California! Nothing in Palm Springs, Los Angeles, or San Diego. The show starts off with a lengthy look at the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, and travels north up US1, essentially ignoring the entire bottom third of the state.
Now I ask you: how is that fair? How is that representative?
Russ remembered that there is another Aerial America episode called “Beyond Hollywood,” and it was my hope that the producers would have decided there was SO MUCH to see in California, that they devoted two entire episodes to the state. But in fact, 
a little research revealed that “Beyond Hollywood” is not about California at all, but about American locations that have been used in Hollywood movies.
While this sounds intriguing, and I’m certainly looking forward to this special episode of Aerial America, I’m still disappointed that we have not been offered a good look at Southern California. I was looking forward to not only the Hope “UFO” mansion, but so many great movie star homes. And San Diego has always struck me as a magical beach community. So why were we deprived?
I don’t have the answer as to why, but I did find this on the internet, reportedly from The Smithsonian Channel:
If you live in California and you saw our show Aerial America: California…you were probably not so pleased. We’ve heard a ton of complaints about the fact that we only covered a narrow portion of Northern California in the show. We know, we messed it up. But we want to fix it! We’re heading back to California to dedicate another hour to your state, and this time we want to get it right.
Well…at least that! And we’ll look forward to seeing more of California in the future. But for the time being, here’s what we did see and learn.
BIGGER THAN LIFE
I briefly mentioned the Hearst Castle, and yes, it’s fabulous. George Bernard Shaw said, “It’s what God would have built if he had the money.” Somewhat of an irreverent comment, but you get the point. The cinema classic Citizen Kane is based on the life of William Randolph Hearst….and do you know what year that movie came out? 1941. So Russ and I will be taking a look at Citizen Kane again before too very long. The first time I saw it, in college, I thought it was a masterpiece. The next time I saw it, as a young mom, I was pretty much bored to tears. I’m anxious to find out how I’ll feel about it this time.
But anyway, one thing I clearly remember from the movie is this ridiculously enormous fireplace that looked like it could swallow you up. Seeing the Hearst mansion from the sky was more of the same. A study in excesses. And it appears that if you are interested, you can now study those excesses in detail because the castle is now a museum, open to the public daily at 9am (ticket prices starting at $25.)
EXTREME CALIFORNIA
But the Hearst Mansion is just the beginning of a study in excesses. It seems so much of California is all about excesses, and extremes. Examples:
- The redwoods in Muir Woods are the tallest trees in the world.
- San Francisco hosts the crookedest street in the world.
- Also in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge is the world’s Number One place for suicides.
- A few miles away, in beautiful Pebble Beach, you can play golf on the nation’s Number One public golf course—if you’re willing to shell out $500 for a round of golf, and book it at least one full year in advance.
Whoa! I’d say that’s just a bit extreme, wouldn’t you? And how about this? It isn’t extreme, but it is impressive: nearly one half of all the different species of birds that can be spotted in North America have been spotted at Point Reyes! A Birdwatcher’s Paradise right in the middle of one of the most naturally and fantastically beautiful coastlines you could possibly imagine.
FRUITS AND VEGGIES
It was actually kind of a shock to hear that the Salinas Valley, also called “The Salad Bowl of America,” produces 80% of all the lettuce in the United States. At first I was shocked to hear that it was as much as 80%, but after learning of all the other California extremes, I started to wonder why it was only 80%.
It was also surprising to hear that agriculture is California’s biggest industry. Of course that makes complete sense, because the climate is so temperate and the land so fertile, but somehow I would have thought that with Hollywood and all these other tourist attractions, surely Tourism would be the most profitable. But then again, think of all the California wines. Acres and acres of beautiful vineyards. And don’t forget that Marilyn Monroe was once crowned the Artichoke Queen, way back in 1947.
NAME DROPPING
Yes, Marilyn Monroe was mentioned in this episode of Aerial America. So were a bunch of other people. Knowing we were going to California, and anticipating a flyover of multiple movie star estates, I kept a Name Dropping Tally while watching the show. Even without a visit to Hollywood, I counted 27 names dropped! A publisher, an inventor, several writers, even some prisoners (Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly served time in Alcatraz), but a good portion of those names were movie stars. Think of it! Nearly 30 names dropped in this one episode, and we didn’t even visit Hollywood. How many might it have been if that little plane had actually made it to Tinsel Town?
DANGER
My main impression of California is that it’s extremely beautiful, probably the most beautiful state of all, and the most beautiful place I’ll ever actually see. Many years ago I traveled to California and the trip out there, up the California coastline, is forever etched in my mind. But what is also etched in my mind is that with great beauty comes great danger. And this show did not ignore those dangers. References to volcanic rock, tectonic plates and “terrifying descents” frequently popped up. The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was discussed at length, with the admission that among Californians, it’s not a question of “if,” but “when” The Big One will hit.
For those reasons, California strikes me as a “nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.” No, wait. Let me rephrase that: Since it’s not a question of “if,” but “when,” California is, for me, a nice place to visit…from the safety of my living room couch. I lived there once, for about three months, in San Francisco, and felt several small earthquakes. Earthquakes are not something I’m willing to put up with. And so I came back home to the safety of Florida hurricanes. And now I live with the constant threat of Alabama tornadoes. But I’ll take hurricanes or tornadoes any day over an earthquake.
In fact, I still frequently have dreams about being in California and either getting caught in an earthquake, or just being afraid that one might start at any moment. So it’s unlikely that I would ever choose to actually visit California. But if I did, I would love to see:
THE HEARST CASTLE
THE REDWOODS
ANY CALIFORNIA WINERY
But since I’m not likely to ever willingly visit California, I guess I’ll just have to be content to water my houseplants, then have a glass of wine when we sit down to watch the 1941 classic, Citizen Kane.
CALIFORNIA THE BEAUTIFUL:
