Southern California

I’m a midwestern guy and — like most of us — I’m committed to it. It takes commitment, many days (even months) of the year. But then there are those perfect moments of brilliant autumn, deep winter, shining spring and high summer that make all that commitment worth it. The passage of a year is tactile. And sweaters and big coats and dark liquors and warm fires all have a purpose beyond decoration.

But sitting here with my wife, at a small table in a hedge-screened courtyard of our hotel, I understand the attraction of a place where it’s 70 degrees with a light breeze, forever.