Californ-i-a
I've only ever been to California once in my life. I wish it was something exciting, but it was more of a whirlwind visit that I am not sure I can actually even count. It was also back before phones became cameras (whether that is good or bad), so I don't even have any photos to prove that I was actually there.
I was working for a small-ish IT consulting firm that just happened to have a contract with one of the largest chemical manufacturers in the country. I'm guessing proximity was a factor or someone knowing someone in the right position that they were able to get the contract. The IT company is actually still around, but they have been bought and sold a couple times and go by a different name now.
The chemical company has also gone through some mergers, but for the most part, it stays largely intact as part of the Dow Chemical/Dow Corning/Dupont trifecta.
I was fresh out of college and looking to get some experience from this job so I could eventually move on to something bigger. It was right during a time when Dow as purchasing some smaller companies like one called Cargill (agriculture) and another called Celotex (building supplies/insulation). Once Dow would buy the company, they would send us to all of their locations to move their workstations over to the Dow network. It was actually a pretty cool job and it allowed me to have my first real taste of flying and the corporate lifestyle.
So my boss at the time and I hopped on a flight to either Oakland or San Francisco. Whatever the main airport is out there. We headed to the Fisherman's Wharf(?) to walk along the boardwalk and we stopped into a nice little place for lunch/dinner. I remember I got to see Alcatraz from off in the distance, but that is about it. Then we got back in the car and headed inland to Tracy, California where our hotel and the work site was.
We spent a couple of days getting them all set up, then we were supposed to spend another day back in San Francisco just for fun. However, my boss was in the middle of selling his house and he didn't want his wife dealing with it all alone, so we cut the trip short and came back a day early. I was pretty bummed.
As you might recall. I am in the middle of a #threetunetuesday series sponsored by @ablaze that is going through each state in the United States of America in alphabetical order. Each week I am focusing on three songs that have either the name of the state in the title or the lyrics. Towns or cities don't count. It has to be the name of the state.
Needless to say, California is probably one of the easiest ones there is. I did a quick Google search and discovered that when it comes to songs simply named "California", there are at least 50 of them. Then when you add in other words, the list gets even longer.
After taking a quick look last night, I decided I wasn't going to put too much thought into this. I decided I wanted to just go with whatever mood I was in this morning.
Needless to say, Led Zeppelin is always a mood that I enjoy being in, so "Going To California" absolutely had to make the list!
Now, I realize I could have taken the easy route and just thrown three songs by the Beach Boys or the Mamas and the Papas in here and called it good, but I kind of wanted to stay away from the obvious choices. Though Led Zeppelin would probably fit that bill. So, no Beach Boys, no Red Hot Chili Peppers, no Snoop Dogg or Tupac. Also, no Eagles.
Instead, I am giving you "Queen of California" from John Mayer. I've really started to like John Mayer thanks to his radio station on Sirius/XM channel 14. It's been really fantastic to listen to and get into his head. The way he thinks is pretty amazing and though some might find him pretentious, he is a musical genius. There is no doubt about that.
Finally, I am going to leave you with a song that I absolutely know I have shared before. I know this because it is one of my most favorite Steely Dan songs. "My Old School" has a pretty obscure reference to California and it doesn't come until close to the end of the song, but it is definitely there.
"California crumbles into the sea".
See, I told you it was there. I've heard that Steely Dan gets a lot of flack. In fact, one of my favorite artists (Jason Isbell) isn't really a fan of the band. At least his wife isn't, I'm guessing by default he isn't either. Despite that, they had some amazing songs with a great groove, fantastic production and clever lyrics. There is a reason that Aja is considered one of the top ten albums of all time by many audiophiles.
So there you go, this trip to the west coast is complete. I guarantee I left out your favorite California track, so I challenge you to do your own #threetunetuesday post and share with us your three favorite songs that have California in the title or lyrics. Be sure to tag me and @ablaze!
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I've been to California exactly 5 times but 4 out of the 5 were just changing planes at LAX. The other time was earlier this year for work. I flew into San Francisco and drove to Modesto. Unfortunately, other than Modesto and the drive to/from the airport I didn't get to see much.
Sounds about like my trip! I hope you find your way back there at some point. My wife and I are hoping to travel out that way together one day.
I have finished high school in Southern California, just north of LA. And have been to LA a couple times on business like four times to San Francisco and like five times to San Diego. My favorite places in California are Santa Barbara and San Diego.
The wife and I hope to get there one day, but we have a lot of places to explore yet between here and there!
San Diego is beautiful! Camping at Fort Pendleton is a great experience too if you have military ties, it's gorgeous north of San Diego along the coastline! Santa Barbara and Carmel are beautiful too although it's been years since I've visited! I don't usually leave Orange County much anymore, just too much traffic and gas prices so high that I try to budget my usage!
I went to Camarillo high school, you probably know that town north of Los Angeles in the Ventura county...
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Glad you had a chance to hit Fisherman's Warf, did you get a chance to try a fresh crab sandwich while you were there. Those are good! Hopefully you and the better half will have a chance to make it out here again at some point.
I liked the selections on the music today, not the typical expectations for California songs. You can't go wrong with Led Zeppelin and Steely Dan! John Mayer was an interesting choice, I've never been a big fan of his. But he did a good job that song! It's tough to narrow down all of the options for California, well done!
I did not have a crab sandwich. I can't even remember what I ate on that trip. I am guessing the restaurant probably isn't even open anymore. I think it was an Italian joint. I likely had pasta or something. This one was quite hard deciding on just three. I almost like it better when there aren't so many options!
Californ eye ehh
I've never been to Cali and these days it's not likely to happen anytime soon which is a shame because it's a truly beautiful place. Getting to travel to it for work is cool, just to say you've been.
All songs I've never heard before, so that's awesome dude! Gotta love some Zeppelin. I like Steely Dan but don't know many of his songs but adding another here to the list!
I think if we ever head out that way we are going to try to visit Northern California. That appeals to us more than the big cities.
Yeah man, same here! I have no interest in going to LA lol. I want to see the redwoods!
I went to LA en route to Hawaii decades ago and to say I was disappointed was an understatement lol! They had banned smoking in hotels, and I was in shock! I don't remember any of these, thought I would have the Led Zep one.
I was at a hotel the other day and they still had smoking rooms. I didn't know that was still even a thing!
I have a love / hate relationship with California. My favorite place in the world is Lake Tahoe but I usually post up on the Nevada side.
I've heard of it, but never been there.
That kind of trip almost doesn’t count as California, yet in a weird way it absolutely does. In-and-out work travel before smartphones really was its own era. You experienced the state through airports, highways, hotels, and a narrow window of tourist reality before being pulled back into responsibility. Seeing Alcatraz from a distance, walking Fisherman’s Wharf, grabbing one solid meal, then heading inland to Tracy feels exactly like how early-career corporate travel went. You were technically there, but not long enough to absorb it. No photos just makes it feel even more dreamlike now, like something you remember clearly but cannot quite prove.
The Dow consulting work is actually a great backdrop for this story. Fresh out of college, suddenly flying cross-country, touching massive corporate networks, and watching how mergers swallowed entire companies overnight. That kind of exposure shapes how you see work and scale forever. Those trips gave you confidence and perspective, even if they cut into the fun parts. Cutting San Francisco short stings even more because you almost had the perfect balance of work and exploration. One extra day could have turned the trip from a blur into a memory with weight, and you can still feel that disappointment years later.
California fitting Three Tune Tuesday so easily almost feels ironic given how fleeting your actual experience there was. The state dominates music in a way few others do, and narrowing it down to three songs is borderline impossible. Going with mood instead of overthinking it is the right call, especially for a place that has been mythologized this heavily. And starting with “Going To California” is basically unavoidable. Zeppelin captures that restless pull the state has, the promise of something just out of reach. It fits the story perfectly, because your California experience was exactly that. Close enough to feel it, but never quite long enough to stay.
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