As the days grow short and the temperature drops, our thoughts turn to holidays, family, and nostalgia. For those of us in Southern California, the fall and winter months can be disappointingly seasonless, thanks to the year-round temperate climate for which our region is beloved. Folks who’ve lived in areas with dramatic seasons are likely to feel a sentimental longing for nippy air and frosty branches.
As Thanksgiving rolls around and “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” it’s hard to get in the spirit to “deck the halls” when, as Irving Berlin wrote in his rarely sung intro to “White Christmas,” “the sun is shining, the grass is green, the orange and palm trees sway.” Thankfully, California is as diverse in its geography as it is popular, and the mountains are rarely more than a few hours away by car.
