I exited Chenango’s county lines for nine whole days returning early Saturday morning, July 7 from California. I visited Carlsbad with Aidamarie and her four kids meeting her entire immediate family for the first time. Carlsbad, if you’re not up on the geography of Calif., is about half an hour north of San Diego.

After nearly a week and a half on the West Coast, I had some observations from my stay:

* It’s not nearly as warm out there as I thought it would be. In fact, during my time away, I was told that Norwich was embroiled in a rain-less heat wave, while Carlsbad enjoyed daily highs ranging from the high 60s to the low 70s. The average temperatures in SoCal (near the ocean) were perhaps my biggest misconception. Taking in the gentle breeze off the Pacific Ocean, Carlsbad’s temperature rarely climbs into the 80s. On the flip side, the temperature rarely dips below the low 60s at any point of the year. The weatherman’s job out there is a piece of cake.

Conversely, upstate New York may see a high temperature in the mid 90s one day, and a low temperature within 24 hours in the low 50s. We, as New Yorkers, have Jekyll and Hyde weather, while California’s is akin to “Groundhog Day” – the same every day.