Montana de Oro Coastline, and How Growing Up in SLO County Ruined My Life
Having lived outside of California and San Luis Obispo county for the past 10 years, I have learned how to describe and explain where I grew up to people I meet. I used to start with "Atascadero" which worked when I spoke to people from California. Too many blank stares. Now I start with "San Luis Obispo county" and then most people answer, "Where is that?" Then comes the drawn out explanation about being halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the coast, and then some people say, "Like Fresno?" and I exclaim, "NOTHING LIKE FRESNO!" Sometimes they ask how far away from Santa Barbara, or Fresno, or Bakersfield, or San Jose. Turns out it is between 2-3 hours away from all of those places. When I graduated high school, I didn't just leave my small town, I left the state. I was so excited to move as far away as I could think of (to Utah) and begin life on my own. So why did growing up here ruin my life? Here's why: ...