September 28 hills

Walking , always walking , clicking the miles away .You stay coastal , the ocean is mesmerising,the smell so familiar I can’t taste its waft anymore .I keep looking inland , up the hill and into the mass of powerlines . Beige blocks by the thousands , occasionally broken up by a large palm tree . That’s where all the families are . Down here it’s not real ,it’s transients and the ultra wealthy , and of course the expats who land here and desperately hang on , despite the extraordinary rental prices . They want to live the holliday by the beach , walk the strand and soak up the Californian dream . That’s what you see on those tv adds and now your here you’re not gonna let it go . Ok it’s a bit grimier and the apartments and housing are a bit tired and squashed together , but you’ve come all this way not to just work and visit on the weekend . You’re here to drink corona from the balcony as you watch the sun sink beneath the tips of palm trees. Today I finally turned inland , headphones , cap and sunglasses , with the sun always following . Up and down I walked ,stretching more than a couple of miles inland . I was surprised , the places were better than I thought ,even the odd garden . Still it was jammed , but there were basketball rings , kids toys on porches , the sound of crickets buzzing away beneath the small front lawns . It was real up here . You can picture neighbourhood BBQs , kids playing out front , leaning on the fence with a beer in your hand while you talk about the NFL with the neighbours.Don’t be fooled as most of these properties would start above 1 million and more than likely fetch 2 million dollars. On the 2 nd crest that’s when I saw it , a view back to the San Bernadino ranges . Beautiful, ugly , entrancing . A masculine dry mountain range that surrounds La , the smog hovering over the mass and planes. Yes , planes , 7 I counted . They didn’t look real , so clear, like toys dangling from the bedroom ceiling .Not Cessnas , big fuckers carrying people in and out of the jungle.I took a photo but it didn’t show , you have to take my word . It’s like that scene from Mad Max 2 when they get to the edge of the range and see the bad dudes buzzing around in the dust on the valley floor.Ahhh , that’s the little secret , you’ve got a view back on LA but you’re here ,looking down ,with your back just a couple of miles from the ocean .Im changing my view ,at 1st sight you immediately reject the thought of living back here , you’re comparing it to home , you can’t . This is California , close to the best you’re gonna get , there’s millions who’d dream to live in this area . Imagine if they new that this was normal  ,achievable , somewhere that they could live and get a well paid job and not worry about finding an affordable doctor . ..,.,,,,   Australia… better keep it a secret .