When I was a kid we'd escape the Seattle winter gloom and rain and roll down Interstate 5 to California. Descending from the Shasta National Forest into California's Central Valley, I'd always put down the window and stick my hand gleefully into the warm, rushing air. "It feels like California, mom! It feels like California!" Not long ago but many years later, I found myself traveling that same stretch of highway. Windows down, a hot and dry wind tousled my hair as I reached my hand out into the sun. It sure felt like California alright, and I couldn't help but notice that this realization had left a very [...]