Finally, California

I had never set foot in California. So when a summit sent me to Las Vegas, I flew into Los Angeles the weekend before to finally see it for myself.

I spent my first day downtown, under a soft gray sky that made the colors pop. I started at Union Station and Olvera Street, where bougainvillea spilled over the plaza and the city’s oldest roots still show. From there I walked to City Hall’s white tower, the old marquees along Broadway, and the bright red and yellow of Pershing Square, with glass towers rising behind palm trees. Along the way, someone had stamped a small message into the sidewalk that simply said, You Are Beautiful.

I expected Los Angeles to be all glamour. Instead, I found a city with more history and heart on its streets than I ever imagined, and it was the perfect start to my first look at the West Coast.