27 July 2013

Answer: Lompoc, California


Question: Where am I from?

This is a query that depends on context, isn't it?  Lately, when someone asks where I'm from, I say, los estados unidos.  If I'm pressed for a state, I say California, even though I haven't lived there for over two decades.  It's easy.  Most people here in Panama have heard of California.  (Wisconsin: not so much.)

Sometimes, I'm asked, by someone who actually wants to know about my hometown: "Where in California?"  It's a big state, after all.

Lompoc: 34.6392° N, 120.4569° W
If you're a Pacific Coast sailor, I cut straight to the heart of it:  "My hometown is just inland from Point Conception."  Respect.

But for landlubbers, additional context is important.  Never lived in California?  Maybe you're really just asking: "Are you from Southern California (beaches and blondes and sunshine) or Northern California (San Francisco, fog, Golden Gate Bridge)?"  Then my answer will be: "Southern California."  Or if I want to be confounding and slightly more accurate, I might say, "Southern Central Coast."

You want more?  Perhaps you're from California, or you've spent some time there?  Still, I won't just blurt out, "Lompoc," as though you should know.  Usually, I circle around, asking, "Do you know where Santa Barbara is...?"  If your reply is sort of vague, I'll say, "A couple hours north of LA."

If I get the sense that you have walked down State Street and driven up Hwy 1, I follow up with "... and San Luis Obispo...?"  More head nodding...?  Okay, finally, I give it up: "I'm from a town called Lompoc, right between Santa Barbara and SLO."  If you've made it this far through the gauntlet, you might reward me with insightful comments that show some understanding of what Lompoc is all about.
"Oh yeah, where the prison is."
(Federal Correctional Institution - low security men's prison)

"I went to the Flower Festival once: it was [insert one here] cold/windy/rainy/foggy."
(Lompoc weather is NOT SoCal weather)

"Isn't there an Air Force Base around there?"
(Vandenberg, third largest AFB in the US)

One of the many flower fields of the Lompoc Valley (image from here)
Maybe you're wondering why I'm talking about my hometown.

Well.

Lompoc, California, is not only the answer to "Where am I from?"  It also answers the question: "Where am I going?"

Lompoc, of all places....  Team Behr is moving to Lompoc.  We are going there, maybe for a few months, maybe for a year or two, because we are part-owners of a piece of property that could use a bit of tender loving care.  We are the only owners who happen not to have anything better to do at the moment.

Our s/v more JOY everywhere is for sale, and although we just substantially reduced the price, we know that it might take awhile to find new owners.  So while we wait to see what happens next, we're going to go hang out in my hometown and take care of some family business.

We think it's going to be fun, believe it or not.

Think about the blogortunities.
I CAN go home again!

Everything you ever wanted to know about Lompoc, and more

Stop calling it Lom-pock; it's Lom-poke

My high school got painted a different color

Look: I'm wearing pants!

12 comments:

  1. But first you're coming to Australia, right?? And then I'll come visit you in lom-poke when I'm back in Cali!

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    1. I'm serious- we have GOT to get this boat sold first. But we still have time.... can't rush these things....

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  2. "Look I'm wearing pants" - ha! We're wearing shoes here in ATX. It's wild!

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    1. It's going to be SO weird. Clothes-shopping definitely near the top of our agenda, or I'll freeze to death.

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  3. I was born on Vandenberg AFB and now my aunt and her family live in Lompoc. They have a ranch near Jalama beach. I've gone to visit a lot in the last couple years and whenever I tell people where I'm going I say, "Near Santa Barbara."

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    1. Jalama - wow, it's been so long - this is going to be quite a trip down Memory Lane!

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  4. I wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed reading your blog. It was the first sailing blog I came across and I love how you blend honesty with comedy. We're getting ready to move onto our boat full-time in NZ and your blog has been an inspiration for me. I hope you guys keep blogging in some shape or form on land.

    Cheers - Ellen
    http://thecynicalsailor.blogspot.co.nz/

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    1. Ellen - thank you , and I LOVE your blog totally understand why you appreciate our sense of humor! Yes there's definitely room for one more sailing blog - especially always space enough for funny. And we will be just one more TRAVEL blog, soon.

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    2. Jane - sorry I meant to comment back and say thank you for your kind comment! I think the Cynical Sailor is what happens when really, really bad stand-up comedy collides with a sailing blog. Or maybe it is what happens when there is some "drinking at a provocative hour"? I love your posts on that topic.

      Cheers - Ellen

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  5. Look I'm wearing pants! Hilarious. Jane, I haven't met you (from CTS) but exactly two weeks ago I was swimming in a lake in Guatemala where all the people who live on boats in the Caribbean go to dock their boats during hurricane season. I was thinking of you both, not sure where your journey had you...

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    1. Lompoc, any minute now... I just tried on my jeans. They're smelling a bit... boaty... but they still fit, and I'm hopeful that the smell will wear off, the farther we get from the boat!

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  6. Good luck to you, Jane! Looking forward to reading more. :)

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