I learnt from a book that “you should live at your house just like you are on a visit, because that is when you see everything as fresh and always appreciate where you are living”. And that can never be less true, especially when I got to get out of town.
On the way to Yosemite Nation Park, we passed by some small towns such Stockton and Groveland. Each of these towns has a different vibe.
Stockton is very dry and has either farm or empty land with grass everywhere. All we saw there was some random trees and plenty of cows. Sometimes, the smell of cow poops was so strong that we had to close out the car windows while fusing with the wind. The houses here are small and far away from each other. We were still curious about what people here do for a living other than farming, there seems to be not much going on.
Groveland is a cute little town that seems very hippie. We drove by a restaurant that has live music, which we could even hear even while being on the road. It felt cozy and everyone there knows each other quite well. Yet, we imagine it might be boring sometimes to just have only several options of shop and to have to go there every time.
Regardless, the scenery gave us a different perspective of how we should appreciate where we are from. There was a time I got bored of the Bay area. Now, we came back and love it even more. We love the opportunities for work and for meeting people from all walks of life, from different cultures, and bringing with them different interests and passions. We appreciate the options we have for shopping and for hanging out. We embrace the diversity and the dynamic that keeps moving us forward. We like how vibrant and exuberant it is. We crave for the green, the nature and the sense of living. None of those can be replaced, all of them are unique in the bay. And only when we get to see more, we appreciate more of how much we have got.
