Glass beach in Fort Bragg was once a garbage dump, but after many years, the bottles and ceramics have been broken down into smooth pieces of glass covering this now famous cove. The Northern California coastline in November is spectacular with sun shining on the big waves, and redwood trees soaking up the first rains of the El Niño. It is definitely worth the four-hour drive from San Francisco to get away from the crowds of Thanksgiving, and see some beautiful nature. Russian Gulch state park has the rugged coastline views and the Fern Canyon trail leads to a small struggling waterfall. Banana slugs and winter wrens add some color and sound to the misty landscape of ancient trees and ferns.   Many people spend Thanksgiving preparing big meals, watching sports and shopping. I guess as a vegan not-entirely-American, I prefer to spend the precious vacation exploring some new places. Although I have been here several times, there are always new parks, views, birds and small towns to see. I imagine what it was like before the lumberjacks arrived, when the redwood forests were vast and the land untouched. Now Mendocino has art galleries, organic cafes and a nice bookstore among the old 19^th century houses and water towers. This is a place to go slow and retire, at least for a few days.

I have now been in the USA for a few months with no need to use a passport. Here in San Francisco, I have been noticing the fast pace of people’s speech, and many common dialogues. The themes revolve around exactly what I have observed; that our lives are full, things are expensive, and people want more time. I firmly believe that it is important to sometimes take a “mental health day”, to slow down and escape. My students and colleagues are longing for the Thanksgiving holiday, but that typically involves more driving, shopping and a lot of work. But it is also a great time to get wonderful food: kiwis, persimmons and squashes are all bountiful, and there are plenty of vegan recipes to explore.

I avoid the news. Is it irresponsible these days to not be a follower of the many news outlets? The newspapers, television, internet, Facebook, blogs, Huffington Post, CNN, Al Jazeera, KPFA radio, Dagens Nyheter, Delfi… It can be overwhelming, and at this point, my understanding is that all these sound bytes stimulate the brain with short-term bursts of serotonin, which is why people want more. But then these companies profit from our non-addictive addictions. Our nanomolar brain chemicals are steering the course of the planet. The world is large and at the same time very small, but only a very small portion of the important events make it into the news. Who is to judge what is important? Would this all have been important 50 years ago, when we didn’t have immediate access to information? On the other hand, to be an aware citizen, and to interact with people in the community, we often need common experiences for human conversations. By avoiding the news, am I drifting into isolation? By writing this blog am I contributing to someone’s internet addiction?

The nature of California is calling me; the redwood trees and the powerful waves of the autumn ocean. The evenings are longer and the temperatures are lower. I often think of the indigenous peoples of California, and how they must have had tremendously developed ways to describe nature. Who knows, they may have had 20 different words describing different aspects of redwood trees. Imagine when redwood trees were the tallest things on the planet. Now we have skyscrapers; both are awe-inspiring. I will go out and do some exploring and take some California nature time this Thanksgiving.