California on my mind

I do not miss LA. But I do miss things about LA, particularly as it gets colder here in Boston. There's the weather, of course. Nothing beats wearing flip flops in January while reading about the latest snowstorm to clobber the Northeast. Endless sunshine aside, here are some of the things about LA that continue to stick with me:

1. KCRW Sorry, Boston, but FNX doesn't stand a chance here. KCRW plays the best, most cutting edge indie music out there and my day is not the same with Morning Becomes Eclectic. Even if they do like to say "Polyphonic Spree" just a little too much. And so I listen online...

2. Bryan Kest Still the best yoga I've done anywhere, and that includes Sacred Movement, YogaWorks and all the other great yoga studios in LA. For some reason yoga in Boston really sucks. And it's not just my west coast bias. The other day I bumped into some people from New York while we were waiting in line for class at Back Bay Yoga, and everyone felt the same way. There's something about most of the studios here that lacks the intensity, focus and purpose of other cities. Baron Baptiste, take note: You may have launched a cult of personality but your instructors are robots. FYI--yoga practice is not a performance, so why does everyone have to clap at the end? And stop reading to me in shivasana!

3. The stairs. It's hard to explain why I miss pushing myself to the point of puking on a set of wooden stairs, but I do. The stairs were free, outside and a total scene. Even though it was the same up and down every time, it never got boring and my legs have never been in better shape. The only comparable thing I can find here is running stadiums at Harvard and it's just not the same. Plus, it's hard to run stairs once it starts to snow.

4. The hiking. It's close, it's steep and it's spectacular. Temescal, Topanga, Paseo Miramar, the Backbone Trail, the Mishe Mokwa, Malibu Creek--they were all so close and such great hikes. Never mind the horrible case of poison oak I picked up doing the Nicholas Flats trail. It still beats the crap out of driving for 3.5 hours to the White Mountains, which are lovely but lack the ocean view and have a tendency to accrue snow.

5. Poquito Mas. Actually, this one includes the entire burrito culture in LA. Somehow Baja Fresh has found its way to the east coast, but they have the weakest Mexican takeout of the bunch and they are still a magnet for the trendoids. My taste buds yearn for one of Poquito Mas' grilled chicken burritos or the fish tacos at La Salsa. Delicious grilled goodness and healthy to boot. I refuse to hate it even though Glenn introduced me to it.

6. Craftsman architecture. When I first got to LA, I thought it was all post modern pre-fab awfulness, but the Craftsman houses are amazing.