North of San Diego there are cliffs that abutt the sea. There is a hang-gliding facility at which you can jump off the cliffs and drift down to the beach or sea (if you aren't careful) 300 ft. below.
The day we were there was overcast so the colors of the gray sea and sky and sand colored cliffs against the brightly colored rigs were beautiful to watch. But, the most interesting thing there in my opinion was the lookout area. Long ago a "fence" had been erected with posts pushed dredged in cement and chain linking them together.
Years of rain and ocean mist had scoured the cliff and the posts leaving deep gouges where dirt once was. A few of the posts had come out of the cliff and were just hanging there ready to fall to the sea at any time. An old street sign, covered in bumper stickers, read "Unstable Cliffs, Stay Back". The sign was leaning back at a 60 degree angle to the cliff, truly proving its point. I'd be surprised if its still there today.
A few hundred feet down the way I could see surfers decending down the cliffs, seemingly unaware of the perils the sign told of.
This to me is California. The people do things that might seem harmful (traverse hazardous terrain or jump off cliffs) just to feel alive. And, no matter how much civilization tries to build her up, nature in California will always bring her back, just as nature was reclaiming that cliff from development.
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