Breathing Deeply

I stepped off the plane Friday in Oakland and made my way outside to wait for the bus. As I walked into the morning air and sunshine I instinctively started to take some deep breaths. The air is different everywhere in the world and there is no air I love more than I find in the Golden State. Northern is a hands down no contest better to Southern but even there as you approach the beach it feels of home. As I started to breathe, I noticed I felt lighter. As if someone had taken a weight off my shoulders and it was easier to just be. I could tell I had come home. Perhaps there is confounding data because going home does mean that I am on vacation... But there is a physical sensation of ease from the very air I breath here. Winding through the back roads to get home, I had the window down and was soaking in my California rays. I marveled to myself (as I do every time) how good the air smells in Santa Rosa. Eucalyptus! I exclaimed, that is one of the smells of home. I had never realized it. Mom just laughed at me and said I was fun.
On my run today, (the only productive thing I did all day. Which for the record, is exactly what I had planned. For these 5 days I've planned to be doing as little as possible.) I returned yet again to the air around me. What makes it sooo good? Grass, oak trees, maple trees, lots of trees, flowers abundant, and a touch of ocean even 30 miles away. Regardless, if you haven't tried Sonoma County air I highly recommend it. Andrea will vouch for me on that. She spent years listening to me rave about home. It wasn't until she came and experienced it for herself that she believed. Now, she raves about this little slice of heaven and needs a yearly fix of her own.