[Uhhrrr]

For some weighting of variety and quality it probably does very well. But yeah, this is best read as a love letter, where some qualities of the beloved are overlooked.

Similarly, "if you wake up at dawn in Los Angeles, and you have good time management skills, you can go for a walk on the beach, then go skiing in the afternoon, then fall asleep in the high desert at night" is probably true, but you'd better like the interior of your car, because that's where you'll be spending every other part of that day.

[majormajor]

Where I grew up, we would make a big deal out of the one-time-a-year we did ANY of those three things on an annual vacation. So while doing them in one day seems impractical, being able to do them without it being a fairly big trip is something decidedly different than north Texas or similar swathes of the middle of the country. It's nice that the author still appreciates the access to nature.

[rootusrootus]

I'd rather try the same trick in Portland than LA, though we may not be able to satisfy the high desert requirement. Still require some driving, but it wouldn't be as brutal.

[s0rce]

I think you could do it in 5-6hr of driving starting in Portland (drive to coast, drive to Mt Hood, and then drive east somewhere, maybe Shaniko). Without traffic (hah) its probably about 2hr less driving in LA (LA->Santa Monica->Big Bear(if there is snow)->Lucerne Valley)