I meant to say “Kern”; not “San Kern”. (Didn’t backspace enough.)
THREE DAYS to go from North Carolina to NYC? Maybe if you have kids along and you have to stop every hour and a half to let them stretch their legs and go to the bathroom, but I can drive from Massachusetts to Texas in two days.
Rashak Mani: I must disagree with you about the US coffee being undrinkable, I thought it was terrific and I’m a confirmed black coffee addict
I’ve seen a coyote trotting down Yorba Linda Blvd at about 5am, past the grocery store shopping complex.
In Ventura, where my parents live, it’s not wise to let your cats and dogs go hunt in the hills behind their neighborhood. There’s a good chance they’ll just not come back some day.
Oh, and I was “flying like a bat” in a car. It’s a metaphor.
Actually, I believe it’s a simile.
I was landing a Cessna 172 at Fox Field in Lancaster (northern L.A. County) one day. I was had just estavlished my base leg when the tower broadcast: “Attention all aircraft. Caution, coyote traffic on the runway.” (I didn’t see it when I turned final.)
You can see that coyotes might be a problem from time to time in this area. 
This brings up another good point. The amazing income disparity between americans. To many people in the USA $500 for a plane ticket to Endland might as well be a million dollars. To others $500 is not enough money to worry about.
I think the most common question I got in Europe about the US was: Why do you have all those tall buildings? My Answer: Umm … I don’t know. 
Johnny L.A., you can look at all the maps you like, doesn’t change the fact that people in the Bay Area consider themselves to be Northern Californians. I would say that the southern line would be at San Jose, because when I lived in Santa Cruz we called it the Central Coast, a region that extends down to Santa Barbara. After that, you get into Hell, er, Southern California.
I would have to say people in CA probably score the lowest, of any state in the union, on standardized geography tests. 
LABDUDE: ENDLAND? You being funny pal
Nevertheless.
To answer Johnny LA’s speculation about the Land Run phrase “jump the gun”… it probably is urban legend.
There were several different land runs here in Oklahoma. Each time a new Indian Territory came open, there would be a land run.
Imagine a long distance harness race in the wilderness. That’s what a land run was like. Horses were purchased and trained for these specific races.
However, corruption and cheating seems to be a way of life in OK (politically, anyways… look at the OK Turnpike Commission and the Corporation Commission. The average guy is a right nice fellow), so the runs were not all just races. Some people snuck in or paid off territory officials so they could stake a claim before the run would begin. They got there SOONER than the others.
Yipper, that’s where we get our state nickname and the team name for the University of Oklahoma. From thievin’ cheatin’ bastards!
Just remember that there were several different land runs, not one big quick settling of the Sooner State.
To answer Johnny LA’s speculation about the Land Run phrase “jump the gun”… it probably is urban legend.
There were several different land runs here in Oklahoma. Each time a new Indian Territory came open, there would be a land run.
Imagine a long distance harness race in the wilderness. That’s what a land run was like. Horses were purchased and trained for these specific races.
However, corruption and cheating seems to be a way of life in OK (politically, anyways… look at the OK Turnpike Commission and the Corporation Commission. The average guy is a right nice fellow), so the runs were not all just races. Some people snuck in or paid off territory officials so they could stake a claim before the run would begin. They got there SOONER than the others.
Yipper, that’s where we get our state nickname and the team name for the University of Oklahoma. From thievin’ cheatin’ bastards!
Just remember that there were several different land runs, not one big quick settling of the Sooner State.
In that case, I amend my statement to: “flying along in a manner reminiscent of a bat.”
So there!
You know, that’s not surprising to hear from a “racing chicky”
Yes, quite a few people have kids to consider. Also, people with bad backs who need to get out of the seat every 2 hours or so, old folks who need to pee frequently, and so forth. And yes, some of us do drive the speed limit. Not everyone is capable of driving 12-16 hours straight, either.
White Plains, a decent sized city, settled 1683ish, in the state of New York, every so often has a problem with brown bears wandering down Main Street. NYC has coyotes. There’s deer and wild turkeys and raccoons and god knows what else in the area. Jersey has bear problems too.
People think that the Eastern Seaboard’s all built up, wall to wall city. It’s not. Some of it’s still pretty darn wild.
Sorry for the hijack–do Brits only serve eggs with bacon? What do you eat with pancakes, then?
They were traditionally only sweet. The standard “filling” was a dusting of sugar and a squirt of lemon juice, or perhaps some jam, or chocolate sauce (when I was a kid).
However, as more French-style “creperies” have opened, we’re getting more adventurous with different sweet and savoury fillings.
But we still wouldn’t eat them for breakfast (though I do when I’m stateside!).
To continue the SoCal/NoCal argument, as someone who grew up in Orange County, it’s safe to say that anything above Bakersfield was considered northern California. Between Bakersfield and Los Angeles was Central California, and LA down was southern. San Bernardino was the last outpost before the wilderness to the east.
And San Luis Obispo was on the hippie frontier. A buffer state between civilization and the barbarian lands of the north.