Just got back from a quick weekend trip to Chicago. I left a fiery Southern California and came back to a smoldering one. Radio commercials instructing fire victims how to file an insurance claim greeted me upon my return. Seriously, the first sound I heard when I started my car was an Allstate commercial. Welcome home.

I wasn't affected by the fires. There were fires to north of me, to the west of me, to south of me and to east of me. Luckily for me, all those fires were at least 30 miles from my home. The Griffith Park fire last spring provided enough excitement for the season.

I had a nice time in Chicago and finally got to meet some new cousins: Aileen and Isabella. Both are beautiful babies. Kids grow up fast. I attended a birthday party for Luke and Nora, who turned 7 and 5 respectively. They certainly are no longer babies.

Chicago is such a beautiful city and I miss it. I'm glad that I visited in the fall so I could at least get a taste of the season. Native Californians argue that there are seasons here. When I first moved here, I thought the weather would be warm enough so I could go to the beach all year. It truly is not as balmy as the SoCal Chamber of Commerce would like everyone to believe. I concede there are temperature variations here. The low temp in late fall and winter can fall to the 40's while the high temp will only climb to 70. "Summer" brings low temps in the 60's and the high temp can reach in the 100's but normal high is around 80 to 85. Does this change constitute as season? Perhaps, but not as extreme as the seasonal changes back East. Our weathermen -- yes, the (relatively) more serious ones are men while buxom blonde bimbos read the weather -- get excited if the temperature changes a few degrees over the course of the 5-day forecast.

The trip was quite a whirlwind trip and I didn't get a chance to visit long with any one person. Perhaps next trip will be longer. Of course, if the Chicago/Upper Midwest winter becomes too much for anyone, there's always a place in Southern California. It just may not be beach weather.