Basking in The California Sun

California journalist Mike McPhate’s blog, California Sun, is one that tells the story of our great state. He oughta know.

For years, Mike was the California Today Newsletter correspondent for The New York Times.

Now, we all know that New Yorkers just don’t get us. And, their “national” newspaper (Hey, like the storied Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and other worthy contenders don’t count!?) does even less.

So, it was refreshing that they employed a guy like McPhate who really understood that not everything about the Golden State is what you see on Hollywood-produced reality TV.

He got it, and still does, that … Dude, Autumn happens here, too.

Each autumn, Mike would call to get California’s story. I imagine many a Manhattanite sat in their bathrobes by apartment windows, slippered feet resting on satin ottomons, as they read – incredulously – McPhate’s descriptions of what happens here during autumn. (OK, we might have our misperceptions about New Yorkers, too, but then they have The New Yorker to blame for that.). 

It’s a wonder The New York Times kept him employed for so long, considering the heresy he espoused from his California roost. “Fall Color in California? You mean New England isn’t the only place that has it!?” Let’s put that into a West Coast perspective. To a San Franciscan, that’s as ridiculous as believing there’s culture in Chicago. Or worse, L.A.

With his publication of California Sun, Mike McPhate no longer needs to tempt fate within his audience, particularly when he illustrates this week’s number with Elliot McGucken’s glorious image of North Lake. Yes, autumn happens in California, too, dude. 

To read California Sun’s take on the five best places to bask in California’s fall colors, CLICK HERE.