Mexico could have the state of California back for all he cared. Maybe trade it for the Yucatán and throw in Chiapas and a crate of mangoes to seal the deal. Cradles of ancient civilization are instant national treasures. As for Cali, any unspoiled beauty that would have been worth experiencing in a covered wagon had long ago been infested by the unstoppable procreation of pale protestants and their land-grab greed. Sure, he loved him some Hollywood and there were still pockets of quaint to discover around San Luis Obispo if you had more money than soul. All in all, it had become an abomination, at least virtually everything south of Monterey over to Fresno. What they hadn’t put their blood-stained grubby fingerprints on was uninhabitable deserts left for the Natives, cults and Airstream o
