Crazy California

I was born and raised in  Michigan.  I know that being from Michigan people around the country already have an idea in their heads of who I may be or what I may be into.  I'm sure they assume that I point on my hand to show where I am from, that I LOVE the cold and ice fish, ski, and play hockey, (because it is always cold and snowy in Michigan - in case you don't know, that is not true...), that I talk and dress like a "Yooper", that I decorate my yard with deer statues, carry a rifle to hunt all the time, and that perhaps in the winter we sit around all day in bars and drink to stave off the blizzard blues.  (these are assumptions I found online by the way)

I am, of course, guilty of assuming things about people who live in states outside my own as well.  We recently traveled to California and I have to admit that in some ways it lived up to what I had pictured in my head.  One stereotype I had in my head is that an average Californian's life consists of tofu, marijuana and Botox.  They are into fitness, all see therapists, hug trees and save whales in between adult film acting jobs and running into celebrities!  I also always think of California as a place that people run away to.  It is somewhere where they can be an individual as well as hide in the mass of others being individuals.  It is a place to find oneself.  Based on some of the things I heard, observed, and experienced while in California, I wasn't too far off.  Check out the signs I saw in the Ritz Carlton posted on the walls!  They made me laugh and think "only in California" would I see this!

Well, that makes me feel super confident about eating their food!

No that isn't your eyes - it is out of focus - I thought it was fitting given the message...

Just for fun I thought I would share how people from Michigan see the US and how people from California see it!  What do you think?  Accurate?  Do you have some ingrained notions about how people behave in other states?