I knew America was big. A sideways glance at a map can show it’s one of the largest countries in the world. I never expected this to be a small journey, but there’s one lesson I’ve picked up that has put a lot of things into perspective for me: When it comes to traveling, there’s a big difference between traveling for pleasure and traveling for business.

It’s no secret that California has had a rough time the last few years.Between the drought, the fires, and the fact that everyone in the world wans to be here, I’ll admit, I started looking at California with jaded eyes.As someone who grew up just outside of the perfection that is Yosemite, I always had an appreciation for nature.