Figuring out the culture

So I've been living in Southern California for a few months now and I'd never really had a quintessential moment that defined this place as truly different. Sure the fact that I was riding today and looking at flowering hibiscus and birds of paradise as well as other flowers I don't recognize, but that's all environmental, it's not cultural. You could probably find the same thing in Mississippi and Texas, and it doesn't take a genius to know that those places are nothing like SoCal.

But along this same ride I did see that one image that will forever define living in Southern California. As I was going along the bike path on the PCH there was a family riding toward me in the lane next to mine. All three of them, mom, dad and young daughter (about 9 or 10) were kind of all over the path, so I figured I should pay attention to them. Well just before I got to them they all got over in their lane, until the daughter swerved out into my lane and quickly back into hers. Now this is nothing new, I've seen it dozens of times, you learn to live with it. What was unique was why the girl swerved out of her lane, she was talking on her cell phone!

If that truly doesn't define Southern California culture I really don't know what does.