My usual route to work, the most direct one of all the possible ways, is undergoing some kind of construction where it passes the college. So I’ve had to appease my commuter impatience by going another route and taking parallel roads just a little bit out of my way.

In doing so, I’ve discovered a couple of things. One, no matter which route you take, they all take about the same amount of time to cover, and two, every block in Orange County looks the same.

Orange County is one big grid of block after block after block after block, and every 5 or 10 blocks you will find a Conroy’s (always on a corner), a Ralph’s, an Albertson’s, a Home Depot, a Petco, a Bank of America, a Washington Mutual, a Chevron, et cetera, et cetera. They are all strangely set up the same way, too. For instance, I shop at Trader Joe’s in Huntington Beach, and next to it is a Farm Boy; if that Trader Joe’s isn’t carrying my must-have flan, I go to another Trader Joe’s in Huntington Beach, and next to it is a Farm Boy.

Needless to say, if you were dropped out of nowhere in the middle of Orange County, and you couldn’t read the street signs, you’d be screwed. Every block is like a dune in a desert, and if you don’t recognize the cross streets, you can’t tell whether you are north, south, east, or west of home.

It would be easier if things were set up like Washington State, with each street exit numbered, so that you would know if you’d passed yours by. But this is California; all exits here are named to baffle anyone who isn’t a native.

Well, I’m a San Diego girl. I was raised on landmarks, long windy roads, and baffling street names; I can handle navigating in California, enough to survive. But this whole Orange County grid thing is all new to me, and I don’t know if I like it yet.

Heck, I still have a hard time accepting the fact that many of the streets here have two names. No wonder I’m confused!

Share this post: