The scene, the picture and the edit are made with the inevitable Mountain of shots, movies and paintings in mind that I saw of California before having been here.
Your compliment is very well received though possibly not earned. It is too much of a mock off.
Love you too Frank ....."'good artists copy, great artists steal"
I know the style well, but have never seen this image before. My eyes are drawn to the lush "blacktop" searching for detail. The pickup on the left catches my attention. The wayback diner then the flags "only in America" are my thoughts. The power lines shift me left to right, the concrete wall right to left, the road lines back to the right. Then I notice the sloping hills in the background against the blue sky. One last scan and I find the glint of a bumper on the right. I smile and am happy to have found it, now perfect balance.
Most images do not catch my attention, this drew me in. As I said, cool image Frank.
Cheers