Interesting thread. I tried gliding about 18 months ago at Hollister, at the very southern end of the Bay Area. I thought it would be fun, I'd learn something, and get a new rating in lieu of a BFR. I got as far as soloing but just didn't see the fun or interest in continuing.
I was shocked at how expensive it is -- it cost more per hour of flying time than the Pitts (which is not a cheap plane to fly), because of the cost of tows. I was also surprised by how boring it is - get towed up, release, tool around for 10 minutes, point back at field, fly pattern, land. Could be summarised as "controlled falling".
I know the fun is supposed to be in finding lift and squeezing every vertical inch out of it, but in the half dozen times I did it, there was never a breath of lift to be found.
It seems to me, as others have said on the thread, that gliding is more about lifestyle than about flying - it really has to be a consuming passion (and it helps to be somewhere that gets some lift). Whereas powered flying is something you can structure around the rest of your life.
n5296s