We headed towards Nepenthe.
Leaving San Francisco, we stopped off in Berkeley, or to be precise, we went onto the University campus. I half hoped to see Barbra Streisand or at least a few students demonstrating, calling out lies, declaring a strike, or asking for signatures for a petition.
I love that part in the film ‘The Way We Were,’ when a young student played by Babs makes a speech on the Campus. So much passion and belief.
It was Fresher’s week, so no one was carrying banners. Do they even do that at Berkeley now? From looking at the Society stalls, there was not much about campaigns to make the world a better place. I did notice a lot of sponsor names
I think I channeled Joan Baez for a few minutes as we wandered through the society stalls and wanted to sing, ‘when will we ever learn.’ Some kids were dancing and that lightened my heart.
It was a cold, wet day when we headed towards Seaside, CA. We did not want to be located in the popular towns of Monterey or Carmel. Seaside is very close but has a quieter, less affluent vibe. Monterey, in contrast, is bourgeois, some may say civilised, with pavements, small shops and a fantastic bay Aquarium. We spent a day just taking in the wonders of the Ocean. I could have watched the jellyfish for hours. I felt for the sharks, even though their tank was huge.
The next stop was Carmel. It’s a place I have wanted to visit for a long time. Jim’s aunt was born there and also Clint Eastwood was once the mayor. I even had a dream of owning a house somewhere in the town, but I think I now prefer the chaos but slowness of Portugal. Carmel has streets, pavements, bijou shops and galleries. The Ocean is at the bottom of a hill. There were too many tourists just like us visiting, so we did not stay long, but managed to have a coffee and bun in a packed fake oldy-worldy bakers shop.
Leaving Seaside, we headed off on a wet, cold morning to Nepenthe, a place that, in some ways, was the mecca of the whole trip. We planned to drive slowly down the Big Sur, heading towards San Diego, stopping off at Santa Barbara.
Nepenthe is a restaurant on the Big Sur. It has a weather cam and I sometimes visit the page to see the view. It is not just a restaurant, but it a place
We stopped for lunch and
In 1947, the Fassett family took over a log house at Nepenthe and hired an architectural student to design a building made of native materials, such as redwood and adobe. The building blends into the landscape. The name Fassett may remind knitters of Kaffe Fassett and rightly so as he grew up at Nepenthe. His designs had inspired me since I was in my 30’s when I first discovered his work and story. As a young woman living in North Carolina in the 80’s, I remember finding it strange that a man could knit. Even now, Kaffe’s colour filled work lights up my senses.
When I discovered that his childhood home overlooked the Big Sur, I packed away a hope to one day visit. Standing looking out over the Ocean, I imagined him watching whales migrate in spring. There are many tales about Nepenthe and it is said they all start with “I remember when”…..
The weather declined even more after visiting Nepenthe and we had to leave the road that travels down the Big Sur. Wet, slippy roads with the potential of a landslide meant we took shelter in Morro Bay. Santa Barbara was our next major stop.
