We met the delightful couple, Marcia and Don, when they were camping next to us in Death Valley, last month. Both are natives of Monterey and invited us to visit when we came to town. Wow, what gracious hosts.
Let's start with a very brief history of this awesome home. Don is the grandson of one of the pioneering Sicilian fishing families of Monterey. Their home was designed by his father yet built for his aunt in 1939 (original look is pictured below). When she passed, the home was given to Don and Marcia because the aunt wanted it to stay in the family. Isn't it beautiful?!
Don & Marcia are fabulous storytellers. I could listen to them all day. They are part of the rich local history.
We dined overlooking the coast at the Rocky Point Restaurant, which opened in 1947 as a roadside lunch spot. The views were awe-inspiring.
After a delicious lunch, we drove the road to Big Sur with stops along the way to gaze.
We strolled the jagged cliffs of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. This park was named after a well respected pioneer woman in the Big Sur country. The park stretches from the Big Sur coastline into nearby 3,000-foot ridges. It features redwood, tan oak, madrone, chaparral, and an 80-foot waterfall that drops from granite cliffs into the ocean from the Overlook Trail. We all promised to come back and visit longer. We are really excited about this new friendship with these very interesting people (who also have a cabin in Tahoe, but that's another story).
After saying goodbye to Don and Marcia, we went back to P.G. for dinner with Bill, Kristi and Jannie. We are all friends from South Lake Tahoe and bumped into one another on the streets of Pacific Grove. Fun stuff.
Did I mention that Pacific Grove has something going on all the time? We delighted in doing an Art Walk together. It was extra cool to see Jannie's displayed painting being sold. It turns out a man just bought a new Pebble Beach home and wanted to fill it with young artists' works. So cool.
We toured the Pacific Grove Art Center, visited the studios and speaking with the various artists. It was incredibly diverse from etch pressing to scarf painting.
For a town with an area of only 3.988 mi² and 15,000 people. We were thoroughly impressed by all it has going on. We will be back!
“Awe has many important implications for our well-being.
Experiencing awe can give us a sense of hope
and provide a feeling of fulfillment.”
-Shilagh Mirgain
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1 comments:
Big Sur is gorgeous! I cannot believe that the coast route is still cut off! Eric and I considered driving up the coast in Dec., but it will have to wait.
That was a place that we visited when I was young. I have wonderful memories there, even though my dad would jokingly pretend like he was losing control of the car while driving on those narrow cliffside roads. Hopefully Steve was more serious...
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