it’s been years since i’ve been to pacific grove on the monterey peninsula. i had a strong urge to be in that wild place and walk the footpaths of asilomar state beach. a midwinter retreat as i close the chapter of this book of 2019.
so on the day after christmas i climbed into my sturdy chariot and headed north. i followed my instincts and avoided the grapevine (interstate 5) as the snow levels had dropped quite low in the recent storms. good thing i did, as i found out later it was closed to travelers. i rode instead through the oak- dotted blonde hills of hwy 101. past missions and tiny towns i drove, my car dipping and rising with the road.
all the way to and through john steinbeck country. until at last i arrived here to narrow boardwalks that wend their way through the coastal dunes of pacific grove.
i stayed at the same little hotel i’ve been going to for the last 15 years. anticipating your questions ahead of time, i’ll let you know the name: the sunset inn. nothing fancy, mostly i just like the location nestled in the trees but an easy walk to the water.
blue surrounds you here and even though the christmas season seems particularly busy with people, it’s not hard to find solitude out among the rocky outcroppings.
after a couple of days i headed north to the redwoods of cazadero.
all the way to this cabin where i am surrounded by a creek and tall trees.
years and years ago one of you (sally edmunds) told me about cazadero and the little bolt hole you escape to among the redwoods. the image of that never left me and i knew one day i’d get out to this far corner of my beloved california and see it for myself.
it’s quiet here. a ribbon of pale green water runs just below the deck of the cabin i rented.
there has been rain and sun. mist and a dark forest. fires in the hearth and more hot soaks than i can count.
green moss and sunbeams that ricochet off dark trunks all the way to the forest floor.
fallen redwood needles make the ground soft and springy.
here is a glimpse of the cabin from the outside.
and there is my chariot finding a place to rest between 2 massive redwoods.
i’ve been driving 15 minutes to the coast most days to walk a bit, above and beside the mighty pacific.
the surf is violent here and i prefer to walk above it. sleeper waves are common and the beach face is very steep. thanks to my vivid imagination i’ve already been knocked over by a wave and am drifting out to sea clinging to a giant driftwood tree that hasn’t managed to crush me yet.
beach walks here? no thank you.
i saw a few foolhardy people wading in the water, but i know better than to put even a toe into these waters. they are deadly.
plenty of trails snake along the bluffs above and the view is terrific.
i have a healthy respect for the ocean’s power and would never walk on these particular beaches with such unpredictable wave patterns
i did find a beach that didn’t back into a mountain and i sat and let myself be mesmerized by the enormous waves.
i collected a good assortment of driftwood to carry home to the garden.
soon it’s time to return home to a fire and books…
…my journal and a soak in the hot tub.
a mid-winter retreat at the darkest time of the year. a reflective time of thinking, writing, being languorous, drinking coffee, taking naps, steering my mind as far from school as i can manage.
i started writing this last night, but got sleepy. across the creek at night i can see a cabin with gold light spilling out of the windows.
this was supposed to end here, but i can’t leave without telling you that my favorite fiction of 2019 was this:
terribly good and compulsively readable. from beginning to end. i listened to it on my drive up here to cazadero and finished it as i pulled beside the cabin. it was a heartbreak to finish. i just didn’t want it to end. now i’m reading olive again and enjoying, but of course not as much as the dutch house, still i would recommend it.
i would NOT recommend unsheltered (barbara kingsolver)i gave it my best shot, but when i was 40% through it, i just couldn’t give it another minute of my time. don’t take my word for it though, you might love it!
i meant this to be my last post of 2019, but instead it’s my very first postcard of the brand new decade. hello hello hello out there. sending you a smoke signal just to say happy new year. hope you’re tucked in somewhere good. reading something spellbinding, writing your lives into being, walking under a canopy of trees or bare branches, beginning your own brand new year.
Good grief – Sunset Inn. That’s where I stay in Pacific Grove. or, sometimes, Rosedale Inn right across from Asilomar. Cazadero looks divine. Definitely going on my list of places to run away to.
As for Barbara Kingsolver, I made it through to the end, thinking that at any moment it was going to click in. Now I’ve finished and wonder what was it that I read? A shame because I’ve always enjoyed her books before. Currently reading, or rather listening to, The Dutch House. Just started it, but already involved.
What a restorative beginning and end. Happiest 2020 to you!
Lovely scenery to soothe a teacher’s soul…well, in truth, anyone’s soul. Happy New Year, Mary Ann!
Oh Mary Ann, what a treat to see your post! You have a wonderful way of wordsmithing – makes us all want to be in a little cottage along the path, sending up friendly smoke signals now and then. Thank you for the beautiful pictures and lovely mental images. Pacific Grove is an all time favorite spot. I recommend Bel Canto – read it and enjoyed it years ago. The Dutch house has been on my list but it’s moved up now for sure. Have you read Local Color by Mimi Robinson? A fantastic little art book that has a permanent spot on my nightstand. Wishing you joy, fat journals, juicy paints and lots of fun little beachside jaunts in 2020.
I love reading your dispatches ! I spent many vacations with my family in or near Pacific Grove and communing with redwoods . If I close my eyes , I can imagine I am there for a moment . Glad you got away and glad you shared it with us ! I just completed the Dutch House and loved it ( and Tom Hanks reading of it ) as well ! Can’t wait to see and read about your adventures in 2020!
Happy New Year! That cabin looks wonderful. Especially the stream of green water beneath.
Read both Olive, Again and The Dutch House. Enjoyed both of them very much; The Dutch House, more than the other.
XOXO
Oh Mary Ann! I wait for these dispatches and this one is grand. You really speak to my heart here – PG is one of my favorite spots in our state. We used to heed the call to visit so often, when my uncle and family lived in Pebble and Carmel. Pacific Grove would be such a perfect place to live. (I used to spend hours in the Bookworks.)
All of this part of the north seems to have visual enchantment for the taking. I’ve filled camera rolls and smart cards with pictures hoping to retain the beauty and the sensibilities of the ocean and forest.
Cazadero has escaped my experience and I think I’d love it. I’ll look forward to visiting one day. You have me sufficiently wary of the ocean there too. Thank you for sharing all of this. A trip north to wander, write and breathe sounds more than perfect! Happiest New Year to you. Peace and Joy!
do you have obi kaufman’s book – THE CALIFORNIA FIELD ATLAS? all californians need it. essential reading and admiring. xo
Now I know I need it!
Ahhhhh, Heaven! Happy New Year, Mary Ann! I hope it’s one of your best yet! ❤️❤️❤️
thank you sheila!!!
Happy New Year Mary Ann … it sounds like you had a great adventure …
i lived in that area in the seventy’s . it is a beautiful place. smart not to
walk on the beach ( : water is very powerful .
xxoo
kathyd
hello kathy! the russian river valley in the 70’s. someone needs to make a movie about that!
wild times …. would curl your hair …lol
Hi Mary Ann! SO happy you made it to Cazadero! It is my sanctuary and I love it more than words can say. I care for my 95 year old mother in Stockton, so don’t get to the cabin very often now. My little cabin is on the other side of the creek on Austin Creek Road about 8/10ths if a mile from the river. I hope you enjoyed your stay. Did you get a chance to go into Guerneville and Armstrong Grove? Heaven. Raymond’s is my favorite bakery, but i usually have to travel to get their goodies as they are rarely open and sell at local Farmer’s Markets. I am amazed by the high tides you photographed. We have spent many a day at Goat Rock beach with puppies romping and I’ve never seen the tide so high! Family has left and I sit here in the quiet cross stitching and dreaming of Caz. I’ll get to visit again soon and hope to build a sturdier cabin above the creek in the next few years. Happy New Year and safe travels! Sally Edmonds 😁
sally i’m so glad you chimed in here. you are the reason i came to cazadero. i drove down austin creek road several times (probably right past your bolt hole!) and thought it was so beautiful and a fun alternative to the caz hwy.
i’m staying over in paso robles on my way back to the mean streets of LA and i miss those tall trees already.
Hello!
This was wonderful to read!
I feel like I went on a little trip with you.
It looks beautiful and amazing.
I love the cabin in the woods, the trip on the 101, and knowing how strong and unpredictable the ocean can be there.
Happy New Year to you!
Thank you for all that you share.
You are very inspiring.
hello to you dear susan! happy new year!
After a week of family and babies, I am digging deep into our Cape Cod house for a staycation. Pajamas all day, Netflix movies (watch The Two Popes and The Aeronauts.) sketchbooks open, books in every surface, coffee brewing. Morning dog runs at the beach, and sunset watching. I love Asilomar and haven’t beeb there in years. Your digs reminds me of a tiny cabin we rented in the Russian River Valley one year. The Dutch House my number one also. Tom Hanks has spoiled me for any other narrators. Happy New Year my old friend!
about tom hanks…i know! too bad the other books he’s read aloud don’t interest me so much. i’ll check out your netflix recs! enjoy the cape. one day i will get out there and when i do we will have some fun!
Just finished The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. Recommend it, for sure.
Lovely cabin in the forest. I want to stay there for about 6 weeks. Forest Bathing is what I long for, even here in Oregon where it seems like being alone in the forest should be just around the corner. Hmmm.
FOREST BATHING. i’d forgotten about that. yes yes and yes again!
Thank you, Mary Ann, for you. I have enjoyed your blog, and Carol’s for years and years.
Wishing you a very happy & healthy 2020 full of everything that calls to you.
thanks jacki, always good to hear from you. happy new year to you too!
Dear MAM, what would I do without your postcards? They are so special. Vicariously your adventures become mine and sustain me through the darker times. Winter and early Spring is my nemesis these days and I can’t have my own adventures until warmer drier weather. Thank you so much! I can’t wait to read The Dutch House… anyway the Happiest of New Years to you. 2020 is going to be a good one!
i wish you a warm wonderful new year filled with all sorts of adventures big and small, jessica. i hope you love TDH. i wish i was just starting it.
LOVE Asilomar, and the endless beach there ~ had many fun times in PG. I will be putting Cazadero on my bucket list ~
I wish you a joyous New year, filled with adventure, peace, and all the friendship you can find!
I always so much enjoy traveling with you Mary Ann, and continue what has now amounted to years of admiration for your ability to travel solo. A beautiful adventure by the sea! Sending you love and wishes for wonderful creative adventures and much joy in this new year. (I just finished City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert this morning. I had read Unsheltered and it didn’t knock me off my feet.)
unless i’m with a sister, i’m solo. my spontaneity must be unbridled at all costs. i can absolutely see you hitting the highway all aloney on your owny. yes i can!
Thank you.
You are an inspiration to me. May I suggest a subject for your next class?
HOW TO BE FEARLESS AND FOLLOW YOUR BLISS!
I couldn’t finish Unsheltered either, but I do like Ann Patchett and will be looking for The Dutch House. This year I have found new delight in the dark, although I still find the cold difficult. Of course, we have had lots of cold weather here in the SE and the worst problem has been how to decide what to wear. Yesterday was shirt sleeve weather today call for a jacket.
That cabin looks delightful!
i liked the mary treat plotline, but just couldn’t appreciate the contemporary one in Unsheltered. i hope you love TDH. happy new year caroline xo
Happy New Year! We love Ann Patchett around here in Nashville. Will try to get you a signed bookplate from her Parnassus bookstore.
Beautiful views! Would love to see the mammoth trees.
what a good good book her dutch house was! now i want to go read more of her work.. maybe bell canto which i’ve never read…or the magicians assistant. hmmm. i read about her bookstore and her in the NYTIMES recently.
Thank you for sharing all of your adventures in nature, art and life with us! Happy New Year to you!
What a beautiful, wild, magical place! I am adding Cazadero and Pacific Grove to my list of places to visit. Those trees are magestic. Happy New Year to you, Mary Ann!
happy new year to you too kristi!
So happy to see this post. I thought about you a few days ago and realized that I had not seen a post in a while. Your adventures and posts are so inspiring and beautiful. Have a wonderful new year.
thanks glenda dear, always nice to hear from you xo