Big Sur

We spent our honeymoon in Big Sur, CA.  It was phenomenal…and hard to leave.  It was great to spend a whole week in such a small area–we really got to explore.  We spent the first few nights at Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn, an old inn with quite a legend behind it.  It was just our style–VERY rustic (no TVs or telephones…a fire to keep us warm…and the electricity was turned off at 10pm and we could use lanterns).  It was great to detach from the world and spend a few nights under massive redwoods.

I mean, doesn’t it look like little woodland gnomes might live here?

The Big Sur coast is truly incredible.  Having gorgeous coast right next to lush, thick woods was a beautiful contrast.

Almost everyday we visited this restaurant, watched the ocean and sky, sipped our favorite drinks, and read good books.

We also spent a day at the Esalen Institute.  (The picture above is not of us, but you get the idea.) We wanted to stay longer but they kicked us out…literally.  There’s no way to easily describe Esalen.  Here’s what their website has to say (www.esalen.org):

Esalen is a non-profit organization that has been devoted to the exploration of human potential since the 1960′s. Historical luminaries like Aldous Huxley, Joseph Campbell, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Joan Baez, and countless others have gathered here to develop revolutionary ideas, transformative practices, and innovative art forms. Today Esalen is a retreat center where people live and work in a communal setting. Residents and guests participate in an incredible variety of alternative education and personal growth programs in subjects ranging from meditation to massage, yoga, psychology, ecology, spirituality, art, music, and much more.

Esalen Institute, renowned for its healing natural hot springs, has long been recognized as a world leader in alternative and experiential education. Dramatically situated on the Big Sur cliffs over the Pacific Ocean, the sacred beauty of the land—clear air, pulsing sea, garden path and waterfall, steaming mineral water bubbling up from deep within the earth—is itself transformative. Now in its fifth decade, Esalen offers more than 500 public workshops and seminars a year, accenting personal growth and social change, in areas traditionally neglected by mainstream institutions. A non-profit educational foundation, Esalen is also known for its research initiatives, invitational conferences, residential work-study programs, and long-term internships. Part pioneering lab and college for alternative practices, magical restorative retreat, and creative think-tank for the emerging world culture, Esalen is dedicated to exploring work in the humanities and sciences that furthers the full realization of the human potential.

Scott and I both received Esalen massages–by far the best massage I’ve ever had.  It didn’t hurt that we got to soak in the mineral baths for an hour before.  Or that our massages took place in open air, above the crashing waves of the Pacific Coast.   We would both love to go back for a longer stay at some point.

We spent the second half of our honeymoon backpacking in the Big Sur wilderness.  Here’s our honeymoon suite:

We hiked 10 miles down to Sykes Hot Springs.  After quite a long hike, the natural hot springs were a great spot to relax.

Here’s Scott bathing in on of the four tubs that had been made to hold larger amounts of the oh-so-good-and-warm-water.  I think we could have easily spent the entire week here and been happy.

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