The mystical magic on the Big Sur Coast is not weather dependent.

I still feel it, in the hawk soaring, the sunshine glittering on the ocean, and it may be even more noticeable when the fog and the mist cover the mountains, and the wind-torn waves crash on the rocks.

November 19 we experienced this…the latter description, with rain and lots of wind.

My friend Patty, who sometimes comments here, is a volunteer at the Point Sur Lighthouse, and she arranged to give Mary and I our own private tour on Saturday

This picture above is from the previous Saturday, but I caught the light from the lighthouse, so I wanted to show you.  That’s Point Sur.  It almost looks like an island, but it’s not.

We arrive at the gate at the appointed time, and we are escorted to the bottom of the point by car.  There we park, and continue the journey to the top, on foot.

View from Hwy 1 right in front of the point.  This used to be Navy property.  Now it’s private except the point is owned by the state of California.  You can’t see the actual light house from this angle, it’s built on the seaward side of the rock.

On either side of Point Sur are sweeping beaches….uninhabited by humans.

It’s often windy here, even when it’s calm nearby, but today with the generally blustery weather on the coast, the winds are wild here!  Walking up the path that winds around the point, there are times when it’s hard to stand and keep our footing.

The long and winding road.  There was a couple here, and they had the regular guided tour with another volunteer.

First peak of the light house from the path we are on.

Here it is!

View from the white stairway that you see two pictures above.

Inside looking up!

We go up the stairs and see the light from underneath, then out on the deck! Patty and Mary.

Such amazing views.

The Point Sur Lighthouse went into operation August 1, 1889.

This isn’t just a lighthouse, it’s a light station, with other buildings and two huge kerosene tanks for fuel.  The tall building on the left housed 3 families who ran the lighthouse, back in the day, that is.  Now it runs itself.

It has major improvements and updates.

But the views remain the same.

Pico Blanco is the mountain on the left.

The vertical line in the middle is the road that brings you in to Point Sur.

There have been many shipwrecks nearby.

And of course there are ghosts, as you might imagine.  Not malicious, but apparently very noisy at times, according to Patty, especially at night.  She’s had some experiences…

There is an annual Halloween tour, if your interested. 🙂   There are also moonlight tours.  Sign up well in advance.  www.pointsur.org

After 2.5 plus hours of exploring, it’s time to go.  The weather is wilder now than it was when we arrived, but that doesn’t stop us and Mary drives us a bit further down the coast, back to Nepenthe for a late lunch.  No outdoor seating today of course, so while we wait for a table we wander through the Phoenix Gift Shop, then return to order drinks.  Patty and I go for the famous South Coast Margarita, while Mary decides on something warm, an International Coffee, adjusted to be vegan.

Inside, even though it’s a large, windowed, crowded room, somehow it’s cozy, and being here somehow makes the rest of the world recede for awhile.  It’s that kind of place.  Well, I guess the drinks help banish the world….and the rain and fog.  No matter the weather, it’s always a beautiful day here.

View from Nepenthe. The lower road you see is Highway One.

Flowers in full bloom, even now, on the wall of the family home which the restaurant is built up against.

When we leave, it’s raining even harder…until we get back to Carmel-By-The-Sea, where there is no rain at all.

I think we have been in an alternate universe…a world apart…felt as well as seen…alive and wild, unconfined and indescribable.

If you ever plan on experiencing this area for yourself, as an introduction I highly recommend the book “A Wild Coast And Lonely” by Rosalind Sharpe Wall.  This book is a history mixing lore with fact, written by a Big Sur native whom has since passed away. The book is on Amazon.

Much of Robinson Jeffers poetry also takes in the area with depth and passion unmatched. You can tour his home (he passed away in 1962), Tor House and Hawk Tower, built by his own hands with rocks from the nearby shore line.

http://www.torhouse.org

One more beach view.