at the inn

redwood forest, big sur, california

deetjen's big sur inn*in the early 1930's, helmuth deetjen, a norwegian immigrant, came with his wife helen to big sur. they bought a hundred and twenty acres of land in castro canyon and began building a homestead. before highway one was completed in 1937, castro canyon was a traditional stopover for travelers making their way along the coastal wagon road. the deetjens welcomed overnight guests, and thus, the big sur inn was created.
over the years, deetjen built norwegian-style rooms and gave each of them a name:antique apartment, new room, champagne, chalet and granpas. all work was done by "granpa" deetjen and friends using locally milled, scavenged redwood.
the inn exists today because, when deetjen died in 1972, he left the inn "to be forever enjoyed by transient guests wanting to experiance the
peace, friendship and beauty that can be found at the inn".
the inn is a registered national historic site. it is operated by the deetjen's big sur inn preservation foundation.*

last friday, at daybreak, we took off for the anniversary weekend we had planned since october. unstormy weather finally permitted, after two cancellations, the third time was a charm! our destination was deetjen's big sur inn, two hundred miles up the coast...

we spent 3 wonderful days with no phones, internet, television. the weather was cold and clear. we hiked, we sat and did nothing, we listened to the creeks run, so full with water this time of year. we ate beautiful meals and drank wine (me) and beer (him). we took lots of photos. we slept late (for us) in our lovely cozy down bed. and we spent hours in the emergency care clinic when chuck cut his leg, requiring 13 stitches (and 15 shots). but he's okay, we were extremely grateful it wasn't worse and that he recieved such good care in this wilderness area.

we are back now, but my head is still in the redwood forest...



surf check on the way up the coast, moonstone beach, cambria

elephant seals, san simeon

bixby bridge, big sur

view from our room

breakfast at deetjen's

the forest

dinner at the inn

the start of a nearby trail

what happened on this trail

point sur lighthouse (on top of the big rock)

inside the lighthouse, i learned these prisms drew light down inside

illuminating the room where the lighthouse keeper worked

the lighthouse, i think it's scary up here

the prisms, a source of light before electricity

to get to the lighthouse, you park at the bottom of the rock and climb, first the road leading up and then many stairs

my new camera

happy cows that live near the lighthouse

moo = hmm?

back to the forest

knitting in our room

looking and listening closely revealed small critters of the forest...

big sur banana slug

ladybird beetles or ladybugs

webs i didn't mind seeing

happy anniversary honey

(glad to have figured out the self timer on my new camera)

nepenthe at night

meditative knitting by the creek

found at the big sur bakery, someone else's knitted coffee sleeves, cute!

saying goodbye to granpa's room... goodbye mouse (that lived in the room), goodbye racoons, goodbye wood stove, and cozy down bed, and record player with the scratchy records, goodbye rushing creek and goodbye redwoods...

goodbye big sur, till next time

thank you honey for such an unforgettable time, and thank you for coming along, it is always such a pleasure to share great adventures!
♥ lori