NO PLACE LIKE IT & A HARD MEMORY

OFF THE HIGHWAY

     Big Sur owned my heart from the first time I saw it

in 1969.  By the time Brian Wilson's California Suite was 

written in 1973, the area had become mythical as a place where nature, at its most beautiful, turned on hearts, spirits, creativity and imagination.

       On a recent trip I collected a few images that bespeak

the kind of ethos and attitude that remain.

     

It continues to be a place where originality
dwells in the majestic Redwoods.

     Sitting in this room, a gentle breeze on my face, smelling the freshness of the forest and being tranquilized by the blue of the pacific and the sweet sounds of the wind chimes is 
mesmerizing. It nourishes, deeply.

    Dabbles of warm sun rain through the pines and redwoods.

Mike Love and Brian Wilson immortalize the beauty in this video. CALIFORNIA SAGA/BIG SUR BRIAN WILSON from CALIFORNIA SUITE Do do do do do do do do do Cashmere hills filled with evergreens Flowin' from the clouds down to meet the sea With the granite cliff (big sur mount) As a referee Crimson sunsets and golden dawns A mother deer with their newborn fawns All under big sur skies (big sur mount) That's where I belong. Big sur I've got plans for you Me and mine are going to Add ourselves to your lengthy list of lovers (big sur mount) And live in canyons covered in springtime green Wild birds and flowers to be heard and seen And with my old guitar I'll make up songs to sing. Where bubbling springs from the mountainside Join the big sur river to the oceanside Where the kids can look for sea shells at low tide Big sur my astrology it says that I am made to be Where the rugged mountain meets the water And so while stars shine brightly from up above The fog rolls in through a redwood grove And to my dying fire I think I'll add a log. From time to time I must go away The thoughts of big sur won't let me stay Away from big sur Oh big sur   Link to this post from last year's Jade Fest to get a sense of the timeless Big Sur Congregation. A TRAGIC CALIFORNIA MEMORY     We are voting today but the California primary  evokes that horrible night in June 1968 when Robert Kennedy was gunned down.         I spent time with Kennedy and his campaign in April when he campaigned in the Indiana primary.  As a young reporter, it was my first presidential election and Kennedy's star power and charisma was impressive and memorable. His death, like Martin Luther King Jr.'s fueled the maelstrom and upending of the social fabric in that searingly unique year.       There is rancor and division today, but by comparison to 1968 we are living in a halcyon Penny Lane.       See you down the trail.

BIG SUR JADE FEST

GOOD VIBES

A unique festival and one of the world's
most scenic settings offer a full sensory
celebration.
The Big Sur Jade Fest needs to be seen.

In many ways it is the cultural and emotional

descendant of the Big Sur Congregation

that Brian Wilson wrote and sang of in

California Saga. The lyrics are below.

Artistic excellence reigns. These carved

pieces are by Gary Gowdy, who

also happens to be our electrican.

There is work by other talented craftsmen.

It is a cultural weekend.

His naan bread is fantastic.

 Probably no where else will you find such a blend
sights, sound, aromas, art, culture and being free.
As Brian sang "The people there in the open air...One big family...and their new found liberty."
And unlike the old Big Sur Congregation with
Country Joe, this time-plans for hygiene!

The California Saga
Brian Wilson

On my way to sunny California
On my way to spend another sunny day

Water, water get yourself in the cool, clear, water
The sun shines brightly down on Penny's place
The sun shines brightly down on the bay
The air's so clean it'll just take your mind away
Take your mind away
Take your mind away

Have you ever been south of Monterey
Barrancas carve the coast line and the chaparral flows to the sea
'Neath waves of golden sunshine
And have you ever been north of Morro Bay
The south coast plows the sea
And the people there are of the breed
They don't need electricity
Water, water, cool cascades of clear, clear water
The sun dance final scene sets the hills ablaze.
Horizon edges quick up the mountain's way.

Have you ever been down Salinas way?
Where Steinbeck found the valley
And he wrote about it the way it was in his travelin's with Charley
And have you ever walked down through the sycamores
Where the farmhouse used to be
There the monarch's autumn journey ends
On a windswept cyprus tree

Water get water get yourself in that
Get yourself in that get yourself in that cool, clear, water
The sun shines brightly down on Penny's place
Get yourself in that water
The air's so clean that it just takes your mind away
Take your mind away
Take your mind away

Have you ever been to a festival, the Big Sur congregation?
Where Country Joe will do his show
And he'd sing about liberty
And the people there in the open air, one big family.
Yeah the people there love to sing and share
Their new found liberty

See you down the trail.