Massive landslide brings new level of isolation to Big Sur

[jgmiller]

11. Big Sur is a magical place

Since I was a kid decades ago I've gone over that area numerous times. When I say it's magical that's not just hyperbole, there really is an other worldly feeling there. Even though you are at most 100 miles from big box stores and strip malls it feels like you are 1,000 miles away. It's a truly unspoiled area of the world, there are vast swaths of road where there is ZERO cell reception.

The last town of any size heading north is Cambria, my wife and I love going there for the weekend and staying in one of the retro motels on Moonstone beach. Sunsets are a big thing there; if it's not raining about an hour before sunset people start coming out with chairs and just quietly sit by the road waiting for the sunset. At the main restaurant facing the beach everyone sits on the patio enjoying the same sunset. Besides the beauty of it the other thing that strikes you is the silence of all the people, the only sound you hear are the waves crashing. If anyone remembers City Of Angels it's very much the real life version of the angels gathering at the beach to watch the sunset.