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Staycation O N T H E M O N T E R E Y B A Y 7 F A L L 2 0 1 9 is is the place where guests linger over the legendary Ambrosia Burger, fresh salad or basket of fries with aioli. ose who stay past sunset, see lights twinkle across the patio, and watch bonfires light the night, as people dance. Some folks prefer to grab a quick snack at the terrace Café Keva, and few guests leave without first visit- ing the eclectic Phoenix gi shop. Not far from Nepenthe, on the west side of the scenic highway, you reach a rough rock wall, unmarked but hard to miss. You pull into the turnout and step out for some serene sea watching and, depending on the season, gray whale watching as they migrate south from December through mid-Feb- ruary, and north from mid-February through May. e scenic beauty of the place offers photo-opps, year-round. Just south of Nepenthe, on the east side of the street, rises Hawthorne Gallery. It might be one of those ex- ceptional Mickey Muennig-designed homes, except it's open to the pub- lic. With its soaring glass walls and copper-framed bridge-truss ceiling, it might be a modern museum. Actu- ally, with its winding staircase, whose treads were fashioned from lami- nated Douglas Fir archways originally planned for the Post Ranch Inn, with its terraced floral gardens, its expan- sive view of the ocean, its exceptional fine art, it is the gallery of Greg and Susan Hawthorne's dreams. Just as compelling as the architecture is the eclectic presentation of fine art, among which are Greg Hawthorne's own colorful contemporary paintings, and functional, wall, and large-scale sculpture. You also admire fused-glass plates by daughter Shelby Hawthorne, tables of elm with inlaid resin by son-in-law Andrew Wighton, and the exceptional metalwork by renowned sculptor Albert Paley, among others. Don't miss it. Nearly three miles south of Haw- thorne Gallery, past the Henry Miller Library, and Deetjen's Big Sur Inn, the reclaimed water tanks of Coast Gallery & rooop café rise to the east. Among a diver- sity of art from a complement of fine artists and artisans is the legendary collection of bronze animals by the late Loet Vanderveen. Farther down the coast, amid the rugged beauty of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, a recreational park named for its early 20th-century resident and rancher, you encounter a stunning site and moment of reflection at McWay Falls, which drops 80 feet over a cliff and spills into the sea. Be sure to climb out of your car and walk along the coastal path to get the best vantage on the falls. Bring your camera. Big Sur is a tightly woven commu- nity of locals whose ancestors tamed the wilds to raise them there. ey live their lives in the hinterlands, housed in family cabins and cottages, yet gath- ering to bake bread, vend coffee, teach school, make art. It's also an incredibly welcoming community, happy to share what they've created and reverent about the beauty of the place they call home. Artist, writer and Big Sur native Erin Lee Gafill, who wrote "Drinking from a Cold Spring," is a granddaughter of Bill and Lolly Fassett who established Nepenthe restaurant. Gafill raised her family and still lives in the home her grandparents built at the legendary gathering place overlooking the ocean. "'Drinking from a Cold Spring' is what living in Big Sur means to me," Gafill has said. "It's about being in a place so awesomely beautiful, so pure, so revitalizing, and remembering to go back to the source and draw from it to replenish myself. Every morning, aer walking along the highway before the cars set in, I find myself taking in this unbelievably clean air and watching the hawks on the wing, as I breathe in this amazing place we live in." ...continued from 6 Big Sur River Inn Greg Hawthorne in front of some of his paintings and sculptures at Hawthorne Gallery

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