TRACING
THE STEPS OF LITERARY ICONS
By
Michael Vidor
June
2007
When we are traveling throughout California, regardless whether as a native,
transplant, or tourist, covering the attributes of this glorious state can
be overwhelming unless one dissects it county by county. Otherwise, particularly
during precious weekend travel, we run the risk of skimming the surface rather
than making the most of every minute.
In and of themselves, cuisine,
wine tasting, shopping, sight-seeing, and vast
recreational choices pose plenty. However, in our
opinion, there is one attraction that can be greatly
overlooked – perhaps a greater part of California’s
celebrated lifestyle – the historical and
literary culture. More than anything, great people,
many legendary, forged the contemporary elements
of our internationally famous way of life. We were
pleased when Shannon Marshall of the Monterey County
Convention and Visitors Bureau reminded us of this
detail.
From the seductive shores of
Big Sur to the seamless sea of row crops stitching
the Salinas Valley, Monterey County is rich in
rewards for the cultured traveler, offering a wealth
of sites that have inspired award-winning art and
literature. The region’s stunning beauty – captured
by photographer Ansel Adams, coddled, romanticized
and chronicled by the likes of authors Robert Louis
Stevenson, John Steinbeck, Henry Miller, Robinson
Jeffers, Upton Sinclair, Jack Kerouac, and Lawrence
Ferlinghetti sets the stage for a unique adventure
for travelers interested in setting their own scene
via pen, palette, or lens. What’s more, manna
for the mind and soul can be further embellished
by fabulous casual or formal cuisine and accommodations
to relish in relaxation in perfect proximity.
Upon
arrival at Big Sur, having driven the spectacular
Highway 1 beyond the break
of dawn amongst the lingering coastal fog, our
first meet and greet was breakfast at the Ventana
Inn & Spa with renowned adventure guide and
historian Stephen Copeland. We embarked with the
pleasure of his company. An articulate and class
guy, Stephen guided us to nearby Partington Ridge,
which fanned the flames of writer/painter Henry
Miller’s unbridled passion. Here he built
his home and blazed his trail of local infamy amongst
his cronies, those befitting the infinitely artistic
environment. By noon, having worked up an appetite,
we headed to Nepenthe for an Ambrosia Burger, a
view to die for, and familiar, friendly birds,
that have no problem landing on your table and
stealing your Sweet and Low. Next stop the Henry
Miller Library.
 The
beauty of these Big Sur destinations is their
closeness, and the library is no exception. We
met the fascinating Executive Director, Magnus
Torén who, like many in the area came
to visit and decided to stay … forever.
Torén is a world traveler with a penchant
for the arts and literature, and thus became
part of the fabric a dozen years ago. The Miller
library is a place where you may want to hang
around and read under the giant pine trees. There
is an excellent selection of prints (Miller is
also famous for his art), artifacts, and memorabilia
intermingled with books by the author and those
of writers he loved and who inspired him. One
should be curious about Miller’s famous
breakout novel Tropic of Cancer or attracted
to the infamous relationship with his wife June
and provocative French writer Anäis Nin.
This was one of those compelling and unexpected
pleasures which left us feeling parched.
We
rolled down to the Big Sur River Inn, one of
the better places for a brew,
great casual food selection, live afternoon jazz
on the weekends, and a quiet (and reasonably priced)
place to spend the night on the river – the
perfect ending to a perfect day. But wait; we would
be remiss if we didn’t dine in the finest
of settings anywhere.
The Cielo Restaurant in the
Ventana Inn is one culinary experience you won’t
soon forget, assuming you are on a romantic getaway.
We were in love, as was our palate, and began to
understand the passion driven by nature associated
with Henry Miller.
At sunrise we headed to the shores
of Carmel-By-The-Sea for a date with our erudite
host and the President of the Robinson Jeffers
Tor House Foundation, Alex Vardamis.
As married
lovers Robinson and Una Jeffers arrived in Carmel
in 1914; soon after
they purchased land on Carmel Point and Jeffers
nearly single-handedly built the cottage and
Hawk Tower from granite boulders from the shore – now
a National Historic Landmark.
It was a life of
simplicity and artistic creativity they
craved – where
Jeffers penned some of the finest poetry of the modern age. They hosted the
likes of Joseph Campbell, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Charlie Chaplin, Judith
Anderson, Martha Graham, Charles Lindbergh, and George Gershwin while they
sipped Una’s Celtic wine by the fire. Fully enthralled, our path would
lead to town where we would check in at the elegant Pine Inn, built in 1889 – where
author Upton Sinclair stopped for his daily juice fix. While in town, we
chose to engage in a bit of shopping and wine tasting. From the Inn we could
walk
to anything we fancied and gracefully retire in the imposing air.
 We
sipped our coffee on Cannery Row and met our
guide, historian Tim Thomas for an exclusive
opportunity to trace the footsteps of John Steinbeck,
a man responsible for bringing to light the uncanny
persona of a place doubtfully intended to be
romantic. After all, the lore was fabricated
from sardines and the lives of those who lived
and died by them, but Steinbeck’s mystifying
poignancy would render the likes of Ed (Doc)
Ricketts in indelible literary history. We entered
Doc’s pristine laboratory, an historical
landmark still standing amongst the remarkable
contrasting commercial growth on Cannery Row.
We were in a time warp, seeking to ingest any
DNA associated with the artists of past to present
who have honored Steinbeck and Doc Ricketts by
toasting them in what is now a musty and obscure
club reserved for the literati and their guests.
We moved on to Salinas with the ethereal feeling
that we had crossed paths with myth and legend.
Having toured the National Steinbeck
Center, an absolute must, we enjoyed lunch at the
Steinbeck House and Restaurant, near to the center
in old town Salinas where John was born and began
his illustrious literary career in the upstairs
front bedroom writing The Red Pony and Tortilla
Flat. We were graciously hosted by Eleanor Royal
and Pat Garlinger.
We realized however, that we
had only begun to piece together the fragments
of artistic brilliance that are so pervasive in
Monterey County. We relished every minute and realized
we would have to give it another go.
Before you go, check
out these websites for some excellent information
and leads.
montereyinfo.org
bigsurguides.com
henrymiller.org
torhouse.org
steinbeck.org
A reading list to
get you started, if you haven’t already:
Henry Miller - Tropic of Cancer
Robinson Jeffers -The Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers
John Steinbeck - Cannery Row
Upton Sinclair - The Jungle
back to top
|
