Keeping the Boho Spirit Alive in Big Sur, California
Unlike neighboring Carmel, where the bourgeoisie long ago edged out the hippie freaks, here in the coastal cliff forests of Big Sur, the boho spirit is alive and well. To find out what’s really happening in Big Sur, make a beeline to the Henry Miller Library. Equal parts archive, bookshop, live music venue, cultural center, and coffeehouse, the library’s sun-dappled sculpture garden is the perfect place to scribble in your journal or fall asleep with a book on your face.
As if Big Sur’s mountain forest and sea colliding in a breathtaking bear hug isn’t enough, there is a cultural gem amidst the Santa Lucia redwoods. The Henry Miller Memorial Library, a quirky arts center with a modest bookstore and gallery-esque mish-mash of historical clippings regarding the late writer/painter, is located on historic Route 1. Be sure to layer, cuddle, or partake in the donation coffee and tea before settling in for one of their outdoor concerts. It’s the kind of place where, if they run out of cups, a staff member will lend you his personal mug. As you revel in the intimate performance of a favorite band under twinkling Christmas lights and constellations, breathe in the crisp mountain air with the knowledge that this will be an only-in-northern-California kind of night.
“One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.” Yes, the library itself is cool. But listen to Mr. Miller and look just past his bookery for a slightly different Big Sur encounter. Step off the prescribed wooden walkway and onto the forest floor. Back there is a miniature valley of sorts, a deep pit in which to channel runoff and collect detritus. The air is crisp and moist. There is no sound but for the birds, the wind through tree tops hundreds of feet above you, and your quiet footsteps on the thick blanket of shed leaves and bark. Under ancient redwood cover sits a structure formed by giant metal loops. Each ring is the size of a human being, linking together to make a rock fall barrier. Suitably framed by redwoods of comparable stature, you’ve found the grandfather of all metal fences here, in this unintentional Amphitheatre of the Very Large. Enchanted, you wonder just how big a rock would have to be before it could break through all that support to crush you.
Unlike neighboring Carmel, where the bourgeoisie long ago edged out the hippie freaks, here in the coastal cliff forests of Big Sur, the boho spirit is alive and well. To find out what’s really happening in Big Sur, make a beeline to the Henry Miller Library. Equal parts archive, bookshop, live music venue, cultural center, and coffeehouse, the library’s sun-dappled sculpture garden is the perfect place to scribble in your journal or fall asleep with a book on your face.
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