This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004 sounds (already), old, scratched, a little battered, like my camera cellphone (which I bought in 2004). This blog is one of the transitions for the new year. I've started it for This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004 sounds (already), old, scratched, a little battered, like my camera cellphone (which I bought in 2004). This blog is one of This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004 sounds (already), old, scratched, a little battered, like my camera cellphone This is a weird time of year. Here in Berkeley it's a gorgeous day, sunny, though chilly. The magnolias are already blooming. It's not spring yet, not even winter. The looming New Year makes a guy think about transitions, the passage of time, new stuff—the usual. The numeral 2005 sounds new—shiny and pristine, just out of the box, wheareas 2004 sounds

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Big Sur and the Oranges of Henry Miller

4:17 PM Friday, March 4, 2005

[January 7, 2005: A Memoir]

In early January I like to visit Big Sur and stay at Deetjen's Big Sur Lodge, which has a restaurant in a former barn serving breakfast and dinner. This is a serious coffee place, especially in the rainy winter.

This year was especially rainy, with a big storm having arrived in the middle of last night: shrieking wind and torrential rain. Another storm is predicted for tonight.

There is no TV or telephones in the room, and don't even ask about high-speed internet. However, my Handspring PDA still works here, and Deetjen's has a generator so when the power goes out, I can still recharge my iPod. One of the amenities is a new book in each room by Jeff Norman about the pioneers and later settlers of Big Sur, with copious photographs. One of the first pioneers was an English sea captain named Cooper who converted to Catholicism and married the sister of Mariano Vallejo, one of the founders of the Sonoma settlement. Most of the pioneers were Europeans or displaced Northern Californians; they married native Americans and Mexican settlers prior to the US war with Mexico when the US acquired California. A remnant of their descendants still work vast ranchlands, sharing the economy with federal and state parklands, military preserves and a few small businesses which have sprung up along Highway 1. Most travelers pass right through, perhaps stopping to eat at Nepenthe, a legendary restaurant with spectacular views and thirteen-dollar hamburgers. For me, however, Big Sur is a very special place to visit and revisit, with Deetjen's as the only place to stay.

Henry Miller lived here from 1944-1960 before he threw in the towel and moved to LA after a long visit to Europe. His children spent their early years here.

A rainy day like today is perfect for blogging because there's not much else to do. Tomorrow, home, unless the road washes out in the middle of the night. (Written 1/7/05 7:54 pm) —JDL

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