That we, as Northern California residents, are blessed with access to some of the world’s most compelling coastline underscores our desire to live here. We hear about the high prices of real estate and gas all the time. Complaints and new issues arise constantly: California has problems on this and what are we going to do about that? But to those who have not lived and experienced some of the best of Northern California, we say, among many choices, things like, “Well, we have Point Lobos and you don’t.” A State Preserve less than 10 miles south of Carmel, Point Lobos is one of those treasures that reveal itself in the simplest ways: Get out and walk among the gnarled cypress on the hillsides overburdened with wildflowers and ground cover. And in so doing it hits: A view that makes us stop and absorb the natural beauty of ragged granite walls dropping into the deep blue Pacific.
Point Lobos is about two hours south of Danville, and it’s often an afterthought with charming Carmel and its shops, restaurants and galleries just up the road. For that matter, there’s Monterey Bay with its wharf and famous Aquarium. And yet, just a short car ride further south on Highway 1 awaits that nature immersion that can eviscerate stress, calm the heart and inspire the legs to carry on to see what other visual surprises can be discovered. There are several trails available within Point Lobos, but the Cypress Grove walk might offer the most in terms of beauty and views. There are benches along the trail, which is about a mile long, but to traverse its winding path is to come hard and fast into a “why not” moment.
We live in a world in which a spectacular moment comes across in a text or a video on our phones for a few seconds. We can chuckle at the memes created in the aftermath of the latest social or political or cultural talking point. But here, away from the cacophony of modern life, talking points are pointless in Point Lobos. You realize that the first time you view through a cypress tree into a cove, white foam floating back to the sea, currents eddying among the rocks, the breeze redolent in salt and freshness. And perhaps it’s a blush of a breeze that carries a hint of jasmine that makes you reconsider the moment and … just … soak… it… in. Immerse in it for not 10 seconds, nor a minute. Maybe find a tree and lean against it as your mental metabolism downshifts out of the High Speed Brain into simple Observation. Allow the sensory skil
ls to dominate: The breeze, the salt, the ocean, the waves, the hillsides in the distance, and what it was like 200 years ago, and 500 years ago, and 5,000 years ago, and before long you’re there for 10 minutes. And it’s soothing and refreshing and rejuvenating. So you stay longer.
That’s the “why not” moment. And then there’s the sign on the trail that warns to keep your voice down, as harbor seals are birthed here. And we wouldn’t want THAT disturbed, eh?
Yes, Point Lobos is 115 miles away and yet it’s like the epicenter of stress reduction. It reminds us that simple beauty can be restorative; that fresh air and jagged cliffs seem to make us realize that the world is beautiful and we’re so lucky to see and experience up close and so easily – just $10 fee to get into Point Lobos.
By Ted Johnson, Resident since 1991