Living in the Bay Area in Northern California almost feel like a privilege. The weather is literally perfect 300+ days in the year. We have a rainy season in the winter but it results in such beautiful green pastures that it is in itself a charming time. We are lucky, I know.
But what makes Northern California special is hardly its beautiful valleys; the coastlines are simply legendary. And no other bit of coastline has captured the imagination of so many like the stretch between Big Sur and Carmel. Indeed, I first discovered this magical bit of land at the edge of the western world suffering in the cold and wind of early morning hours.
While I have now ran over 20 marathons, the Big Sur marathon in 2008 was the very first marathon I had ever ran and the very first time I had ran that distance. It took 10 years to write down these words and while I knew then how special that day was, I never understood how special that area would be to me until now.
Bixby Bridge, Big Sur, California
Not unlike the best friend you encounter the first days of high-school or college, failing to realize the special relationship and how well you hit it off. The reality is this could be it, nothing else will be better. Same with Big Sur, seeing it the first time is being at awe and of course thinking that there are other areas just as beautiful and breath taking.
Well in my many years of traveling, this 25 miles stretch of land is as good as it gets. The expansive Pacific on one side accentuates the beauty of the rugged coast line and gives the view the constant imagination that we hoped in our dreams. It’s like visiting an old friend and realizing that while you had not seen them for years, it feels like time has compressed and it was yesterday you’d seen them.
