Tuesday, August 05, 2008

above it all.

We live at the foot of Mt. Tamalpais. You can see this mountain from my bathroom window - it stands between our house and the sea - it is a stunning part of our every day landscape. We quickly cruise it's curvy roads to reach the beach. Or park part way over and hike it's trails. Or have picnics with bottles of wine and lazy day blanket naps in special meadows overlooking that beautiful Pacific. But I had not yet been to the top or, better yet, spent a night up in that generous silence.

Speaking of generous...my friend is one of seven inn keepers at the West Point Inn (built in 1904) which lies almost at the very top of Mt. Tam. She guessed that I needed an escape. We met at the base of the trail and we hiked the 45 minutes to this magnificent place. We mingled with the other hikers that stopped by for a rest and a lemonade until we were the only two left up there (the Inn is closed on Sunday nights).

Since the place was empty I got to choose where I would sleep and this was it...

my cabin door...

and my porch, complete with outdoor sink and shower...
the cabin porch

and this was my view upon arrival...
610pm
6:10 pm Sunday.

and when I went to sleep with the double doors open all night to the sky...
1021pm
10:21 pm Sunday.

and when I awoke for the first time, civilization blanketed with fog...
559am
5:59 am Monday.

and awoke for the second time and took a cool shower out on this porch, open to the world still out there somewhere...
628am
6:28 am Monday.
___

Although my house is a pinpoint in the middle of those second two photos (San Francisco just to the right of the frame, the wine country further to the left, the ocean behind me) I was lifted above it all and a million miles away in the most healing and restorative way.

And she was right...just what I needed.

13 Comments:

Blogger lisa said...

I am speechless. what a friend! what a place!

2:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i am speechless. this post and your pics have lifted my soul and it smiles. :)

3:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

just read lisa's post...guess you've managed to 'silence' us both. funny. ;)

3:18 PM  
Blogger Jon Brown said...

What a wondrous place!

I'm a bit confused though. Are the photos looking out towards the bay or out towards the ocean?

7:08 PM  
Blogger LeS said...

thanks and yes, lisa, yes!

thank you jennifer, as you can see, mine too :)

jb510 - the view is of the north part of the SF bay (also known as richardson bay but that could further confuse things). The ocean is behind me in these photos. If you look at a map of the Bay Area, Marin County (where I live and where these were taken) is the piece of land that is on the north side of the GG Bridge. Does that make sense? yikes, hope so :)

7:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos. This takes me back to northern california, definitely. My dad used to live in San Anselmo, and Fairfax, and San Raphael. All over. And I visited him many times. He took me to Mt. Tam once, and it was lovely. I can't wait to come out there again.

7:54 AM  
Blogger Rebecca said...

sigh. such a gorgeous spot. i love the porch, but the view? simply amazing. hope you enjoyed every bit of it.

8:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh..and ms griffin! YES! are you going to see her at the mt winery this month???

4:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That is glorious!

6:00 AM  
Blogger LeS said...

ppb: thanks and please let me know when you are here and we can have a visit!

oh rebecca, i really truly did :)

jennifer! i think i will miss that show :( but I have seen her many times and she is my very favorite. (two previous posts about my favorite artist PG here and here)

thank you tina - i wish i were there right now :)

7:18 AM  
Blogger Orange Pattern said...

Aaah, space, huh? I can so, so relate.

Very uplifting...

8:58 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

breathtaking!

4:53 PM  
Blogger Intrepidflame said...

I just wanted you to know that you are living in my dream house and area.

Next time you are having an off day, just remember that you are living someone's dream...

Great pics. It is a pleasure to have seen your work go from good to professional great. Keep it up.

11:02 AM  

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