5 Lessons from my NoCal (San Fran/Big Sur) Trip this Weekend

I had the pleasure of enjoying a varied long weekend in northern California this past 4 days. Varied in that it ranged from city touring in San Francisco from to trekking through remote areas of the Big Sur coast. Here are 4 things I learned this weekend (sorry, couldn’t pull off a 5th one), and some photos:

1. We are but a dot in time and space.

There’s nothing like a weekend in a place like Big Sur to make you feel insignificant. Not in a bad way. But in a way that makes you feel like a part of a much larger world than the one in which you normally live your life. The physical beauty and presence of the Big Sur coastline remind you that the Earth is vast and powerful, and has been around a lot longer than us humans. The history of Big Sur with its early pioneers and settlers who loved its beauty, remind you that there were once brave and hard-working explorers that had a much greater appreciation of the earth and a greater sense of adventure than we typically have on an average day, week, or month. The current people of Big Sur still maintain that sense of appreciation and peace with the earth. Being in this tranquil and beautiful place was a great rejuvenator and reminder of our place as humans in time and on the planet.

2. We really SHOULD work out to “Train for Life”.

My personal trainer, Josh Neumann, says that you should work out not to train for a specific event like a triathlon or marathon, but to “train for life”. As I’m doing squats and lunges, and 5km runs around Trout Lake, I don’t particularly think that life is going to present me with the NEED to squat and lunge and run 5km. This weekend, I learned that there ARE situations where this training will come in handy when you are FORCED to run 5km!

On Saturday, my husband Dave accidentally locked the keys to our rental car in the trunk when we were at a beach 2 miles down a “secret” road. And 2 miles from cell phone reception! After we realized this, a nice lady drove me up to the ranger station about 2.2 miles from our car. Where, I was able to make phone calls and it took me about 45 minutes to sort out with Hertz to send a locksmith to us – but Big Sur being so remote, it would take the guy almost 2 hours to get to us from Monterey! $275 later, I realized I had no choice (breaking the window was not an option, I learned, since the brand new Toyota Camry would automatically disable the trunk lever once it was broken into!). In the mean time, Dave was over 2 miles away, with no cell phone reception. And knowing Dave, he would FREAK out if he didn’t hear from me or see me 3 hours after leaving with the nice lady in her car. So, with my big bulky camera over my shoulder and wallet and BlackBerry in hand, I started jogging the 2.2 miles. And this was after doing a 3.2 mile hike earlier that day. I had to run – not walk – because I had to make it there in sufficient time of finding Dave (in case he decided to go down to the beach and I couldn’t find him right away), and in enough time so that I (or we) could jog or walk back to the ranger station where the locksmith was meeting us (he couldn’t meet us down at the beach since it was down an unmarked road that he probably wouldn’t be able to find). So I did the jog and after finding Dave, we did a fast-walk back up the 2.2 mile hill to the ranger station. So yes, I now believe that life may present you with situations in which it pays off to have been “training for life”. I thought of this and smiled as I ran the 2.2 miles…

3. A new word to my vocabulary: Massholes

“Massholes” = “Assholes from Boston/Mass like Ben Affleck with those stupid accents”. As described by some Denver guys we met at a wine party in San Francisco.

And we put this to use on Sunday at the airport when some obnoxious fans were loudly cheering for the Boston Redsox (game on TV): "What a bunch of loud Massholes". Love it!

4. Rundown mobile home cabins in Big Sur cost more than hotel rooms at the Ritz Carleton

We contemplated why our mobile home “cabin” in Big Sur with faux wood walls and bedsheets circa 1970 cost more than our hotel room at the Ritz in San Francisco. Some reasons:

• a. Big Sur is the most beautiful place in North Americas so someone is cashing in and making a killing.
• b. Usable land is scarce in Big Sur, so land costs are expensive.
• c. Big Sur is so remote that it costs a lot to get supplies in to serve tourists.
• d. Tourists only come to Big Sur during certain months, so they have to charge a lot during the high months to make up for the low months.

Either way, if you are going to Big Sur, be prepared to book ahead of time and don’t expect it to be too cheap. Even the places that are “campground and cabins” aren’t cheap. But, Big Sur is one of the most beautiful places on earth.