Today (writing on Sunday night) I drove 242 miles to Asilomar, a conference center on the Monterey Peninsula for Fall Color Week, a private painting retreat with PleinAir Magazine’s Publisher Eric Rhoads and about 100 strangers. I got lost on the way, because it is sometimes nay, always tricky to both navigate and drive. I couldn’t get the talking lady to work, couldn’t find myself on a map, so I just resorted to commonsense, kept my sense of direction, and here I am.

Traveling by car means space isn’t very limited. I am used to traveling light, doing without, and making do, but this time I just kept adding things as I thought of them. More shoes, more pants, another sweater, another tool, another book, on and on and on. Ridiculous.

First impressions: beautiful building, long line, friendly people in line.

A friend polished my headlights and then helped me wash Fernando the day before I left. Didn’t matter, we were still shown very little respect on the freeways. Why is it that going 70 in a 65 still brings tailgating and contempt? I may have been imagining the contempt part. . .

This is the Stuck-Up Inn, where my room is.

This is a drive I’m not used to, (duh, I got lost) so the scenery was interesting. Why are there no boats on the San Luis Reservoir? What will happen to all the orchards of dead almond trees? Those golden hills against the blue sky would sure be worth painting, but there is no place to turn off the highway. Why is there so much litter? Where are all these people going?

The beach is walking distance

I have been to Asilomar before. About 15 years ago, a friend and I came to Monterey for the Big Sur marathon (we walked the 9-miler) and then we came here so I could gawk at these beautiful Craftsman style buildings, designed by Julia Morgan. Wow.

The dining hall (great food so far).

One thing that was a little worrisome was rooming with a stranger. No problem! Liesl and I are immediately compatible. . . she was very relieved that I get up early in the morning, and I echo that relief. The room is very small, so it won’t be easy to tiptoe around. She might go out painting first thing; I most likely will go for a walk (THE BEACH!!)

The backside of the room where we registered.

Monday morning we will be painting close to the conference grounds so we can get used to packing our gear and learning to use it. All the people are very genuinely friendly, and many have participated in these events before.

A quick stroll down to the beach after dinner.

So, I will be posting whenever I can find time and have something to show you.

The grounds have good walkways and adequate lighting. HOWEVER, all the buildings look alike, the lanes are curvy, and it is a confusing place of 107 acres. I’ll get it figured out this week.

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3 Comments

  1. I recognize all those scenes. *sigh* Such a beautiful place. Maybe the next time I drive up to visit my mother (300 miles for me) I’ll splurge and stay at Asilomar. She lives only 1 mile east of the conference grounds!

    • Sharon, Asilomar State Beach is fabulous. The conference grounds are also wonderful, but our room is tiny, and “rustic”. The food seems pricey if a guest only buys one meal at a time, but the food is good.

      • No worries–I am quite used to “tiny and rustic.”

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