Between 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, California, and the rugged coastal views from Highway 1 in Big Sur, Monterey County may be the most beautiful road trip in America. Autumn is my favorite time to visit, with consistent warm, sunny days for outdoor adventures, and the winter Monarch butterfly season brings a happy hygge if you enjoy the occasional tempestuous storm. Traffic can be gnarly between Monterey and Big Sur, and lane closures due to rockslides and mudslides are not uncommon, but even when you’re stuck in traffic, you can just look outside and enjoy the views.
This is a place that humbled and inspired writers from Robinson Jeffers and Henry Miller to Jack Kerouac. Many visitors spill out of their cars at the Bixby Bridge vista point, but I drove on, knowing the panorama would be just as impressive from my cottage at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur. Here, rather than TVs, every room has a wood-burning fireplace and custom-made reclaimed redwood cabinetry and furniture.
Tree houses built on stilts and ocean houses with grass-covered living roofs reminiscent of hobbit houses sprout organically from the earth. I arrived just in time for a quick shower with floor-to-ceiling sunset views and dinner at the in-house restaurant, Sierra Mar, where the fisherman’s catch is always a good idea. The next day, I met Micha Merrick, an herbalist who offers herbal healing rituals at the Post Ranch Inn and the Esalen Institute.
Merrick is a woodland nymph with loose braids, long, .
