The House on the Pebble Beach Knoll

 

Several years ago when I lived in Pebble Beach, my daily walks led me to this small cove. You've heard me talk about it in past posts. I called it "my beach" because it's where I went to reflect on life and death and everything in between. Overlooking the cove is a house on a small knoll. It stands alone and brave, quite close to the water,  and I always wondered about that house. Did someone still live there? Did they have ever water lapping at their back door in a bad storm? What was the history of that house on the sea?

Yesterday I was invited to a private lunch in Pebble Beach. My friend had told me the place can be hard to find so we met at one of the entrance gates to Pebble Beach and I followed her through winding roads to 17 Mile Drive. I was so excited when we drove past "my beach," but imagine my surprise when her car turned into the driveway for the house on the knoll! That is where our luncheon would be held. After all these years, the mystery was finally solved. It was raining when we arrived, and we hurried down the path to the front door, shook out our umbrellas, and stepped inside. The house had been turned into a private meeting place. No one currently lives there. Eventually I made my way to the back picture windows and snapped these pictures...

 The cove ("my beach") itself...

We enjoyed a delicious lunch of chicken, risotto, fresh vegetables, and martini glasses filled with chocolate mousse topped with raspberries and blueberries. Then we listened to an inspiring speaker. He is a prominent physician in the area and started out talking about the heart, but soon became philosophical and talked about how we can have fixed mindsets or growth mindsets. Fixed mindsets are held by those who say, "That's just the way I am," and think they can't or won't change.Growth mindsets are held by those who make mistakes but learn from them, who are willing to try new things, who say, "I can do this," when confronted with a challenge. He told the story about the British Tour de France team who, instead of saying "we're doing the best we can," tweaked everything they were doing just 1% more and went on to win the race. You can read more about that here. I hope I'm one of the people who are willing to learn things through my whole life!

By the time we all parted ways, the rain clouds had moved on and the sun was out. We walked past this fascinating sideways tree. The wind may blow, but the tree adapted.

 Even a little caterpillar came out to enjoy the sun.

Adjacent Pacific Grove is known as the Butterfly Town and I imagine this caterpillar will soon become a beautiful butterfly and join with others to add color and joy to the monarch habitat sanctuary. Enjoy reading about this special butterfly habitat and monarch migration here.