Landward Side of the Bixby Bridge

To finish off yesterday, after Point Lobos, we continued south on CA 1. I drove us all to Big Sur and there to Nepenthe, one of the best restaurants on the central coast. We stopped at the Bixby Bridge, which is probably the most photographed bridge for car advertising purposes. I have taken photos of it before, but not from the landward side. The drive on this portion of CA 1 is probably one of the most beautiful rides you could have. I know of none other. Unfortunately, I was the driver. All of those cuts and promontories in this rugged central coast coastline translate into a twisty and turning, up and down drive. I got to keep my eyes on the road and not any of the great scenery. The property that Nepenthe is on was once purchased by Orson Wells and Rita Hayward, for a potential honeymoon cottage. Rumor has it that this was as close as Wells was willing to approach San Simeon, the William Randolph Hearst estate of Rosebud fame. Unfortunately, the Wells-Hayward marriage didn’t last long enough to begin construction. Somehow, Nepenthe rose from the ashes of that marriage. My Mother and Dad first visited Nepenthe almost sixty years ago. He checked on it and the same family is still running the place today.