We started our day with the best bed and breakfast ever, saying goodbye to our generous perfect hosts Paripurnata and Jibitesh at their historic home in San Luis Obisbo. After two wonderful days there, we set off to travel further up the beautiful California coastline.
"Big Sur" is the famous rugged coastline of California where the mountains abruptly rise out of the ocean and the whispy blue sky stretches forever.
The coastline elicits beauty and awe from within, which is perhaps why famous writers such as Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson all took up residence there and found creative inspiration.
The roads were narrow with little shoulder to run on, but the views were incredible.
Early sightings of the mystical redwoods had some of us a bit giddy.
The beaches were bright and the water was brisk!
Some people had heard about Sri Chinmoy and his influence on great musicians such as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin.
Lemon Larry (yes, that is a home grown lemon!).
Two teams visited the Boys and Girls Club in Seaside near Monterey.
We sang the Peace Run and everyone learned the World Harmony Run song with actions.
Then we all ran with the peace torch on the oval a few times. The children really seemed to enjoy running! At the request of some of the kids, we played "sharks and minnows" with them. We were the sharks and stood in the middle of the gym. The kids had to try to run past us without being tagged by us. They ran back and forth many times. The last one to be tagged was the winner. We were surprised at how fast they could run!
We shared a Peace Run shirt and thanked Marlene Trotter-Murray for organizing the event. We also presented them with a large print of artwork by the Founder of the Peace Run, Sri Chinmoy.
After running we rushed to clean up and get to Julia's Vegetarian Restaurant in Pacific Grove, which has become a favorite dining experience since our first visit in 2014. We all are vegetarian and have tried it all, but Julia's is definitely the gold standard of home-cooked gourmet vegetarian food! The spices and combination of ingredients made for incredibly delicious dishes. And we were treated to a live performance by a local musician, so the evening couldn't have been better.
If you are anywhere near Monterey, treat yourself to great food and kind and caring service. You will be so glad you did!
