When you have certain things in your immediate environment, sometimes it's like you are sitting in a slice of heaven. Big Sur can bring about those strong emotions in a person. The stupendous curvy roads of Highway One, each turn seemingly reveals another slice of paradise: a fresh water creek filled with trout running strong to the ocean, where there awaits a turquoise blue, kelp-filled palette of salt water that extends to the horizon with sea life and birds zig zagging from in and out of the visible landscape.




It is easy to just get caught up in it and stare. I recommend stopping the car at this point, and removing yourself from that vehicle in order to do this in a safe manner.




Andrew Molera State Park. When you get your whole name on a piece of land, you must be a relatively big deal, as Will Ferrell would say in Anchor Man. So who was this Andrew Molera character, anyway? Does this slice of paradise deserve to be named after him, overwriting, so to speak, the Chumash or other indigenous names that preceded the more modern title.

ER Harris