After four months, I started pestering the company and was told they were out of tanks but expected a shipment the following week. They would call to make an appointment. When the phone rang at 7:55 AM five days later, I thought they were ready to schedule. Oh, no. They would be there in an hour. Yikes! OG and I took very speedy showers and stuffed down our breakfast. Once they started digging, all the plumbing would be off-limits for the duration of the day until the new tank was installed, so we decided to take a road trip.
After a brief debate re: north vs. south, we hopped into the car and headed south down scenic Highway 1 toward Big Sur. Our plan was to have lunch at the iconic Nepenthe Restaurant. We'd driven by, but never stopped there, and it's been on my bucket list for years.
A plus to this plan was that I'm setting my next series, tentatively subtitled Cypress Coast Mysteries, in and around coastal Monterey County. Setting is very important to me, so I grabbed my camera to take a few location shots to remind me of the details. The drive took us across grassy meadows that sloped into the sea and through towering redwood forests. This photo marks the entrance to Los Padres National Forest.
In the first book, Second Wind, the heroine is a kinetic sculptor who lives next to the family's vegetarian restaurant in Big Sur. I had long thought Nepenthe would make the perfect prototype, and was I ever right! It's a glass and redwood structure situated on an oak-studded cliff with stunning views down the coast. Here's the view from our table.
On the way back, I managed to get a great shot of the iconic Bixby Bridge. Amazingly, it's almost the exact view I've been planning to use for the cover. Here's my photo:
And here's the stock photo for the cover:
Any way you look at it, it was a great way to spend what would otherwise have been a very stressful day.
Alison
www.alisonhenderson.com
16 comments:
Lovely pictures, Alison. Great setting for your new series. Isn't it exciting to start a new one? My fav time when writing. Hope you enjoy the process. What a great way to kill time while your new tank is installed.
Oh wow, what stunning photos. I'm feeling quite deprived that I've never traveled west and am more determined than ever to get out there some day. Your bridge shot is almost identical to the stock photo, too! Very cool. Hopefully you arrived home to a new tank and far fewer plumbing worries.
A great way to spend your day and wonderful photos! I see a new calendar coming out of this!
Thanks, Diane. I'm not sure exactly what tone I'm aiming for in the new series yet. I may have to just start writing and see what happens.
The bridge shot amazed me, Leah, especially since I took it through the windshield of the moving car! We did arrive home to a new tank, although they discovered an additional problem that took another day and a half to correct. All's well now, however.
Jannine, I didn't get enough photos for a Big Sur-themed calendar, but I did get some nice ones to mix in this year.
We have a septic system as well, and decided to pump out this year while the yard was torn up. Of course 'rules' have changed about access, etc., so we had to have ours worked on as well. Ended up costing a couple thou. Expensive, these digestive 'systems' are! Love the pictures, Alison. You've become quite the cover girl!
Rolynn, we're looking at $10-15K. I can't be sure because they found additional problems once they dug it up, and I don't have the bill yet.
What beautiful pictures. What. A. View. I might have to check your area out. Mention California and I think of traffic jams and fog. I am so wrong, aren't I? Thanks for sharing.
Vonnie, summer mornings are usually foggy, but the only time we have traffic jams in our neck of the woods is during Classic Car Week, and then the jams are Ferraris and Porsches. LOL
Thanks for the trip down memory lane for me--loved doing that drive. As for the septic tank, I don't even know where mine is. I dread to think! Previous owners never pumped it so am wondering....and good luck with the new books.
Thanks, Andi. It is a spectacular drive. Wishing you no septic tank woes. It's very expensive and disruptive.
One of these days my husband and I really need to travel deep into California. We dipped our toes in when he was in the service, but that was a result of poor navigation on my part when he was on leave and we were temporarily lost, heading west from Arizona when we should have been heading east. Those pictures are stunning. Way to make good use of what could have become a bad day.
Stunning photos and what a great setting. Setting is really important to me too. In fact, I'm on the way to take photos for my next series. FDW is driving as I check email. Great to have the setting within a couple of hours drive.
We were in La Jolla, Monterey and Big Sur several years ago. Each turn of the road was another breathtaking vista. You can't go wrong with any of those settings. Talk about making lemonade out lemons. :)
Ha! I've been to the Nepenthe Restaurant. It's been quite a few years, but I doubt it's changed much. Amazing views. I like your pix of the bridge better than the stock photo. Too bad about the septic tank. That's like us doing house improvements, the painter falling off the roof, and now threatening to sue us. Lesson learned: Don't be to responsible.
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