My Nepenthe, Home
Home.
For me home always signifies Big Sur. Nepenthe. My grandmother’s living room above Nepenthe restaurant. Her secret garden outside the log cabin, now transformed by perennials, rose bushes, and myriad mosaics by my cousin Erin. The oak trees. The beach. The blue birds. The quietness of mornings. A profusion of wild flowers in spring. The wilds of the canyon. This is home. This is what I long for.
Home is also where I live today. In a little flat, on a tree-lined street in Oakland. In my own secret garden. Where my children are. Where plum blossoms and a climbing rose bush weave together. Where herbs grow in pots. Where friendships deepen. Home is where I am. Here.
My Oakland Garden
My Cousin Erin's Garden, Nepenthe
What a wonderful life. I was lucky enough to have my reception luncheon at Nepenthe in September 2004. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind place. How blessed you are to have grown up where you did – magical. Looking forward to October when the book comes out!
Warm memories,
Shannon Amaral
Shannon
Thank you for writing in and so glad you enjoyed your wedding reception at Nepenthe. My grandmother wanted nothing more than Nepenthe to be an “isle of no care” for others to enjoy, a place of service and love to others, as she once said, and not ours alone, but belonging to all. I’m so pleased that you experienced some of its magic.