My girlfriend and I were fortunate to spend 5 nights here at the close of 2012. There were too many magical moments to note here, but I'll mention a few that stood out especially.
As the first VRBO renters, proprietors Vance and Jay were quick to correct some first-time glitches we found with the property (broken Wifi and such). Otherwise, the staggering views rendered such quibbles petty.
Coming from bustling, elbows-out SF, the isolation and privacy here are startling. From sunrise to 9am, on the bench outside the main door, there's a meditative, rejuvenating window of absolute quiet. I strained but failed to hear any sign of civilization for over an hour: no cars, people, music, planes ... nothing! The visual silence is equally startling: from the deck, you have 200 degrees of vertical span (beach to sky) and another 200 degrees of horizontal span with no one else in sight. A couple of houses dot a distant ridge, but that's about it.
Beyond that, exploring the property gives moments you'll discover yourself, but here were a few of our favorites:
- The Views, of course. I've never had unlimited access to such heady views before, and I found myself constantly wandering out to the deck and just gawping at Nature.
- The Birds: hummingbirds, various coastal thrushes and starlings, ridge-soaring hawks, ravens and gulls, its wonderful to watch all the airplay from the deck. One morning I watched a hummingbird show I'd never seen: repeated climbs to 150 feet, follow by a dramatic dive. Birds-eye view? Mating ritual to show off his rate of climb? I don't know, but it was pretty cool.
- Pfeiffer beach: definitely walk down to the beach, noting that you'll need to hitch a ride on someone's bumper to pass a river crossing. Past that, you'll hit one of the neatest beaches anywhere ... the sand is purple! Really ... manganese garnet deposits in the rocks erode to a rich purple sand along the cliff faces.
- The Fireplace: the main room is built for lounging and you'll probably want to spend the bulk of your time there, relaxing in front of the fire.
I've more anecdotes, but no more characters so I'll close there. This is a majestic, romantic property and we hope to return again soon.
- Mark and Linda, Dec 2012