Original subtitles

We're completely off the grid.

It's a bit wild up here.

There aren't many cabins that face up the coast

from south looking north.

There's few accessible places with views

of the tops of the mountains.

So we were really thrilled to find this place.

It's really special, and it fits the landscape perfectly.

We're here in beautiful Big Sur California.

It's one of the most dramatic coastlines in the world.

You go from the Pacific Ocean to a 5,000-foot peak in the span

of just a couple of miles.

It's the rugged Santa Lucia mountains, wild condors,

redwood canyons, just this incredible ecosystem

of rugged natural beauty.

It's a really special and magical place.

Mike and I started camping and hiking and backpacking here

and just really loved being here,

and we found a spot on a ridge nearby where

we loved to hike and camp.

And at night, we'd sit and look at the stars

and dream about one day maybe spending more time down here.

Yeah, it was a beautiful spot

with wide open views and only one little light.

And we would look across at that light

and think, man, someone gets to live here.

What an amazing life.

Which started us dreaming

about maybe one day having a place of ourselves down here.

A few months later, this listing came up,

and I recognized the view from the cabin in the photos I

actually--

I couldn't believe it.

I mean, it seemed like a dream.

So I actually didn't even tell Mike about it for a while.

I kind of sat on that listing and showed

it to him about a month later and said, hey, check this out.

How funny it looks like there's this cabin with this view

from the campsite.

And Mike said, well, why don't we go look at it?

So we did.

And it turns out that this is the very cabin

and that we used to look at when we sat out in the mountains.

When you come to the cabin, you drive

up a very rugged mountain road.

And when you arrive at the cabin,

it's just this arresting view and immediately

kind of puts you at peace looking

out over the Big Sur coastline.

When you come inside,

it's all wood construction-- wood floors,

wood ceilings, wood beams.

And it just feels like you're one with nature in that moment.

The cabin is small, but it's cozy.

And it's really well-laid out.

So you come in the front door, and there's

a kitchen with handmade redwood countertops

that feel like they've been there a million years

even though the cabin is actually relatively modern.

The living space is really anchored by the antique wood

stove, and then our bedroom area is

anchored by this antique brass bed, which came with the cabin.

And we were so glad that it did because it's just the most

perfect piece for the space.

My favorite ritual here at the cabin

is just waking up in this place, just looking out the window

at this incredible view.

We actually lofted up the bed so that we had that view.

So when you first open your eyes in the morning,

that's the first thing that you see.

The inspiration for having the guest cabin

was just wanting to share this place

with our friends and family.

It's nice and cozy, kind of tucked down the hill away

from the main cabin.

Folks have privacy, but it's still nice and close

so that we can all enjoy meals together when

we have friends come and stay.

The cabin started as a place for us

to get away from the city, unwind,

but now it's taken on really extra and special significance

because we have our little son in our life.

And we really want him to grow up

with this connection to nature.

Go get him.

Just running around after an 18-month-old,

you see the space entirely differently.

You're looking at small things.

Oh, that's a really cool rock.

That's a neat stick.

That's a cool leaf.

Let's make that into a learning opportunity for not just him

but for us as well about the space that we live in

and the nature that we share it with.

A lot of what we do here is just maintaining the space.

We split a lot of logs so that we can feed the fireplace

so we can keep the cabin warm.

The idea that there is so much work involved

in keeping this place like it is is one of the great things

because it invests you in being here.

You know that when you come, you're going to work hard,

and then you get to enjoy the benefits of that work.

You get to relax.

You get to sit in the hammock and enjoy the view

and know that you put in the work to make this happen.

Put some chairs out in the yard just so we could sit out there

and look up at the sky.

And we thought, you know what?

This really needs a fire pit, so we

got the fire pit to go with it.

It's unbelievable how clear the sky is here

and how much you can see.

I'd say being off the grid forces

us to disconnect from our devices,

put them down, and enjoy the view and enjoy each other

and enjoy what we have around us here.

I mean, for decades, Big Sur has been such

an inspiration to artists and architects

and all kinds of creatives.

And as a photographer myself, I can't imagine

anywhere more beautiful to spend my time and create photography.

We really want this to be kind of the anchor spot

for our family.

No matter what's going on, no matter how far away you are,

you come back here, and you get that same sense of family

that same sense of belonging and that same sense of being

close to each other, close to nature,

close to this amazing space.

Never?

When we used to sit up at that campsite and look back this way

and look out over the Big Sur coast,

it was really a lifelong dream that we were dreaming that we

would find some land and maybe build a small cabin

and improve that land over, you know, probably decades.

And here we are just a few years later.

I think Mike and I both kind of moved around a bit

when we were growing up.

And the idea of having a place that we can all return

to as a family, that place of zen, that place of grounding,

and the peace that we have here is

something that I have with me every day

even when I'm not here.

Absolutely.

We're really fortunate to have this

down here on the South Coast.