Dream Escape

by Christine Neilson

During the seasonal conversion from winter to spring, I experience wanderlust. The only cure is to hit the road for a weekend adventure. So buckle your seat belt, we're about to embark on a puzzling excursion to a California dreamscape. Here are two clues: a hidden garden and an inverted world. So pack up your satchel, top hat, cozy apparel and, of course, you'll need a mirror.

Ascending a hillside into a peaceful neighborhood,  perched above Monterey's historical Cannery Row, I am drawn to an abode hidden behind a towering corner hedge on Laine Street. I find myself peeking through a curbside foliage opening, my eyes falling upon a stately Craftsman-style mansion with a massive sun room enveloping two sides of the house. I navigate towards the front entrance while perusing the terracing gardens.

Is that a gnome with a top hat? Wait. It's the Mad Hatter planted next to Alice's curious gaze. Have I been transported into Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland fable? A tale of the back-to-front world? Isn't this John Steinbeck country?

The answer awaits me behind a mission-style leaded glass door. I'm determined to find out the answers to our queries, so I push the bell. A chime rings out. A reflection of a tall gentleman grows closer. His smile widens as he greets me and begins the background story about what has led him to this time and space.

"In 1911, a Salinas lawyer with the last name of George built this house," says proprietor John Hickey after I introduce myself. "In 1937, his widow willed the property to the Victory Mission Sisters who held Catechism classes for all of the area's Catholic youngsters. The nuns traveled internationally as missionary teachers while Mother Superior stayed behind, recording their comings and goings.

The convent was sold to a private party in 1972, who then leased it to several different religious groups for use as a popular retreat over the next nine years," he continues.

"Nearly a decade later, in 1981, Barbara and Jim Allen purchased the home and converted it into a bed and breakfast, one of the first on the Monterey Peninsula. Jim Allen, a former volunteer with the Los Angeles School District, fell in love with Lewis Carroll's tales while working with students. He decided to bring 'Alice's story' to life by tagging his B&B the 'Jabberwock Inn.' "

Strolling through the dining room behind John, our reflections pop back at us from the sun room wall of windows overlooking Monterey Bay. Reaching back into our childhood Alice memories, the "Jabberwocky" poem surfaces. It was originally featured as part of Carroll's 1872 novel Through the Looking-Glass. When Alice enters the reflected version of her own house through a mirror, she finds a book with a weird looking poem. She realizes that she can only read the reversed printing by holding it up to a mirror. Alice finds the poem scary but curious: "Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas only I don't exactly know what they are!"

Thus, the inverted world is revealed along with why the packing of a mirror was relevant. My visit to this themed inn makes perfect sense. It is the meticulous efforts made by John and his partner, Dawn Perez, to maintain the integrity of this historical home that offers a comfortable hospitality.

"We purchased the Inn in August 2007. The first thing we did was remodel the kitchen . . . took it down to the studs. It was an adventure," laughs Dawn as we all relax in the parlor, where the essence of the former nuns' prayers offer a sanctuary by an impressive fireplace. Once the walls were opened up, we realized we had to do electrical work. The remodel took 16-days."

It's the attention to detail that envelopes you into the juxtaposition of this Victorian home with a fairy tale. There are hints of Alice's adventures throughout the house. A chess board of Wonderland's characters, top hats dangling off a rack in the hall along with secret closets both small and large.

"Do you know why Carroll had a character named the Mad Hatter?" John quizzes. "It's because hat makers in the 19th century used mercury to tan a hat's surface. The mercury poisoned them slowly and they eventually went mad."

John offers a plan he had for his madness. "Our back yard was sloping grass . . . not attractive. So in the fall of 2008, I decided to put in a Bocce ball court using Silician crushed oyster shells for the bed," his eyes glance proudly out the window to the court below. "We ran electricity out there and down to the lower level we call the 'Wedding' garden. We can seat 45 people. There have been some memorable wedding receptions with people dancing, playing boccie, and gathering throughout the garden at tables we set up."

Dawn offers me the inside story. "When you're ready to settle in for the evening after dining out, you'll retire to a room with a Victorian bed complete with lace-edged sheets and goose-down comforters. Three of our rooms include Jacuzzi tubs for two.In the morning, after our homemade breakfast, you may want to walk five short blocks down to Cannery Row, visit Fisherman's Wharf, or hop in your car for a drive over to Pacific Grove, Carmel, Pebble Beach, or Big Sur. In the late afternoon, you will return to share wine, hors d'oeuvres, and aperitifs with fellow guests on the sun porch."

After two days of relishing the pampering the innkeepers have offered, I pack up my cloak and mirror and contentedly depart from this dreamscape to the undersea world of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Doe Image on Banner by Tulip Fleurs