A Weekend at Richard Feynman’s House

The view of the house from the beach

I first heard of Richard Feynman a couple of years ago while looking for a book to read. I was chatting with a mathematician friend and he recommended Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman. Richard Feynman was a brilliant mathematician and physicist, but the book had little to do with that. It was mostly about his curious character and all the wild adventures he got himself into. With the money he won from the Nobel Prize he built a house in in La Mision, Baja California, Mexico.

The house was right on the cliffs above the beach and had a beautiful view of the ocean from all the rooms, as well as a nice patio over looking the beach.

The weather was perfect, santa ana winds blowing in from the desert made it about 85-90F during the day. Warm enough for one person to sleep outside in a hammock at night.

I went horse back riding for the first time ever (on the beach no less, I felt like I was in Spaceballs the entire time, even though I think they’re parodying Planet of the Apes in that scene). I went swimming in the ocean in November — well I didn’t do too much swimming, it was pretty cold, but had some fun for a little while. We played some horse shoes, ate delicious home cooked meals, watched a pretty sunset. One afternoon a dog came up to our patio, he was friendly and ended up staying with us all evening and throughout the night, in the morning when we woke up he was gone. But about an hour before we left the next day he came back, as if to say goodbye.

As it always seems, the wonderful weekend was far too short and monday morning came too quickly.

Update: The house’s official name is Casita Barranca, here’s a link with more information and reservation info.

(thanks to Derrik for taking pictures all weekend)

Oso, the dog that adopted us

Horseback riding on the beach

Sunset from the house