“La Honda, I had a grand scheme that amounted to the opportunity of a lifetime.  Up until then, things had been going along as smooth as a goldfish pond.”

  – Kesey’s words found on a sheet of typescript in the attic.

Photos

1. 1.View from the bridge
   

2. 2.From behind (west)
   

3. 3.Piano detail

In June of 99’ we took down our “Keep The Fuck Out!” sign and moved back, and the BUS, with Ken & the pranksters paid us a visit on their way to search for Merlin in Scotland. A British TV crew, and about 100 local fans, came along for the show.  After a tearful tour – several pranksters were touched to see the old place given new life – Ken brought all the pranksters, and me, into the Redwood fairy circle behind the kitchen and did a communal I-Ching throw.  The two resulting hexagrams said: “a good man given a trial by water will prevail if he is true to himself,” and “when a large force is in conflict with a weak force, the result must be handled with great gentleness.”    As we were leaving the fairy circle Ken said that circle had always been the best spot to do Nitrous (Oxide) because the trees were …” far enough apart that no matter which way you fell, you wouldn’t hit your head.”

I thought surely Ken rigged that I-Ching reading for me – but everyone says he never “Pranked” with the I-Ching.

Immortalized in Tom Wolfe’s “The Electric Cool Aid Acid Test,” this house is where Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters began the Acid tests of the 1960s. It is now a monument to the psychedelic era, the ecstatic imagination, and the All-American love of rural independence and fun-loving outlaws.

Kesey held on to ownership for 30 years after being ‘evicted’ from California, finally selling reluctantly but happily in 1997 to folks who mean to honor the unique character of the house and its place in American culture.

By 1999, we restored it to museum quality, with a new, raised foundation and a freeway-rated bridge as the driveway. Ken and the Pranksters, in “Further,” visited us in 1999, to see the renovation - some of them were moved to tears. We numbered and reinstalled each piece of the old pine paneling and reinforced the framing to seismic standards, to create a solid monument to an important piece of cultural history.

“The Electric Cool Aid Acid Test”

Inquiries about purchasing the house should be addressed to:    ta56@coastside.net .