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In the first chapter of his autobiographical novel, Jack Kerouac recounts how he hopped off the freight car at Summerland in late September 1955. From his general description of the place, it may have been right about here that he cooked some hot dogs and a can of beans over his camp fire and then spent the night on the beach. In the morning he climbed up to US 101 to hitch a ride north. The novel then jumpcuts to Allen Ginsberg's reading of "Howl" in SF.
The "missing chapter" about his ride to SF with a blonde in a white bikini driving a 1956 Mercury was published in the Oct 1963 issue of Playboy under the title "Beautiful Blonde." It was in the Playboy piece that Kerouac mentioned Summerland by name.
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Coordinates:   34°24'57"N   119°35'9"W
This article was last modified 18 years ago