The New York Times visited Jerry Brown’s family ranch, a 2,514-acre property where he and his wife spend weekends living out your Cabin Porn fantasy.
Brown is no stranger to modest accommodations. In his first round as governor in the ’70s, he famously slept on a mattress on the floor of his small Sacramento apartment. But his ranch getaway, where he stays in a small cabin—just big enough to hold one mattress, the Times reports—offers more aspirational living: no electricity, no cell service, no indoor plumbing. (OK, that last part may not be so aspirational.)
And like any good digital detox, the isolated ranch offers few distractions:
“They spend a lot of time outside,” said Walt Seaver, a farmer who is one of Mr. Brown’s cousins. “I went up there, and he was sitting on a stump reading a book. I asked him what he was reading. It was like Greek mythology.”
So next time you update Facebook, remember that Jerry Brown is out in nature, star-gazing and reading The Iliad.