Hearst Castle Trip

[thoreau]

Well - I just got home from Palo Alto on Tuesday morning and all I can say about my trip was how wonderful it is to travel with David. We had a ball. We quickly fell into our car trip roles - manic driver and beverage man/DJ. David took his DJ role seriously - even researching the lives of the composers we played and playing KDFC DJ and giving me to low down. We listened to Bartok, Brahms and Mozart - David's three favorite composers.

We got started about noon on Saturday - and drove south on 101. Our pace was casual - stopping when things looked interesting - or it was time for a Kateywalk. While stopping in King City - Katey attracted a suitor. We named him Don Juan. He was so persistent about "getting to know" Kate that he ran after the car when we drove away. He was a cute little guy.



Then we drove over the hills from Pasa Robles. The hills between Pasa Robles and the ocean was littered with vineyards and it reminded us both of the Napa Valley a lot.

We spent the first evening walking the beaches at San Simeon and just relaxing.



Sunday morning we took our first tour of Hearst Castle, "The Experience Tour" - which gave an overview of the house and the grounds. We went back on Sunday to tour the gardens, the guest houses (the smallest of which was 2400 sq feet) and the wine cellar.

I took gabillion photos of Hearst Castle - the full photoset is here.

I'll write some more about Hearst Castle and my reactions and stuff later - but suffice to say it was a startling homage to incredible vast wealth. WR Hearst spared nothing creating his castle. From the "neptune pool" above to the incredible main house (70 rooms, a strange mix of California catholic mission and Mediterranean villa) below - to the 70 rooms and incredible size of EVERYTHING. Considering it was built in the 30s and 40s - the technology it took to pull it off is pretty impressive. It was the first mansion on the west coast to have running water and electricity.



Saturday afternoon we drove up and down the coast - taking in some supreme oceanside makeout spots. (yay!) We also drove up to check out a heard of elephant seals which were sunning themselves and molting their winter fur.





We ate really well on this trip - the motel came with free dinner and breakfast at local restaurants.

We drove back yesterday hitting some serious accident-related traffic snarls - - and ended up getting home (in Palo Alto) about 10pm. But honestly - we were lazy getting out of San Simeon because we didn't want to arrive in San Jose, etc. at the height of rush hour.

The alarm went off at 530 and I motored home this morning. It was a grand, grand trip. David described it as "a dry run for much bigger travel adventures." That is just super!

Comments

[wrascalbc.livejournal.com]

The only Hearst Castle tour I haven't taken is the nighttime one. Someday.....

Glad you 2 adorables had a great time! Oh, that's 3 adorables with Ms Katie.

Bartok, Brahms and Mozart
Long haired rebels!

[pectopah.livejournal.com]

I did the Experience Tour at the Hearst Castle in 1993 and it blew me away. I want to go back for the other tours someday. Two things really stand out from the trip, one was when the tour guide had us stand on the verandah and had us do a 360 turn around, whereupon she reminded us that Hearst owned everything we could see (and the Hearst family still does, for the most part) and it was a fog-free day.

The other was when we were in Hearst's bedroom and we all noticed that the bed seemed rather small for a man of Hearst's girth. Someone asked the tourguide where Marion Davies slept and before she could answer, another tourist piped up, "On top of Hearst!" Everyone tittered and the tourguide didn't disagree and then explained where her "official" bedroom was.

[stivalineri.livejournal.com]

When I saw it 15 years ago, the guides were still pretending that Hearst practiced the morality he pretended. I asked the guide where was the chapel? Every other grand estate I'd visited had one. -Sputter, sputter-. And where was the bar? -sputter, sputter-.

I remember the lampshades made from Renaissance era vellum choir books. And how dark the big house's main rooms were compared to how bright the service areas were. Perhaps that was a boon for all the dipsomaniacs.

[tbone1961.livejournal.com]

that is an awesome shot of the two of you!!

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

the demonstration of unending wealth was staggering. He had greek temples flown in from Greece - and what? they don't quite fit? well cut Neptunes feet off above the pool. What? you mean that carved 12th century ceiling doesn't fill the ceiling - cut it into pieces to fit. Just in the gardens are priceless statues that "Millicent liked so we purchased it" or the "wildmen" he had removed from a monastery in France and installed on the front of his house. The level of simultaneous interest in antiquities and disrespect for them as complete forms was (for me) very disturbing. I have to look up more about Hearst and his history. He was the 3rd richest man in the states in his day - (the early 20th century version of Bill Gates I suppose) - - very very interesting place to visit.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

thanks! it was literally - "hold the camera at arms length and click" --- I wish I had a more 'ready to go smile' most photos of me - I have to "put on" a smile thats camera ready - most times I look sorta goofy. LOL! of course, David is too adorable for words most of the time.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

it was an incredible thing to imagine this home in 1939 when he first started living there. What a staggering achievement - bringing it all up the hill in chain driven trucks. the marble - and the construction at the time was state of the art. and he was so proud of the lightbulbs everywhere he didn't put light covers on them. We chose the garden tour over the Hearst's private chambers - although he did stay in the lower guest house for the last few years before moving to Beverly Hills with his girlfriend. The guide admitted that he wasn't a churchgoing man - but obsessed about religious artifacts. Pretty amazing stuff.

[pectopah.livejournal.com]

Hmm, maybe I didn't take the Experience Tour, or maybe they just reconfigured things. All I know is that I took the basic "get your bearings" tour and it included his bedroom.

Yes, an incredible achievement. Have you seen "Citizen Kane"?

[joebehrsandiego.livejournal.com]

Robert - what a wonderful post!

All the pics are great ... but, I have to say I enjoyed the four here featuring you, David and the seals the best. :)

Happy you saw the area west of Paso Robles ... indeed it is a pretty drive.

[coryblank.livejournal.com]

What a wonderful weekend getaway, Robert!

I really love the way David referred to your weekend as a "Dry run for much bigger travel adventures." Sounds promising!

Thanks for sharing your great photos with us. You and David are absolutely adorable! :)

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

I am so glad you had a good time staying in the penthouse. I was so mindblown by the time i got home this morning it felt foreign.

I owe you a longer letter - - - it was DELIGHTFUL meeting you. we'll do that again soon.

(huggage)

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

we had a great time - and I'm so glad it communicated in the photos. the zoom on the camera got right in the seals faces - it was like a elephant seal beer bust. LOL!

[coryblank.livejournal.com]

I had a delightful time staying in the Muffin Penthouse. It was such a treat to finally meet you and the lovely Miss Kate! You're both very special.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

*Giant Hug*

Cory

Hearst Castle

[kroyd.livejournal.com]

That Castle is truely awesome. I love going there.

[mightyrunt.livejournal.com]

The last pix is my favorite