Rand's Web Page
Fall 2022 RV Trip (page 7)
|
|
On Wednesday November 9th we went to the Hearst Castle (officially state monument). |
| William Randolph Hearst inherited the land from his mother at her passing. He had enjoyed his youth in the area so wanted to turn it into a vacation retreat. He started small (like this building of only 3000 sq ft) but it continually grew and changed. |
|
|
This is a panorama trying to capture the magnitude of his outdoor pool. |
| This frieze looks like Zeus is taking a selfie. |
|
|
Speaking of selfies... |
| This is the larger castle. 35,000 sq ft! |
|
|
This is the main entrance hall. Celebs would gather here before going out to the grounds or in to the dining room. |
| The dining room. Hearst's dinners lasted 2 hours and the guests were expected to entertain each other with their talents. |
|
|
The pool room. |
| Hearst was a producer of many films so naturally he had a theater. |
|
|
The tennis courts are in disrepair and are under reconstruction. |
| One of the reasons the tennis courts need repair is that they are just above this beautiful pool and leak down into it. The gold is all gold leaf. |
|
|
Just north of the castle is a beach where elephant seals gather for mating season. It is just this beach. None of the nearby beaches. |
| We then headed to San Luis Obispo. This is the mission that Father Junipero Serra founded as part of the chain of missions to convert the natives. He also then started most of the cities we know by saint names in California. The trail he traveled is El Camino Real. |
|
|
This is part of the museum. They recreated the priest's quarters. |
| The altar is also recreated in the museum. The tabernacle on the altar is original to the 16th century. |
|
|
Nearby was this old Carnegie library converted to a county museum. |
| An old lighthouse near San Simeon. |
|
| A sunset walk on the beach to end our day. |
| I was proud of this picture. |
|
| We headed north Thursday. I found this sign that seemed apropos. I climbed the hill seen behind me with a trailer! |
| We took the Pacific Coast Highway (CA-1) north. I enjoyed the views. I was a bit surprised by this ice plant that appeared to be going through fall colors. |
|
| The iconic Bixby bridge. |
| We didn't stop long in San Francisco but had this perfect view from across the bay. |
|
| We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to get here. They only charge tolls going south. Below is a panorama shot. |
|
| We camped just outside of Point Reyes National Seashore. The deer were out. They are quite a bit smaller than Minnesota deer. |
| It was sunset by 5:15 so we caught this from above and didn't get our sunset walk on the beach this time. |
|
