Up the California Coast

San Simeon

After leaving Laguna Beach we drove up thru Los Angeles along the I-5 corridor before cutting over to the coast near Bakersfield. Lots of traffic passing thru LA (which is always a treat) and not much pretty scenery during the 5 hour drive until we hit the Pacific Coast Highway near the little town of Cambria...just south of San Simeon which was our destination for a couple of nights. We really lucked out with sunny, warm days and some truly spectacular scenery along the coast as you can see from the first couple of photos below. Took an exploratory drive around the back roads in the area and just generally enjoyed the place.




Our coastal walk the second day



The purpose of the visit was to see Hearst Castle - formerly the residence of newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst back in the 20's and 30's and now a California State Historical site. I'd never been up here despite living in the LA area for many years.

We thought it was very well done. The tours were enjoyable & informative and made for a pleasant interlude on a gorgeous day. As Kevin & Mike know, Hearst was the model for the title character in the Orson Wells movie Citizen Kane - one of the all time greats. Was interesting to see the real Xanadu as portrayed in the film. Say what you will about the man, he did spend a few bucks on this estate as you can see.


The Casa del Sol...one of the "minor" apartments next to the main house.



The pool would make a Roman emperor blush. One of the perks of the job for the local tour guides is that they're allowed to come up here for a dip in the evening after the last tours have departed. Not a bad deal. The sunset views must be other-worldly from up here.



And this is the main house...La Casa Grande. Hearst's private living area was the floor marked by the balcony above.



The indoor pool...located just below the tennis courts (of course).



Part of the estate once included the biggest private zoo in North America. Most of the animals were donated to California state zoos long ago, but part of the original zebra herd still remains and can be seen grazing the foothills near Highway 1...not exactly the sort of thing you expect to see driving by.


Hearst inherited a fortune from his Father, who struck it rich in silver after coming out to California in 1850 for the Gold Rush. They bought the land the castle sits on from the original Spanish land grant holders in 1865...all 390 square miles of it. Hearst began building the house around 1919 and lived in it (off and on) until the late 40's. He, of course, expanded the family fortune through his publishing enterprises until into the 1950's.


Solvang

We then drove down the Coast Highway to the picturesque little town of Solvang...which is where the movie Sideways was filmed a few years ago. We explored the Santa Ynez valley, which is where all of the Santa Barbara vineyards are located, stopped to visit another of the old missions, and spent part of one day walking around the Danish-themed town. What a pretty place it was.

As luck would have it, we stayed in the same hotel where the movie was set - located just up the street from the Hitching Post Restaurant which also features prominently in the story.



The courtyard of Mission Santa Ynez



The clock tower in Solvang



Guess the town was founded by a group of people from Scandinavia - principally Denmark - and so the town goes out of its way to reflect that heritage.




A last look at the Campo Santo (graveyard) in the mission. The grounds provided a cool and tranquil place to walk and escape the bustle of the town on a Saturday afternoon.

We'll be spending the night at the Navy base in Point Mugu, then driving to LAX for a final night before we fly home to the drizzles of the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday. Not sure what we're going to do for our 41st wedding anniversary tomorrow, but it probably won't be quite as memorable as our visit to Mackinac Island last year for our 40th.

The trip has been a relaxing escape for both of us - just what the Doctor ordered. It'll be back to reality on Tuesday however.