7. Hearst Castle.
Our travel style is just like anybody else's - our own thing. Like your's is your own thing. No, we're not really wine people - beer, that's our beverage of choice. It kind of fits our simpler lives. Not that there's anything wrong with wine people - some of our best friends are wine people. Even one of our attorneys is a wine people (we actually don't even have one attorney - but I think that's an obligatory statement these days).
And take our neighbors for example, he's quite the go-getter, always on the move - he's here, he's there! Planted a vineyard right there in our Wyoming neighborhood! Some years they give us wine, and some years juice, or the fruit. Whenever we have a grand year for our choke-cherries - and if we get to them before the birds do - our neighbors will take a bunch and make the most awesome choke-cherry wine! She always gives me a bottle of their wine after I plow snow from their driveway with Lil' Willy. Sometimes I go over there with the plow - even in summer - if I'm thirsty.
If he really worked it, he could make Dandelion Wine too. Our grass and lawn areas don't get chemicals on them - and every spring we get such a beautiful batch. You'd be surprised how healthy and full of natural beauty Dandelions are when they aren't in a constant battle with Monsanto! And the bees?! Oh - don't get me started. Makes me wonder why we ever leave home!
But I regress. So as I was saying, our travel style takes us to breweries, haunted places, historic places, unique places - natural or man-made.
We're not big on shopping, souvenirs, large crowds, noisy places or paying too much for too little. We don't mind spending, but it's continuously evaluated for cost/benefit analysis. It's a "personality styles" thing.
So when we were going past Hearst Castle, it had to be seen - even while costing a pretty penny. $25 per person per tour. And you can't see the whole place unless you take all four tours, at $25/person per pop. We chose the "Bedrooms Tour", because we were late for the next movie, and had to decide quick, and the helpful Information lady told us it was her favorite.
We paid the price, and walked fast to the theater. It's an IMAX screen, in it's own building, 40 minutes long and gives what the web-site calls a "sanitized" version of the life of William Randolph Hearst.
The short version is this: His Dad hauled Lead Bars over the mountains, got on the other side and discovered they were Silver Bars, cashed them in and bought ranch land in this area, got a wife, they had a son, camped all over the mountain - especially liking that spot where the castle later got built - sent son and wife to Europe (they were new money so needed to learn the ropes), son (William) got a lesson a day - including his appreciation for "fancy stuff", got home, built a news empire, did lots of other stuff, retired, and then built a castle as an after-thought - based on his European experience. That's it.
In those days, collectors were buying up stuff all over the world, and so collectors like Mr. Hearst were actually doing a service for others by collecting all this stuff for sharing with friends (and now us - his kids gave it all over to the State of California - let THEM maintain this monstrosity), while so many others were planning to hide it away in their private places - like seems to be the case today.
After the movie we checked our clocks and found our bus-trip up the mountain started in 14 minutes. And we were hungry. No time to stand in line for the grill, which was selling hamburgers for like $25 a pop. Or even to stand in the check-out line with a piece of fruit and a cold-cut sandwich, made with weak Wonder-Bread.
I told DW, if we hoof-it back out to the camper, grab some cookies (these are highly nutritious and delicious, made from almond flour, pecans, dark chocolate, etc. and brought from home) and a handful of prepped veggies, some cheese sticks, an apple - and eat it all on the way back to the Visitor Center, walking not running, but walking fast - we could save both time AND money, and get satiated. Off we went - and we looked lively!
We even had a few minutes to spare for a look-see and photo shoot of this cool vintage Dodge Fire Truck in the lobby.
Next we took the tour bus up the mountain. Another reason we did the Bedroom Tour was that it's a smaller group. We had fun and got to know a few fellow tour-ons too.
The bus winds up the mountain while a Game Show host (Alex Trabec?) reads a recorded narrative.
Here we are approaching the castle.
At the top, they called on our Tour Guide to take us over; off we went up the stairs looking lively.
All concrete, built by Hearst's vision, and the woman architect Julia Childs. No wait. Why is it we always forget the woman's name? That's just stupid! Wait now, it'll come to me.
Julia MORGAN, yeah that's it!
Julia Morgan.Our guide took us to the upper floors, starting the tour on the second.
The movie was really cool - and well done - and gave all these details. The tour guide filled in a lot of the blanks. I took WAY too many pictures, for our old age when we start to lose our memories. Here's a few for you to enjoy.
Most (if not all) of these ceilings were purchased from places in the old country, and used as "parts" here in his castle. In one case, an old ceiling was used for two twin bedrooms, because the rooms were too small to use the whole ceiling in one or the other. After having restored a vintage camper from two old campers, we felt a connection with the guy.
Here is just a sampling of the interior tour, in no particular order.
Then they sent us outside to wander the grounds on our own.
We took our time and just enjoyed the setting.
This is the "Neptune Pool", currently under re-furb.
And the SECOND pool, an indoor deal under the tennis courts, is viewed on your way to the exit bus-ride down the mountain. All done in mini glass-tile! I can relate - having tiled Lil' Queeny's stove surround in minis.
The parking lot was about empty by the time we came down from the mountain. We took our time this time, walking to the truck. Then located one of our time shares on the ocean.
When we can, we get the units with a window view.
And watched the sun go down.
