Hearst Castle
Today we are at the Hearst Castle. We’ve bought tickets and we are on a bus riding up a hill. I could see the castle in the distance on top of a big hill. The ride was pretty long. Towards the end, we saw some ram-looking thing. Once the bus stopped, and we went up the stairs, we met out guide. We were doing the Big Rooms Tour, and the rooms sure were big! They had it all decorated for Christmas too! There were two giant Christmas trees and wreathes everywhere! Our guide showed us the tapestries, the wood carvings, the tables and everything else. We moved on and another room was decorated with red flowers! They even made a tree out of red flowers! It had a nice window too. There was a room with pool tables and a tapestry with a bunch of hunters and there dogs chasing a stag. The guide said the hunters were supposed to look like they were tired. There was a classic red movie theatre that had these big statues. We got to watch a movie! It was short with only music and in black and white though. When the tour was done, we got to walk around. There were gardens, and balconies with great views of the mountains. There was a pool called the Neptune Pool that we went down to. I saw these fancy ladders, but then I saw these normal ladders. I asked a worker if people went in, and she said the Hearst family and employees go in in the summer. There were a lot of statues. I didn’t want to look at them because most lacked clothes. Later we went to another pool called Poseidon’s pool. I liked this one because it was indoors and had lime green and blue tiled floors at the bottom. The lime green looked like it glowed. The bus stop was right next to the pool so we waited there for the bus. When it came, and we rode down, we ate lunch. I had macaroni and it was so good! Our Dad bought some meat that was grass fed and raised at the castle. We got some fudge too. Ok, we got what we wanted, let’s go!
~Jack
"On February 4, 1974, the 19-year-old Hearst was kidnapped from her Berkeley, California apartment, which she shared with her fiancé Steven Weed, by a left-wing urban guerrilla group called the Symbionese Liberation Army. When the attempt to swap Hearst for jailed SLA members failed, the SLA demanded that the captive's family distribute $70 worth of food to every needy Californian – an operation that would cost an estimated $400 million. In response, Hearst's father arranged the immediate donation of $6 million worth of food to the poor of the Bay Area.
Hearst was convicted of bank robbery on March 20, 1976. She was sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment, but her prison sentence was later commuted to two years by President Jimmy Carter, and Hearst was released from prison on February 1, 1979, having served 22 months. She was granted a full pardon by President Bill Clinton on January 20, 2001".
We decided to take the Grand Rooms tour. After jumping on a shuttle bus for the 5 mile trek to the main house up more winding roads we were treated to a small Italian/Mediterranean type village.
Every evening, W. R. Hearst’s guests gathered in the grand social rooms on the ground floor of Casa Grande—his formal name for the main house.
The Refectory. Mr. Hearst and architect Julia Morgan named the dining room after the term for a monastery dining hall. Its high windows, bright silk banners, and gleaming silver candlesticks convey the atmosphere of a church from the middle age. But, the mustard and ketchup bottles show that Mr. Hearst liked to keep things informal at the ranch.
The Billiard Room was a popular spot, where guests could relax and play both billiards and pool. This baroque game room is decorated with a variety of gaming themes, but it also boasts a 15th century Spanish ceiling painted with scenes of courtly life, in addition to a Flemish tapestry from 1500.
On our way out of the Visitor Center, Scott bought some of the Hearst Ranch beef. They are the nation’s largest single-source supplier of free-range, all-natural, grass-fed and grass-finished beef. They practice sustainable agriculture and managed grazing on their two ranches in Central California. We had some awesome ribeye steaks for dinner! He also bought fudge. I asked the sales lady what her secret was for getting him to buy it! LOL The kids actually asked for it!
We checked into Pismo Beach tonight and I did the dreaded laundry....7 loads! We hit the grocery store and we are all set!
December 19
Pismo Beach
This is a classic California Beach town! I love it here! We got our bikes out and went over to the Monarch Grove. Each year thousands of vibrant orange and black Monarch Butterflies flock to Pismo Beach, seeking shelter from the freezing northern winters. From late October to February, the butterflies cluster in the limbs of a grove of Eucalyptus trees at Pismo State Beach.
The butterflies form dense clusters with each one hanging with its wing down over the one below it to form a shingle effect. This provides shelter from the rain and warmth for the group. The weight of the cluster help keeps it from whipping in the wind and dislodging the butterflies. Current count on the Monarchs is +/- 30,000.
The Monarchs that visit Pismo Beach are a special variety. They have a life span of six months as opposed to that of common Monarchs who live only six weeks. This can be attributed to a unique fat storing system. However, even with an extended life span, those butterflies that leave in March will never return.
After that we biked over to the Pismo Beach Pier, it's 1200 feet long! The place we are staying at is so close to everything and has a lot of amenities. After the pier, the kids went into the arcade, played some ping pong & miniature golf. I made some chocolate chip cookie dough and froze it so I can have fresh cookies on demand!
Another quick ride over to the pier with Jack for the sunset and my day is complete!
~Linda
PS...Thanks for calling today, Sandy!
7 loads? Why didn't you do a few loads at our house? Did you see any SOA like gangs in Pismo?
ReplyDeleteDo you have 7 washing machines? I'm spoiled now! No gangs... Merry Christmas!
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