Californian Castles, Cliffs, Coastline and Canada

We knew we needed an early start as we were booked for a 8.10am tour of Hearst Castle which was about 15 minutes north of the Days Inn at San Simeon (our motel). The buffet breakfast was generous so we took full advantage of what was on offer and given our penchant for variable eating times an opportunity for a generous breakfast is always taken. There were a number of other guests taking a similar approach but it always interests me to see those people who never seem find anything to their satisfaction. Hmmmmm!!!

Well we were certainly satisified with the food and the motel by the time we left and I guess if others weren't that's their problem. We did have an interesting chat with one couple, from Mizzourah (Missouri), just talking with them had me thinking of the coming Summer Odyssey.......

With us thinking of renovations when we get back to Narooma our next destination was to be one of the most dangerous outings that would occur during the year! We were heading to Hearst Castle!!!! http://www.hearstcastle.org/ This quite a place but then if I had the money that William Randolf Hearst would I have built something along these lines? Probably not (I would incorporate an apiary and a honey house) but it is amazing!!! 

The trip from the Visitors Centre where you park your car is very clever and at no time do you see your final destination.The views are great but the drive is steep. 

 The recorded message that plays while you drive gives you plenty of information before you are met by your guide at the Hearst's Guest Cottage

And then you follow your easy to find guide (he' about 204cm - 6 foot 8) who takes you up a few (haha) steps until you get your first view of the entrance of Hearst Castle......

Don't know whether I mentioned that this place is big. If I did say that I was doing something that I don't often do, using an understatement. The Hearst Castle is...............

VERY BIG!!!!!

And while it is certainly very impressive, one of my jobs in 2011 is tidying a house and cooking meals. I'm not sure I'd like to cook for the guests at a table quite this big. And I certainly wouldn't like to fill the wine glasses nor even contemplate washing the dishes! And forget polishing the table!!!

But I guess pools like these would be pretty nice.

Oh well enough dreams for us. It was time for us to say farewell to absolute luxury but apart from the amazing house, gardens and stories the best part of the whole experience was the guide. It was his 28th year as a tour guide and it showed. His knowledge of the history of Hearst Castle was  fabulous and the way he relayed it was even better. Now if only Daryl Kerrigan had a tour guide like this showing people around his Castle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castle_(film)#Cast .......

Now it was back to Highway One but were heading in the opposite direction to what we had planned. This is not an unusual thing for us!!! Due to the landslide we were going to have to do some backtracking but I guess if you have to double up on a road it may as well be on one of the most scenic coastal roads in the world. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

This piece of road is very similar to Australia's Great Ocean Road but maybe a little longer. They are both magnets for surfers, sightseers and seriously strange survivors of a different era.... 




Big Sur is an interesting place with homes ranging from the fantastic to the unbelievable

Lunch was at a great little bakery/cafe/restuarant/reading room http://www.bigsurbakery.com/menus.html#/home Great place and a great lunch and an interesting story !!!!

Big Sur was as far  as we could go as parts of Highway One had got a little too close to the sea http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/03/16/1524359/highway-1-closed-through-big-sur.html Oh well maybe the work crew from the Eurobodalla Shire Council could sort out the problem.

The good news was that we had a trip back to look at the fantstic views again.

The only problem was that we had spent a teeny weeny too much time admiring the view so we were a bit short of time given that we had to navigate through Los Angeles traffic, return the RockinCorolla and get through customs and get our plane. 

However all those obsticles  were overcome and Richard (Branson) managed to get us back to.........  

OH CANADA, OUR HOME AND NATIVE LAND (for this year)