Tuesday 7th March – Morro Bay & Hearst castle

As we’d done the lion’s share of the driving yesterday, today was much more easy-going.  Having paid $40 for last night’s camping, it was then only 30 minutes or so to Morro bay, recommended as a good spot to see by my sister.  We easily found some street parking and went for walk.  There were plenty of nice gift shops and the marina with the imposing Morro Rock in the bay.  The rock is the eroded plug of an extinct volcano, now a California historical landmark.  There was also the possibility of seeing sea otters and some sealions basking on pontoons in the marina.  Having spotted a sign for ‘all you can eat crab’ we were enticed into Rose’s restaurant for lunch.  We didn’t go for the all-you-can-eat option, as it was a little out of our price range but I did partake in a crab sandwich to feel part of it!

Morro rock

Dosey sealions

It was then another 45-minute drive on to San Simeon and Hearst castle, arriving just in time for the last 320pm tour of the day.  You catch a bus up to castle, along an impressive winding road up the hillside:

We all agree, one thing we were not expecting from California were the green rolling hills. Only seen in the spring time, as by summer the grass turns a golden brown in colour.  The views on the way up and at the top were stunning.  There are a few different tours you can do, at $25 a pop.  We had opted for the tour of the grand rooms downstairs, taking us into the dining room, sitting room and reception rooms but we were also shown around the grounds.  Before our trip I had been told about the Neptune Pool at Hearst castle, as an unbelievable spectacle of glamour.  Sadly, the pool is undergoing restoration, so the water is currently drained and all of the statues have been put in storage so it looks like this!:







However, it did not take away from the opulence of the entire estate.

The front entrance of Hearst castle

The dining room

The rooms were very impressive, and our guide was very knowledgeable about the history of Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and his architect Julia Morgan who built the castle together between 1919-1947.  The project stemmed from Mr Hearst’s experiences whilst travelling around Europe for one and a half years with his Mother when he was only 10 years old.  Hearst was born into money, his father having made his fortune by discovering seams of silver and transporting the ore for many miles to be smelted when others would not make the effort.  William Hearst grew his wealth in the Newspaper industry, not even beginning the San Simeon project until he was fifty years old.  He called the location ‘La Cuesta Encantada’ – the enchanted hill. It was never his intention to ‘finish’ the project, his joy was in the design and building of his dream and allowing many people to come and experience it for themselves.  He invited actors, politicians and friends to the house for weekend parties and it appears that there was never a dull moment!  Instead of leaving the castle to his five sons, he left it in his will to the people of California, so that it would be protected for everyone to enjoy.

The billiard room along with the wall tapestry which is the most valuable antique in the house

The tour lasted for around an hour after which we were free to wander the grounds to get more photographs, this time without the rest of our tour group getting in the way. 

Stunning views from the terrace of Hearst Castle

We didn’t dawdle for long as we wanted to see the indoor Jupiter Pool (above and right) and make it back for the last showing of the large screen feature film – ‘Hearst castle - Building the dream’ which lasted for 40 minutes. On the way back down the hill in the bus we learned of the strange animals that still roam the grounds having been introduced by Mr Hearst.  For example, Sambar deer, a huge Indian species which appeared to be made of leather!  We were also advised to keep an eye out for the 120-strong zebra herd mixed in with the roaming cattle.

After the film, which was again very worthwhile seeing, we drove 4 miles back the way we had come to Hearst San Simeon state park.  It was $25 to dry camp with a dump and water available.  It was a new experience for Becky having to rely on the generator for power instead of an electric hook-up.  The generator had to be off by 8pm so we occupied ourselves for the rest of the evening with another game of scrabble.