We woke up this foggy morning and went to Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA. William Randolph Hearst was one of the wealthiest Americans in the early 1900s. He made his fortune by publishing newspapers and building extraordinary homes, including his own mansion. He and his companion frequently entertained various celebrities including Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplain, Howard Hughes, Amelia Earhart and Winston Churchill just to name a few. When he was living here, he had the world's largest private zoo where you could see bears, giraffes, zebras, lion cubs, and kangaroos. Let's not forget his beloved Dachshunds and Boston Terriers that were pictured with him often.
This is where Hearst himself stayed - the main house. On the campus, there are multiple guest houses, pools, gardens, etc. There is so much here that 5 tours are offered just to cover it all.
After we left Heart Castle, the fog lifted and we went to the coast. Here I found some more friends, elephant seals. At first, I thought they were dead because they laid on the beach lifeless and looked bloated. Then, I saw them throw sand on their back with their fins as a way of keeping cool.
How can you not love that face!
We continued our journey up Hwy 1, taking in the scenery. These pictures do not capture the beauty of it all.
Then, we hit a bump in the road. Well, more like a rock on the shoulder of the road. Mom was driving on the crooked, winding road of Hwy. 1 and Dad commented on how the weather suddenly changes. It is foggy one minute and sunny the next. At this particular time during the day, it was foggy. Mom said that it was so foggy, she could barely see. Dad said, "Watch that rock!" and then the car suddenly jerked and Mom pulled over. Basically, the rock separated the rim from the tire and air was gradually leaking from the tire. We stopped at the next gas station, which was about 20 minutes down the road. Since we had to wait on U-Haul road service to change out the tire, we decided to spend the night in Carmel, CA. There just happen to be a hotel right next to the gas station and it is the nicest one we have stayed in during our long journey. I guess there is a silver lining!
Then, we hit a bump in the road. Well, more like a rock on the shoulder of the road. Mom was driving on the crooked, winding road of Hwy. 1 and Dad commented on how the weather suddenly changes. It is foggy one minute and sunny the next. At this particular time during the day, it was foggy. Mom said that it was so foggy, she could barely see. Dad said, "Watch that rock!" and then the car suddenly jerked and Mom pulled over. Basically, the rock separated the rim from the tire and air was gradually leaking from the tire. We stopped at the next gas station, which was about 20 minutes down the road. Since we had to wait on U-Haul road service to change out the tire, we decided to spend the night in Carmel, CA. There just happen to be a hotel right next to the gas station and it is the nicest one we have stayed in during our long journey. I guess there is a silver lining!
Sony-girl, do they need to strap you to the hood so you can be the watchdog for rocks? Hopefully it'll be an easy fix. Snazzy hotel room!
ReplyDeleteThat mansion is Incredible!! Wow! Is that where your parents visited last year, Laura? I remember them telling about some huge mansion-place.
And those sea lions are adorable!! How neat to just see them laying out there like that. In Fl the only thing you see laying out on the beach like that is seaweed & jellyfish- and snowbirds! ;)
We're excited to see the new home away from home tomorrow! :)
I think we all know what happened last time a dog was strapped to car-- see National Lampoon's Summer Vacation.
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