One of the main reasons I wanted to take this particular trip was because Hearst Castle was my mother’s most favorite place to visit. After I lost her last year I decided I would go do the whole castle all day in her honor on the anniversary of her death. So we did! It was a glorious time filled with the love of family and friends, relaxation, beautiful scenery, good food and SHORT driving days Mom would have been very happy, as I’m sure she was watching us from her heavenly chaise lounge up on in the clouds with God…
We left at 11am on Wed. 3/28 and after a lunch stop in Santa Barbara we headed up CA highway 154 to San Marcos Pass to Lake Cachuma. The weather predictions were a little scary as far as rain, so thankfully, the area of full hook-up spaces we were in was practically empty!
A nice BBQ chicken dinner, a campfire and an ice cold Gin Martini and off to bed… at 8:30!!!! I’m normally a 1 or 2am to bed kinda guy, so this was a REAL treat and departure from my norm!
Spent the next day (my birthday!) just walking, reading, eating and relaxing . Exactly what I wanted to do. Lake Cachuma is a big beautiful fresh water reservoir and apparently provides water to Santa Barbara and local environs, so there is no body contact with the water, just fishing and small boating…. This relates to quiet and peacefulness! We took LONG walks around the nature trails and did a lot of bird watching (one of my favorite pastimes while camping.) Bought my annual fishing license also, so I was all ready for fun!!! …………Except, in the rush to get the truck and camper ready to go and out of the snow on the mountain, I completely FORGOT all my fishing tackle and bird watching equipment! No matter, I did my best to identify birds as I could see them with my naked old eyes and saw a few I recognized without my binoculars.
Then another early night (9:30 this time!) after a great BBQ Pork rib dinner, martini and campfire….
By this time we had one neighbor………… who chose to park right next to us. Why do people do this? I mean there were literally scores of empty nice spots and you want to park right next to someone ? Oh well, they were relatively quiet and respectful, so no matter.
The following day we went to Santa Inez to see Joe’s Grandma (97 and still living at home with a caregiver) She doesn’t really recognize who we are anymore, other than “friendly family membesr”, but it’s always nice to see her. She and I used to have great talks about farming, her early life in the Santa Inez vally (over 75 years there!!!) and I will really miss here when she goes..
Got to Heast/ San Simeon State park around 3 pm and drove up to the Washburn loop, as that was recommended by a number of folks I’ve spoken to because of its remoteness and views. WOW were they right!
To the left is the ocean, and all night you can hear the roar. HEAVEN!!!
I had to walk back down the one mile road to self register and about half way there a mountain lion trotted into the road about 100 feet ahead of me!!! All the hairs on my neck and arms stood up and I froze for a second while we stared each other down. He then kept going. So I marched, laughing, singing, clapping my hands and making all sorts of noise past the place he re-entered the bush. I didn’t see him again during the trip but the campground host told us that there we 2 living in the canyon and that they “owned” the place and were not “aggressive”… Ha!
Our friends Natalie and Kelly drove down from Half Moon Bay to have dinner with us at the campground and spent the next day at Hearst Castle with us.
A fellow wildlife and nature enthusiast, before dinner and the bonfire, Natalie and I took our cocktails and wandered down the marked nature trails “hunting” birds and flora… Snapped a few photos..
The next morning Natalie and Kelly picked us up and we went to Cambria for breakfast at Lin's, a favorite place of ours and a quite popular eatery. Then it was off to the castle!! It started raining as we drove up to the visitor center (which I had never seen, beings as it had been 30 years since I’d been there!) but it only made it that much more special. They now have 3 day time tours (45 minutes each) and night tours that are over 2 hours long! As of last year if you travel in the bus up to the castle for a tour you are now allowed to stay up there the entire day and wander the grounds!!! And BOY are the grounds beautiful!
I threw this photo in of the dining room because I actually have the exact same china pattern! It's called "Booth's Real Old Willow" Who knew I had the same china as WR Hearst? (of course it was NEW then and I'm sure MUCH less expensive, relatively! )
It was a perfect day, albeit a bit cold outside. We went on all 3 daytime tours, took the bus back to the visitor center for coffee/snacks and then went back up for the night tour. If you are only able to go on one tour, TAKE THE NIGHT ONE!!! It’s an overview of all the tours, only slower, with only 18 other tour guests, the night views are spectacular as the sun goes down (we took the 6:10 tour so we got to see it… can you say aaaahhhhh!!!) There are volunteers that dress in the period of the day (1920s and 1930s) wandering around the castle, playing billards, having cocktails around the piano, reading the library, etc. and that really helps add to the ambiance of your visit. Try to get on the tour with James. He is the master tour guide and is extremely friendly, encourages questions, is very knowledgeable and passionate about the castle, it’s history and the State Park system. After the tours we made it back to Cambria in time to have a celebratory dinner at “Robins”, yet another fine dining establishment that we like very much.
Next morning, after breakfast at Lin’s again we headed home. The surf along Highway 1 was quite high after the storm. Here are a few photos from the trip home.
We drove a total of around 567 miles or so, averaged 9.4 mpg and spent a total of around $1,000, including tour tickets, food, wine, etc. Not a cheap trip, and we could have cut back, but hey, it was my birthday and a celebration of mom! We had a GREAT time!
Thanks for letting me share!
Dak
1995 Weekender model 910 extended cabover
Calvin, the 1996 creampuff Chev Silverado 3500 extended cab dually
Looks like you had a great time. Thanks for sharing. That mountain lion encounter must have been scary; I still get shivers thinking about mine and it was 20 years ago.
Dak, thanks for the report - it is somewhere I have always wanted to visit, but I've never had the spare time or been quite close enough to just drop in.
dakonthemountain wrote: ...there were literally scores of empty nice spots and you want to park right next to someone ?...
Safety in numbers? I know I would always want to park in the most isolated spot possible, but I also know Sally would be likely to feel uncomfortable with that, so I can understand someone saying "oh look, there is someone else there - can we park near them?"
dakonthemountain wrote: ...I threw this photo in of the dining room because I actually have the exact same...
Before I got to the word "china" I was wondering what you were going to write and was trying to imagine some of the things in Hearst's dining room in a modern home
Glad to hear you had a great time! Hearst Castle is one of my favorite places to visit, I have been there 6 times, I like it better than Biltmore Estate. Great photos and trip report, Thanks for posting.
dakonthemountain wrote: One of the main reasons I wanted to take this particular trip was because Hearst Castle was my mother’s most favorite place to visit. After I lost her last year I decided I would go do the whole castle all day in her honor on the anniversary of her death. So we did! It was a glorious time filled with the love of family and friends, relaxation, beautiful scenery, good food and SHORT driving days Mom would have been very happy, as I’m sure she was watching us from her heavenly chaise lounge up on in the clouds with God…
We left at 11am on Wed. 3/28 and after a lunch stop in Santa Barbara we headed up CA highway 154 to San Marcos Pass to Lake Cachuma. The weather predictions were a little scary as far as rain, so thankfully, the area of full hook-up spaces we were in was practically empty!
A nice BBQ chicken dinner, a campfire and an ice cold Gin Martini and off to bed… at 8:30!!!! I’m normally a 1 or 2am to bed kinda guy, so this was a REAL treat and departure from my norm!
Spent the next day (my birthday!) just walking, reading, eating and relaxing . Exactly what I wanted to do. Lake Cachuma is a big beautiful fresh water reservoir and apparently provides water to Santa Barbara and local environs, so there is no body contact with the water, just fishing and small boating…. This relates to quiet and peacefulness! We took LONG walks around the nature trails and did a lot of bird watching (one of my favorite pastimes while camping.) Bought my annual fishing license also, so I was all ready for fun!!! …………Except, in the rush to get the truck and camper ready to go and out of the snow on the mountain, I completely FORGOT all my fishing tackle and bird watching equipment! No matter, I did my best to identify birds as I could see them with my naked old eyes and saw a few I recognized without my binoculars.
Then another early night (9:30 this time!) after a great BBQ Pork rib dinner, martini and campfire….
By this time we had one neighbor………… who chose to park right next to us. Why do people do this? I mean there were literally scores of empty nice spots and you want to park right next to someone ? Oh well, they were relatively quiet and respectful, so no matter.
we only boondock and they always park on top of us even if we are in the middle of no where with miles and miles of other good spots
PLEASEEEEEEEE folks find another spot !!! huh now i sound like SLEEPY
The following day we went to Santa Inez to see Joe’s Grandma (97 and still living at home with a caregiver) She doesn’t really recognize who we are anymore, other than “friendly family membesr”, but it’s always nice to see her. She and I used to have great talks about farming, her early life in the Santa Inez vally (over 75 years there!!!) and I will really miss here when she goes..
Got to Heast/ San Simeon State park around 3 pm and drove up to the Washburn loop, as that was recommended by a number of folks I’ve spoken to because of its remoteness and views. WOW were they right!
To the left is the ocean, and all night you can hear the roar. HEAVEN!!!
I had to walk back down the one mile road to self register and about half way there a mountain lion trotted into the road about 100 feet ahead of me!!! All the hairs on my neck and arms stood up and I froze for a second while we stared each other down. He then kept going. So I marched, laughing, singing, clapping my hands and making all sorts of noise past the place he re-entered the bush. I didn’t see him again during the trip but the campground host told us that there we 2 living in the canyon and that they “owned” the place and were not “aggressive”… Ha!
Our friends Natalie and Kelly drove down from Half Moon Bay to have dinner with us at the campground and spent the next day at Hearst Castle with us.
A fellow wildlife and nature enthusiast, before dinner and the bonfire, Natalie and I took our cocktails and wandered down the marked nature trails “hunting” birds and flora… Snapped a few photos..
The next morning Natalie and Kelly picked us up and we went to Cambria for breakfast at Lin's, a favorite place of ours and a quite popular eatery. Then it was off to the castle!! It started raining as we drove up to the visitor center (which I had never seen, beings as it had been 30 years since I’d been there!) but it only made it that much more special. They now have 3 day time tours (45 minutes each) and night tours that are over 2 hours long! As of last year if you travel in the bus up to the castle for a tour you are now allowed to stay up there the entire day and wander the grounds!!! And BOY are the grounds beautiful!
I threw this photo in of the dining room because I actually have the exact same china pattern! It's called "Booth's Real Old Willow" Who knew I had the same china as WR Hearst? (of course it was NEW then and I'm sure MUCH less expensive, relatively! )
It was a perfect day, albeit a bit cold outside. We went on all 3 daytime tours, took the bus back to the visitor center for coffee/snacks and then went back up for the night tour. If you are only able to go on one tour, TAKE THE NIGHT ONE!!! It’s an overview of all the tours, only slower, with only 18 other tour guests, the night views are spectacular as the sun goes down (we took the 6:10 tour so we got to see it… can you say aaaahhhhh!!!) There are volunteers that dress in the period of the day (1920s and 1930s) wandering around the castle, playing billards, having cocktails around the piano, reading the library, etc. and that really helps add to the ambiance of your visit. Try to get on the tour with James. He is the master tour guide and is extremely friendly, encourages questions, is very knowledgeable and passionate about the castle, it’s history and the State Park system. After the tours we made it back to Cambria in time to have a celebratory dinner at “Robins”, yet another fine dining establishment that we like very much.
Next morning, after breakfast at Lin’s again we headed home. The surf along Highway 1 was quite high after the storm. Here are a few photos from the trip home.
We drove a total of around 567 miles or so, averaged 9.4 mpg and spent a total of around $1,000, including tour tickets, food, wine, etc. Not a cheap trip, and we could have cut back, but hey, it was my birthday and a celebration of mom! We had a GREAT time!
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