Dear Adventure Avenues,
We started off our second with an Omelet breakfast down at the buffet. The omelets were delish and a great way to start out our long day.
My friend drove us up the coast towards Hearst Castle, and we admired the rich green farmlands and the cows that often spotted our path.
Hearst Castle
We arrived at the castle’s visitor’s center to find very few cars in the parking lot. We walked in, found out where we needed to go, and went to wait in line for the bus. There were only about 12 people on the tour. We were lucky as the tours could be as large as 50.
The ride up to the castle proved to be worth the visit alone. As we climbed into the California hills, we had a clear view of the ocean and the green hills. Alex Trebek’s voice spoke of the history of the castle and the surrounding hills. They used to be home to a wide variety of exotic animals.
We arrived somewhere below the castle, the main entrance where guests were dropped off being drivable by the tour bus.
We walked up the stairs from where we had been dropped off and ended up at a panoramic view of the surrounding grounds and ocean.
We saw the Neptune Pool which is one of the most famous spots at the castle, though I very much enjoyed the other pool.
We then headed up to the castle and looked on at the front of it. I imagined being one of the guests invited up to the castle as our guide had explained the process of guests arriving just below the castle.
We weren’t able to go in the front door because there’s a mosaic work on the floor that was recently restored and can’t have people stepping on it. I got to open the side door by pulling the latch string. For a history loving nerd like me, I relished the moment.
We stood a bit inside the front room as we learned how Mr. Hearst would be upstairs in his office as his guests arrived. The guests would get served drinks before everyone headed into the dining room.
Any guest invited to Hearst Castle was required to eat dinner all together, so the dining room was very much like one out of a medieval castle with a long table.
After dinner, guests would then go into one of a couple rooms. There was a room to play billiards or to just sit and chat.
Then we went and watched some home movie footage in the in-home movie theater.
After watching the home movie, we headed outside where we passed by the outdoor tennis court, complete with outdoor lights to play in the dark.
The tour ended at the indoor pool with the most beautiful mosaic work.
After watching the video in the grand theater (it was a very Disney experience I thought), I was hungry and wanted to try one of the grass-fed burgers they’d raised on the land surrounding Hearst Castle.
It was a delicious burger, and I enjoyed every last bite.
We then decided to head to the beach to see if we could see any tidal pools as when we were there there were supposed to be tides that went way out.
Montana de Oro
We drove to Montana de Oro and luckily found parking. It was free to park, though you had to pull off the road into dirt to get into the spot. There weren’t really any tidal pools, but the beach was nice. I dipped my toes in the water.
We stopped at a Starbucks on our way back to the hotel to use their facilities and rehydrate after our jaunt at the beach.
Dinner at Old SLO BBQ
We met up with a friend from high school at the Old SLO BBQ where we enjoyed pulled pork and tri tip sandwiches. After dinner we went to a nitrogen ice cream hot spot called Nite Creamery. This is apparently a big hangout location for the local college students. I had the strawberry in an actual waffle cone.
We got back to the hotel and decided to have a movie night in our spacious room!
Until tomorrow,
A
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