Hearst Castle is the manmade gem of the California Coast

ON my August of 2016, 2,150-mile driving trip to California from Utah, the Hearst Castle was my high point. I had always mistakenly believed it was simply a “Castle.” I had no idea of all the vast and diverse artwork therein. I doubt all but a handful of the world’s museums can match what resides inside and on the grounds of Hearst Castle. A 2,000 BC Egyptian sculpture and far too many others to name. For just $25 a person for the Grand Rooms tour, the value was also a bargain. Kind of ironic too today, that a newspaper kingpin could amass so much money back in the first half of the 20^th Century.

(I was upset though, that at one point on the Castle tour, the guide specifically mentioned that “publishing” any photos taken on the tour was prohibited without getting permission to do so. What? I don’t believe legally they can really say that on a tour that’s open to the paying public – plus in this era of social media and blogs – what does “publishing” really mean now? Purely an outrageous statement to make ….)

-Also, with a massive wildfire raging off the Big Sur Highway, I had few views to enjoy on that drive, thanks to smoke.

                              Lone Tree along the Pebble Beach Drive.

-The 17-mile Pebble Beach Drive was also surprisingly more than worth the effort and $10 a car.

                      A northern viewpoint on the Pebble Beach Drive.

-Low point of my trip was San Francisco. Far, Far too much of a crackerbox/sardine can for my taste. The Golden Gate Bridge seemed overrated to me, but my son, Steven, who lives there put together a one-day whirlwind tour of S.F. 

                                        San Francisco

(Give me Yosemite or the Oregon Coast any day over S.F., or any big cities for that matter.)

-For more information on Hearst Castle, go to: www.HearstCastle.org.

-For more details on the 17-Mile Drive at Pebble Beach, go to:

pebblebeach.com

--ALL above photographs by Lynn Arave.