2015 - October 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th - Home & The Coast to Hearst Castle and Monterey

English cousins Ray & Sandra Grigg arrived at the LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal from Heathrow Airport in London around 7:30 PM on Saturday October 3rd. Their Air New Zealand flight was comfortable and friendly. We arrived back at home, all talking up a storm. Sunday morning we had our home made breakfast, complete with eggs, bacon, toast, oatmeal, fruit and more,  on the patio just enjoying the time together and talking about everything under the sun.

We relaxed the day in casual mode before meeting up with the family at The Peking Wok in Cerritos for a family dinner and celebrating Mary Anne's Birthday which we will be on the road when it comes. Carrie & Ed visited them in England nine years ago while on their honeymoon; Eric had not seen them since their visit with us twenty-six years ago. Sandra and Ray got to meet Shirley and our seven Grandchildren for the first time. There was a lot of talking going on at that dinner table sharing many experiences and adding new memories!
                    
                 
Andreas from Germany was visiting Ed & Carrie for the weekend and joined us. It was great having him join in our dinner gathering.
                
Monday was the start of our thirteen-day road trip together. Sandra and Ray's two requests when we spoke about them coming over were to visit California wine country and the Grand Canyon. We set out to please! Ray had said that as on our visit two years ago in England that we had spent our first night on the road in The White House Hotel, that we should find a Buckingham Palace Hotel for our first night in the States. Well, that didn't happen. Maybe someday someone will build and open one! We thought the next best thing was to take them to an American castle, so our Monday destination was Hearst Castle! We hit the 101 to go up the coast and made our first stop in Santa Barbara for our traditional traveling mid-morning coffee and sweet-treat break. We went to The Santa Barbara Roasting Company then over to the Santa Barbara Pier for some views of the ocean and stretching of our legs.
                  
                    
               
Next stop on our travels was to go to The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. It is just such a kick with all the pink gaudiness that we needed to have Sandra and Ray have the experience. So it was off to SLO for lunch at The Madonna! We showed them the everything from the parking lot's pink lighting posts, the pink paved tennis court, the gardens of pink flowers and inside the Madonna Inn to the totally pink decorated restaurant, lounge and public rooms. After a delicious lunch, we walked around taking in all of this gaudy glamour and visiting the gift shop. This is one stop not to miss whenever traveling through San Luis Obispo!
               
               
Back on the road for awhile taking the Coast Highway 1 following the Pacific Ocean before taking a break in beautiful Morrow Bay. There are all of the tourist gift shops in this tiny borough and of course the ocean with spectacular views.

                          
                    
We arrived at The Silver Surf Motel in San Simeon, our rooms for the night, just 3 miles from Hearst Castle. After resting-up and cleaning-up, we went out for a wonderful dinner at one of the town's assortment of restaurants. We had tour reservations starting at 10 AM so packed up the Prius with our luggage and had a great breakfast next door to the Silver Surf.

We arrived at the visitor center and looked around a little until it was our shuttle bus time to be taken up the hill to Hearst Castle. Hearst Castle’s history begins in 1865, when George Hearst purchased 40,000 acres of ranchland. In 1919, William Randolph Hearst inherited what had grown to more than 250,000 acres, and was dreaming of ways to transform it into a retreat he called La Cuesta Encantada—Spanish for “Enchanted Hill.” By 1947, Hearst and architect Julia Morgan had created Hearst Castle: 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools and walkways—all built to house Hearst’s specifications and to showcase his legendary art collection.

William Randolph Hearst, the man who conceived Hearst Castle, was a media genius whose influence extended to publishing, politics, Hollywood, the art world and everyday American life. His power and vision allowed him to pursue one of the most ambitious architectural endeavors in American history, the result of which can be seen in magnificent grounds and structures of Hearst Castle. In 1947, upon William Randolph Hearst leaving the Castle for the last time, work at San Simeon was finished although the Castle was never completed in its entirety.

Marion Davies was the stage name of Marion Cecilia Douras; she became William Randolph Hearst's mistress for 30 years until his death. Her first encounter with Hearst came while acting in the Ziegfeld Follies. Marion Davies was an accomplished Broadway and Hollywood actress. Shortly after meeting Hearst she became his constant companion and confidante. She was Hollywood’s foremost hostess, throwing lavish parties at both Hearst Castle and at a extraordinary mansion on the beach in Santa Monica. Dignitaries, Hollywood stars and famous athletes eagerly accepted invitations to her parties. She followed the recommendations of Hearst’s financial advisors, avoided debt, and invested wisely in real estate.

               
                    
                          
                             
                   
Finishing The Grand Rooms Tour, The Upstairs Suites Tour, and exploring the gardens and outdoor spaces of the castle, we returned to the bottom of the hill to the Visitor Center when it was past coffee time so swooped up some real quickly! We then enjoyed the Hearst Castle history film in the Visitor Center Theater. We were then off to Cambria to get gas for our afternoon trip and also grab a bite to eat at the Main Street Grill in Cambria. Driving next to the Hearst Ranch cattle fields, we were able to catch a glace of the Zebra's who still mingle with the cattle on the ranch. They are all decedents of the Zebras that were in Wm. Randolph Hearst's private zoo that he had at the castle.
                    
On the way to our hotel in Mariposa, we stopped for lunch in Sausalito just over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, at a quaint restaurant, the Bayside Café, with a marina at it's back door. We saw this house (it's on a cement slab, so not a boat!?!) and we both thought it would be a lovely get-away northern home for relaxation and fun times. If the kids want to know where to inquire, ask us ... laughingly said!

We arrived in Monterey for the night and checked into the Mariposa Inn. Today is Mary Anne's Birthday, so we set out to find the restaurant of her choice to celebrate. As we approached the area of the restaurant she had chosen, the street was blocked off by police cars. Later we found out that there had been a fatal shooting a couple of doors down from where we were trying to go. Lucky for us, we found Louie Linguini's Seafood Restaurant in the Wharf area. We had a smashingly wonderful meal which was enjoyed by all. After dinner we walked around the shops and enjoyed the evening.
               
                    
So ends the first leg of our wonderful road trip. More to come ... stayed tuned! Don't miss out on all of the pictures by simply clicking on this link for all of the captioned photographs.