Then off to Hearst Castle. What a nice stop. We took tour 1 of 5 tours. What a castle. In my mind
I compare it to The Biltmore; the largest castle in the US, this one has the Spanish – Italian look to it. We went to the center where we picked up the bus to travel up the windy road for 5 miles to the top of the hill. There are about 5,000 cattle roaming the 80,000 acres.
The guide, Robert Latson, I broke my rule on last names but he is a guide and whatever, had 31 years of experience and took a course in tour guiding. It sure showed. People from all over the world were there, Norway, France, London England, Germany and of course the US. He could relate to the foreigners with respect to the items that Hearst had bought from an art dealer in New York. Hearst had travelled Europe with his mother when he was around ten years old. This gave him the lust for the castles and great structures from Europe.
In his fifties he began building this structure with its many guest luxury accommodations I believe three of them. They were much larger than our house at home and designed for four people to live independently.
We then walked through the garden and viewed the swimming pool, this is the third in one built in this location as they outgrew the others. The castle area we went into was first the gathering area and then the refractory – where he and the guests dined together after a long day of playing tennis, dancing, swimming and horseback riding to name a few activities. The castle was built by a lady who received her degree from England and was a premier designer but remember this is back in 1919 and women were not accustomed to this type of work. she was his personal designer for 27 years but no hanky panky.
As we traveled down the road back to Cambria (not Minnesota) we saw an advertisement for the Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill.
Shirleen’s glass of Harmony Cab, Spinach salad, she ate half of it but all the accoutrements, bacon, hard boiled eggs and caramelized onions. I a Opolo Pinot Grigio with a fish taco, had everything on it should, cabbage, cheese (to much) and a sauce, - not coming back for seconds, no flavor. Then we had the Ice Cream with Berries, it had red raspberries, blueberries, marionberries, sautéed in Grand Marnier
We arrived at Dennis and Diane’s for the eve. We had a great meal of BBQ pork tenderloin on the grill with tasty baked potatoes and fresh raw vegetables followed by a fresh strawberry shortcake – home made. Jerry
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