Hearst Castle

California : San Simeon : Hearst Castle

It's been a while since I've posted any photos from our vacation in California.
I've done a few posts, but haven't quite finished; I took a TON of photos.
Maybe it's the fabulous weather we are experiencing that's
making me reminiscent of our nine days back in April.
Either way, I would like to share the tour of Hearst Castle we took while in California.

View from the Esplanade

"La Cuesta Encantada" or "The Enchanted Hill",
is perched atop the hills of San Simeon overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
The palatial mansion was built by William Randolph Hearst,
and was designed by architect Julia Morgan.

The estate has 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 41 fireplaces,
19 sitting rooms, and 127 acres of gardens.....



It's a lot bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside......
just kidding......this is the old school house, you can see the castle in the background.

There are several different tours to choose from while visiting,
although Cody and I only took one. The first one actually.
The Experience tour is one recommended to first-time visitors.
It lasted approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes.




The beginning of the Hearst Castle Tour took us to
the promenade in front of Casa Del Sol.
It's an eighteen room guest house that faces the Pacific coastline.
Tour one allowed us to view 4 of the bedrooms, and 4 of the bathrooms.
But that came after this.......

The Neptune Pool.

The Greco-Roman style Temple front was bought in Europe and transported to the grounds.
I've read that, the Neptune pool was rebuilt 3 times before Mr. Hearst was satisfied.



Afterwards, we headed up to the Esplanade,
one of the most beautiful sections of the grounds.
It featured many marble sculptures, and flowers.




Continuing on the tour, we were lead through a few rooms within Casa Del Sol.



From the outside in, everything was lavishly decorated......
I am sure that I missed some details along the way.



From the ceiling to the floor, pure extravagance.



I stayed in the back for most of the tour,
since I was more interested in taking photos.
It was hard to do so surrounded by a group of people, but I managed.



Casa Grande (the main house) and the three guest houses were
done in a Mediterranean Revival style.



The towers of the main house are modeled after a 16th Century Spanish Cathedral.
This was the main stop of the tour taking us through five rooms of Casa Grande's ground floor.

The Assembly Room which is the largest of the four sitting rooms and once a gathering place for Hearst's guests, the Refectory which is the single dining room at Hearst Castle, the Morning Room which is a magnificent sitting room filled with Spanish antiques and Flemish tapestries, the Billiard Room which is a game room featuring two 1920's billiard tables and a Gothic "millle fleurs" tapestry, and the Theater which is the largest room in Casa Grande.



The end of the tour brought us to Casa Grande's indoor Roman Pool.
For me, this was definitely the highlight.



The Roman Pool is decorated from ceiling to floor with 1″ square mosaic tiles. These glass tiles, called smalti, are either colored (mainly blue or orange) or are clear with fused 24 karat gold inside. The intense colors and shimmering gold of the tiles combine to create a breathtaking effect. The designs created by the tiles were developed by muralist Camille Solon.



Still curious to see more, we loaded the bus to go back down to the the visitor center.
We could have paid another $24 to go on another tour, but decided not to.
Instead, we took advantage of the free ticket to see the movie
"Hearst Castle Building the Dream".

All in all, I'm really glad that we added the castle tour to our itinerary.
I would have been kicking myself later had we missed it.
To see more photos that I haven't shown here, check out this link.
Flickr Set

Sorry I wasn't more in depth, but it was enough work getting this together!
For more information about the history, check out this link.
Hearst Castle History

Hope you have all had an enchanting weekend!

Jade Cove

California : Big Sur : Jade Cove

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We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.
~Mary Dunbar~

Upon sorting through, what seems like a never ending supply of California photos, I came upon my Jade Cove folder, and decided that this would be the next CA vacation post that I would do. The number one reason why I chose them was because of the overwhelming wave of emotion that hit my like a ton of bricks as I scrolled through each one. The ones above in particular nearly brought tears to my eyes as I gazed upon the warm sunlight illuminating the photos.

Instantly, I was transported back in time to the day that we visited the cove. I could hear the waves, and smell the air........




As I sat perched upon a rock here, and a rock there taking in the beautiful view, Cody was rock hounding. I tried it, but I got bored, and didn't really know what it was I was looking for, so I did what I know best. After close inspection, Cody is pretty sure that we did find a couple pieces of jade. Although we have yet to get a professional opinion. Rock hounding was something that Cody could have done all.day.long! I basically had to tear him away after a couple hours at the cove. It was pretty entertaining to watch him in action, moving these huge boulders to get to the stuff hiding underneath. It takes a mighty patient person to do such a thing, and as I've said before, patience really wasn't a virtue that I was blessed with - but I'm getting better.




It looks like I had a really close call in the shot above, doesn't it? haha But my camera made it out dry, thankfully. It was only later in the trip that I nearly dropped it on a rock, where it would have then plopped into a small pool of ocean water! Now that was a close call.....I can't save my camera from all incidents, but maybe that's because I haven't spent enough money on one yet! haha My motto is that it's meant to be used, not babied! We'll see if that changes once I actually upgrade though!?!?!



More splashing!



If you check out the other photo of the same scene, you'll notice the trail winding down the side of the cliff on the bottom right hand corner of the photo. It looks somewhat treacherous, but it wasn't too bad, it was a very short trail.

After we climbed back out, we had the most beautiful sunset parading before our eyes. So many views that I will never forget made their way back with me from California. And being able to look back, and have a visual along with the memory that I carry, is truly priceless.





I can't wait until I get everything sorted so that I can finally get started on a book of vacation photos. It's taking a lot longer to do than I thought it would. A number of different things are going on right now, and staying on top of everything is just not possible - unless I want to pop my top! The house is a wreck because of the improvements we are in the process of wrapping up, like painting the kitchen trim, and the dining room ceiling/walls. Cody has done most of the work since he's been home during the day, and for that, thank you! I'll be glad when we can get things back in order and reorganize. Heck I'll even settle for some walking room at this point!! haha I'm so happy that tomorrow is Friday......it's been a loooooong week!





I know I got off subject, but Jade Cove was incredible.......I hope everyone has a terrific weekend!!

Through the Woods, and Over the Creek........

California : Big Sur : Limekiln State Park


To Limekiln Falls we go......

While making our big-time plans for Big Sur, I was dead set on camping at Limekiln State Park. But due to unforeseen events, this was not possible. Upon arriving at the State Park to go hiking one day, I quickly realized that it was actually for the best that we didn't get to camp there. My idea of camping next to the beach at Limekiln was completely different from the accommodations themselves. In my head, I was thinking, oh yeah, a nice sandy beach. But once we got there, it was more like, ooohh no, pebble strewn compacted dusty white dirt! Aside from the beach front camping, they had other sites that were within the surrounding forest. Although the path down the middle was the one leading you up to the trail head. My idea of solitude doesn't include strangers walking through the campsites while I'm cooking breakfast, or in our case, eating a granola bar. We totally dodged a bullet........I'm glad their wasn't any availability, and yet again, I'm glad I didn't make reservations prior to leaving for California. It all worked out for the best.





We went to Limekiln on Wednesday, the day after my vacation sick day. I still wasn't feeling all that hot, but I couldn't stand to waste another day sleeping. Once we started hiking I immediately felt like I had been bulldozed by this horribly unwelcome nauseas feeling which engulfed my feeble body. I sound like I'm being dramatic, but really, I felt so weak - it was ridiculous! At this point, I wasn't even hiking, I was pretty much dragging myself through the woods. Good thing it didn't stop me from taking my photos though.





One thing that I absolutely loved about this trail were the coastal redwoods. Even though I felt like death warmed over, walking through this enchanted forest gave me reason to keep chugging along. This forest had so much character, from the downed trees, to the clover-covered ground that lined the trails path..........it was straight out of a "Lord of the Rings" movie.





Cody pointed out, as well questioned my fascination with bridges.......I can't remember what mumbo-jumbo answer I gave him at the time.....but from the very first time I hiked a trail here in NC, I was hooked. Maybe bridges symbolize a connection in which I can understand, or more literally, that it's the juncture itself that I relate to........then again, maybe I like them because I don't have to wade through water to get from one side to the other?!?! Either way, he was just wondering, why the heck I have to take a photo of every single one we cross!! haha





It was such a sunny day. A photographers nightmare, really. I would have given anything to have hiked this trail on a foggy day.......then it would have been doubly magical. I feared that my photos weren't going to turn out the way my eyes relayed the scene to my brain. Your in camera technique will only get you so far on a blindingly sunny day. Looking at the photo on the tiny little screen is not a true representation of what it will really look like once you see it on a computer screen for the first time. My laptop would only allow enough time to unload my memory cards before I needed to recharge the battery, so I never knew what my photos looked like until the night before we were leaving (at Jimmy's house). I was really surprised at how well these shots turned out, with nearly no post-processing. Go figure, the group I would peg as my worst set of photos, end up being some of my favorites?!?!




Above is the path leading up to Limekiln Falls. The climb to the falls was a very gentle grade, and required very little effort (even for a sicko). The creek crossings did require some agile maneuvering at certain points, but it kept things interesting! Overall it was a mere .7 miles to get to the falls. Before you realize you're near the end, you pretty much come to a screeching halt when the 100-foot wall comes in to view. It was incredible. I remember telling Cody, that this was my most favorite waterfall.....EVER! Even better than the McWay Falls, which was pretty spectacular too, but this one was better because of how close you could get. It must have been those negative ions giving me that feeling of euphoria........

The park's name comes from the actual kilns that were used to produce lime in the 19th century. The Rockland Lime and Lumber Company would load the towers of the kilns with limestone and use redwood lumber to stoke fires at their bases to purify the rock before it was hauled out of the canyon and down to the coast where ships were waiting. The lime was eventually used in cement and other products.


(One of four kilns, which are still largely intact)

We were very close to skipping the actual limekiln's themselves because I just wanted to lay down. Thankfully I sucked it up, and trekked a little further to catch a glimpse of these rusty towers. To get to the kilns, we took a separate hike off the main trail once we backtracked from the waterfall. I can just imagine the bustling activity taking place there day-to-day, way back when. Big Sur harbors a lot of history, that I haven't even begun to fathom, but I'm learning more and more as I delve deeper into the trip.


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Would you believe that there is actually MORE?! I mean, really, is anybody tired of seeing all of this stuff yet?!

Extra Details

• Aerial Shot of Limekiln: Link
• Panoramic View of the Limekilns: Link

*Fiery Finish*

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May the sun shine, all day long,
everything go right, and nothing wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you,
and may all the wishes you wish come true!

~Irish Blessing~

Good Food & Great Views

California : Big Sur : Nepenthe Restaurant

Upon walking onto the terrace at Nepenthe, something catches your eye.





A stately Phoenix bird carved out of a single piece of wood, by Sculptor Edmund Kara, demands to be noticed. At the base of the old oak tree that it is perched upon are, 'birds of paradise' planted to add a touch of fire!





The next, and almost immediate observation is the jaw dropping view of the Santa Lucia Mountains rendezvousing with the Pacific Ocean. We decided to sit outside to soak up as much of the view as possible before we left Big Sur for good.





We didn't want an entire meal so we just ordered an appetizer. Pictured above is the Cold-smoked Sockeye salmon with basil aioli, crumbled goat cheese, slivered red onions, capers and toasted baguette slices - it was scrumptious!

The above photo is a screen shot taken by a friend of Cody's. You see, Nepenthe has a weather web cam on their website. During the planning of our trip we visited, quite regularly, the camera page just so we could see the coast and what the weather was like. Before we left I had the bright idea to call someone while we were at Nepenthe so that they could get a screen shot of us on the deck. After trying a few different people we were finally able to get someone who was sitting at a computer! Thankfully, T was kind enough to entertain our little idea - thanks T. You can barely tell that it's Me & Cody, but it was still cool to see ourselves on the very camera where our dreams began to take form.



I'm glad that toward the end of our trip we jumped on the opportunity to stop by Nepenthe. I think we would have regretted not going if we skipped it. Along with the spectacular view, Nepenthe has a lot of history. It opened in April of 1949, and has seen many travelers during its time. I'm glad that we can also say that we have been.

Believe it or not, I still have so much more to show you. Nepenthe was one of our last stops in Big Sur, but there is still a lot of in between that I have yet to share. I just like to mix it up a bit - keep you on your toes!?!?

Extra Details:

• Nepenthe's Weather Cam
• Nepenthe says -In Greek, Nepenthe means "isle of no care".
• But Wikipedia says - Literally, it means "the one that chases away sorrow".

Stunning Oasis

California : Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park : McWay Falls



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It is of the utmost importance that portions of our wilderness remain unspoiled. For the sole purpose of allowing others to witness the same breathtaking beauty that many others have had the privilege to see. I feel so very fortunate to have had a sneak peek at something that someone so long ago knew needed to be preserved for generations to come.

I was positively enamored by this stupendous sight - who wouldn't be, right. I have never seen anything like it, especially as far as waterfalls go. There's really no need to paint a picture because you can see for yourself. But, I'll do it anyway...........

The rushing water flowed fast and furiously over the side of a tree topped cliff hitting the sandy shore at its end before being swept away into the multifarious shades of blue..........

Extra Details:

• This was the shortest and most accessible hike we did while on the trip.
  
• Length was 1/4 mile, and it was pretty flat.
• Elevation gain was about 50 feet - easy peasy!
• There was a parking fee ($8.00) within Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, although like most others, if available, you could park outside the gate and hike in.
• Approximate height of the fall - 80 foot
• It was easily the most popular hike in Big Sur.
  

...:::Domed Dwellings:::..

California : Big Sur : Treebones Resort

We spoiled ourselves way to early on this trip. Through no real fault of our own, though, things just happened the way the were meant to. I'll explain: in an attempt to let go and allow the trip to govern itself, I had the bright idea to go to Big Sur, California without making any reservations for our accommodations. It is no real surprise that I tend to have some control issues when it comes to planning, sometimes, I overdo it! But with this trip, I wanted to fly by the seat of my pants, and let things happen more naturally.

After we left Santa Cruz, we were headed toward Big Sur to seek out a campsite for the evening. Little did we know that it was going to be such a challenge. From everything I read, I found that the time we were going to be there was during the off-season, which was supposed to make it easier.

After stopping at a few different campsites with no luck, we decided to stop at Treebones Resort. I remembered that they had campsites, albeit at a hefty price, but at this point, we were desperate! Now just so you know, when I first began planning our trip I had my heart set on staying at the resort, but blew it off because of their 2 night minimum rule. The accommodations at this resort are pretty pricey, and at a two night minimum, well, we just decided to stick with camping instead to keep our costs low. Seeing the resorts perched on top of the cliff overlooking the ocean was a treat in and of itself, but what wasn't so great was, being told that they didn't have any campsites available—DANG!



Luckily for us, they had just received a cancellation on yurt # 7, and promptly handed us a map so that we could go take a look. We took off running since there was a couple behind us who would have been next in line if we decided to keep looking elsewhere. Being as though we were so drained, and I wanted to stay there from the beginning, it really wasn't a hard sell! Upon returning to the desk, I wanted to get my questions out of the way, 1.) Could we just get it for one night? 2.) How much?! I was happy to know that, in fact, they would allow us to have it for just one night, but the price, oh vey, the price was not what I had in mind, but what the hay, let's do it!



So now the question arises, what the heck is a YURT?!?! To give you a simple answer, it's sort of a round semi-permanent tent-like structure. A better explanation would be to tell you that, originally they were, and still are, portable dwellings used by nomads. Instead of spending a lot of time explaining it to you, why don't I just show you!!




Now, I only had the idea to do a video right before we were getting ready to leave, so the room isn't exactly as it was. I love how you can hear the birds chirping in the background, but I don't like how you can hear me breathing into the mic.......haha oh, well.

See photos of the inside: HERE

It was like a little ewok village with about 16 other domed abodes. It was quite a task getting our belongings to the yurt, but they provided a nice little wagon with beefy tires to transport everything. I really liked how there was only a walking path around the village, it helped you to stay more in tune with nature.



The panoramic ocean views were spectacular from up there. And our little yurt had a full ocean view!


(this wasn't our yurt)

After showering in the community bath house—that's the thing, the yurts didn't have private baths (but I didn't mind)—we had dinner in the lodge. The restaurant within the resort requires that you pre-order dinner from the fixed menu (if you want to eat). So, at the time you chose, you show up at the restaurant, and wait for them to bring it out to you—no waiting around, it was great!


(Veggie Lasagna For Technodoll)


Inside the Lodge

The lodge had a wonderful community feel to it, and the staff was super friendly—I didn't want to leave! Next time, I want to stay in a yurt the entire time :o) Another cool thing about Treebones Resort is that they are off the grid, meaning that they generate their own power. The resort also has its own well, and everything is powered by propane-fueled turbines; the heat produced in the process is used to warm water and some of the yurts. Several, including ours, had gas fireplaces. Man, I wanna go back there right now!

Cody and I have thought about getting some land and buying one of our own. These were not very big, but they make some really nice ones for an affordable price that are much larger. Staying there gave us an idea of what it would be like to have one of our own. They definitely held up against some fierce winds the night we stayed, I seriously thought the roof was going to blow right off!

Sorry for such a looooooooong post, I know some folks will appreciate it though :o)