Hearst Castle and the Best Summer Vacation

It has become a tradition in our family to make a road trip to see the Seattle Mariners play on the road. Usually we go to San Diego, and that was the case in June of 2006. But the best part of the vacation was experienced long before we reached southern California.

We departed from Seattle in the wee hours of the morning on Monday with the intent of reaching San Diego on Thursday night. We drove the normal I-5 south until just south of Portland, OR, where we went west to connect with US 1, the Pacific Coast Highway. After winding our way past sleepy Oregon coastal villages and northern California rock-strewn beaches, making stops whenever something caught our interest (usually food), we came to Cambria CA. After dinner and a good night's rest, we made our way north to San Simeon. We drove up to the Visitor's Center where we paid for our tour and waited for the bus to leave for Hearst Castle.

The Casa Grande is not visible from the Visitor's Center and you wind up five miles of road to get to it. Along the way, the tour guide talked about the days when the Hearst family would visit the estate and camp out. William Randolph Hearst decided to build the mansion for two reasons - to provide better living conditions for their visits and to house the collection of European art and furnishings he inherited from his mother.

The castle and its attendant buildings are Mediterranean Revival architecture and the towers were inspired by a Spanish cathedral Hearst saw on his childhood trips to Europe with his mother. The interior is filled with the treasures purchased by the family during the many trips they made to Europe early in the 20th century. This was common practice for wealthy Americans of the time, and it served to protect many amazing works of art from the horrors of war.

While the art and furnishings are incredible to see, it is the stories of life at the castle that are truly remarkable. The family used it as a summer home, inviting many guests each year. Dinner guests would often 'motor' up from Los Angeles and spend a night or two before returning home. Needless to say, this was a coveted invitation. As you tour the rooms, you expect to see a gathering of guests enjoying cocktails before going in to dinner or children playing hide and seek under the refectory table.

The gardens and grounds are very beautifully maintained, filled with statues and providing wonderful views of the coast line below. The Neptune pool is extremely breathtaking, with its copies of Roman and Greek statues of the gods, the marble terrace, and the colorfully tiled pool.

It was hard to leave this grand tribute to a more elegant time, but we hope to return for a night tour in the near future.