William Randolph Hearst State Park
September 22, 2009
We have had perfect weather for this anchorage which has always made this stop iffey on our itinerary. If there is wind from the south it is not a good spot to stop. Anyway, we came in yesterday and got anchored, then this morning we practiced our dinghy beaching skills (but that is a topic for another entry) so that we could make our reservation for a tour of the Hearst Castle. It is actually part of our newspaper curriculum. Brad has been reading a biography of Hearst to the boys.
The “Castle” which Hearst gave to the State of California is beyond amazing. The buildings are incredible and their very location makes them just that much harder to believe. Evidently, Hearst’s love of art and grand projects was a direct result of a “Grand Tour” of Europe that he took with his school teacher mother when he was about 10 years old. They traveled for about a year and half visiting artists, artisans and historical locations all over Western Europe.
If my boys take away from our adventure even a small portion of the appreciation for the world around them that Mr. Hearst took away from his travels, I will consider it the best gift Brad and I could give them as parents. It is very exciting to watch Bryce and Austin begin to see the possibilities that are there for them.
Beach day
Brad and Bryce boogie boarding
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4 comments:
Hearst Castle at San Simeon left one of the most amazing memories I have a trip to California as a kid with my parents. We watched a film about Hearst and the movie stars he frolicked with and I remember there was an indoor pool that was so beautiful and the California air was so warm, I thought, “Someday, I want to have a house just like this…”. Yeah! Right! I’m a little far removed from that at the moment, but it’s beautiful when your dreams can be informed by the best of what’s possible—whether it’s the best of times, the best of trips, or the best of castles. It is so fun to live vicariously through you all on this trip—keep up the writing work—it’s a joy to read!
Rose
You are doing a wonderful thing for the boys and they will realize it more and more as time goes on.
What a coincidence! We were at Hearst Castle just today. We took the bus from Morro Bay. We're tied to a fishing boat at the city pier, where we're waiting out the gale with a bonus tsunami thrown in. How could it get more interesting?
kCuffel
ps. We dined on local black cod while waiting for the apocalypse. Incredible!
SO happy you made the trip to the castle. We visited there on Planjane nearly 18 years ago. Our kids were little but they still talk about it. Keep up the fun adventures. carol and Ned
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