The Good Life

Today was a day of minimal driving, but tremendous site seeing.  I started in San Luis Obispo and decided to take a quick spin around town, to see the famous Mission:

I then headed north toward San Simeon, stopping at this lovely vista point on the Monterey Peninsula:

And again at this one:

Then before I knew it, I was at Hearst Castle - what a spectacular site.  I'm only including the highlights, but have even more pics than this.

Greeting me at the visitor center:

These guys were happy to get VERY close while I shared my sandwhich:

On the tour bus, heading up to the castle:

Climbing above the marine layer, with the windy road in the foreground:

Looking back over the entry walkway:

Just a little guest house:

The "outdoor" pool:

A view of the "backyard":

Inside the guest house:

The twin towers of "Casa Grande", the main house:

The "side yard":

The front door:

The "living" room, for gathering prior to dinner:

The dining room:

The tennis court:

Which sits atop the "indoor" pool (complete with high dive platform and gold tile - even in the tile at the bottom of the pool):

And here's a view of the castle from the visitor center below:

Across Highway 1 sits Hearst Ranch.  A little schoolhouse in the foreground, castle in the background:

Also across the highway, is W.R. Hearst State Park, which is beachfront.  I arrived as the sun was setting and took shot upon shot of a gorgeous ocean sunset:

I then left the park and began to head to my motel, but simply had to pull over and take a few more pictures of the final moements of this brilliant sunset:

The icing on the cake for this day was finding that my little motel is not only quaint and comfy, with a partial ocean view:

 But also provided a complimentary "cheese & cracker" tray including carrots, tomatoes and a glass of sparkling apple cider, which was enough for dinner (and then some):

So I was just pleased as can be to have had a fantastic day, a great place to crash, and a meal for the night.  But as if that weren't enough, I'll get the chance to feature a special guest on my blog starting tomorrow - you'll have to check back again to see who it is, though.  In order to get to SF in time to meet my guest, I need to get to bed soon to get up and on the road bright and early, so for today - g'night all!