Today we left the Queen Mary and drove Highway 1 up the coast to Hearst Castle, the “palace extraordinaire” of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst. We took “Tour #1”, a 1.75 hour tour that explored some of the grounds, two pools, a guest house, and “Casa Grande” itself. This was an outstanding tour; easily worth the 4.5 hours of driving and ticket price! It’s amazing to see what people with almost unlimited funds can do when pursuing a dream.
The state of California currently manages the grounds, since Hearst died in 1952. They provide an ample visitors center and show a film about the building of “the castle”. It’s a unique and truly remarkable place! Just look at the photos!:
Afterwards, we drove to Ventura to spend the night. The drive home was made more fun with some help from group-effort crossword puzzles. 🙂
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