Hearst Castle

the next day we went to Hearst Castle which was only a five minute drive from the campground (the main reason we decided to sleep there). Hearst Castle was one of the homes of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. it was regularly visited by movie stars like Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, and Joan Crawford in the 20's and 30's. that was one of the things that initially peaked my interest in going there. I had images of elaborate Great Gatsby style parties with all the celebrity guests decked out in beautiful clothing. 

we took a bus to the castle which was at the top of the hill. the tour would have been worth it if it was just to see the amazing view of the ocean from the hill.

there were five different tours and you had to pay for each separately. we chose the grand rooms tour that included the assembly room, billiard, and theater. the inside of the castle was fantastic and it was like a museum of antique architecture pieces from as early as the 15th century. each room had a different ceiling that was taken from old castles, cathedrals from all over the world but mainly Italy and Spain. all of the furniture and decorations were museum worthy pieces as well. he was definitely an extravagant man who lived a life of excess. 

 the movie theater was my favorite part. they had put on some home videos of Hearst and I was imaging all of the movie stars watching their own movies in that theater. 

after the tour we were able to explore the garden and pools on our own. 

this is the Neptune Pool which was sadly drained due to cracks they need to fix. the pool started out much smaller but he continually added to it.

the Roman Pool was his indoor pool that was designed in the style of the ancient Roman baths. the tile work was stunning. 

we really enjoyed the tour but wish it were a little cheaper so we could have seen more of the rooms. I would definitely recommend someone seeing it though if they are in the area. 

San Simeon

after leaving Sequoia National Park we continued driving north. 

 

we set up camp for the night at the San Simeon Creek Campground which is right by the beach. we ate dinner on the beach and watched the beautiful sunset. 

West Coast Roadtrip

this summer Jason and I embarked on another incredible three week roadtrip! this time we drove up the west coast up to Washington and back down through Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. we visited 8 states total, 4 of which I had never been to before. I had somehow gone my whole life without visiting the Pacific Northwest and I knew that had to change.

this trip may not have been as much as far and varied as last years cross country road trip it was still an amazing adventure. I know I will always hold these road trips dear to my heart for the rest of my life. I love road trips because there is so much you miss on an airplane. the small towns, gradually changing landscapes, vast expanses of road and scenery are all what make driving long distances so memorable for me. being on the road for a few weeks at a time I feel is such a great adventure because it is not just about the destinations but also what is in between.

we left on our trip on Saturday July 11th and spent all day driving north and stayed in Bakersfield, CA.

the next day we went to Sequoia National Park. the Sequoia trees are not the tallest in the world but they are the largest in regards to both width and height.

General Sherman is the largest tree in the world. we were laughing at a teen girl who yelled at her sister, "mom wants another picture, she says we got our picture in front of the wrong tree!" there was a sign and line in front of Sherman so it was pretty hard to miss!