Hearst Castle

I hate to make a new post because I love opening the bamsanfran blog and seeing my wedding pictures. But since Blake planned such a fun Saturday for us, I have to move on. This weekend we went on a surprise road trip. We packed up a picnic, some overnight bags, then 250 miles and 3 1/2 hours later, we arrived in San Simeon at the William Randolph Hearst Castle. We've wanted to go visit ever since we learned one even existed--Blake because he loves all beautiful things, especially beautiful things in Northern California; and me because I love anything related to "Newsies." You know, "Pulitzer and Hearst they think they got us. Do they got us? NO!" And Mr. Hearst did not disappoint. After entering the gate we drove about 1 mile up to the Visitor Center. Then, we boarded a tour bus that took us the remaining 5 miles up to the castle. The ranch the castle sits on is 250,000 acres of the most beautiful land--rolling green hills, rocky cliffs, and an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean. There are 3 guest houses, two huge swimming pools (one indoor, one out), and the main house--Casa Grande with 38 bedrooms and 41 bathrooms. And there used to be a zoo on the property. There were lions, tigers, chimps, zebras, bears, and many other exotic animals at the zoo. Today you can still see zebras on the land, although, all we saw was a few cows. During our tour we went through one of the guest houses, and the main floor of Casa Grande. One of the highlights for me was the dining room. The creators of the Harry Potter movies based the Great Hall off the castle's dining room. And how was Max during the drive and on the tour? He was a very good boy. He loved walking around the grounds of the castle and looking at all the water in the fountains. Inside they had converted a bathroom into a kid's room and we definitely took advantage of the kid's room. They had lots of fun toys for Max and was just the break he needed. When we got in our car after the tour, he fell right asleep so we decided to drive home instead of spend the night. On the ride home we planned a trip to San Simeon for the next time our family comes to visit. You're in for a treat, so come visit us soon!