Hearst Castle is a National Historic Landmark in San Simeon California. It’s quite well known, so I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that. But how many of my readers have actually been there? I’d been there twice, because it’s one of those touristy things that visitors wanted to do when I lived in Santa Barbara. (Kinda like The Grassy Knoll and Book Depository when I lived in Dallas.)
As I said in my last post, I’ve always seen this place as more of an art museum than a castle, because it is almost entirely decorated with, and built using (in and out) European antiques and art pieces. Hearst formally named the estate “La Cuesta Encantada”, (The Enchanted Hill).
I’ll let the images tell my story, but for detailed information and the castle’s history here’s Hearst Castle on Wikipedia and their own website, hearstcastle.org.
Hearst Castle
The Neptune Pool, Hearst Castle
One of numerous statues on the grounds at Hearst Castle
Art on the grounds of Hearst Castle
Art on the walls of Hearst Castle
Ceiling detail in Hearst Castle
Tapestry in dining room of Hearst Castle
Flags in dining room of Hearst Castle
Beautiful Indoor Roman Pool at Hearst Castle
Art and steps leading to Hearst Castle
View from Hearst Castle
If you make it Hearst Castle it’s a must to also visit the Elephant Seal Rookery (Piedras Blancas) just a few minutes up the highway. Some seasons are busier than others, but there’s always someone “home”. The entire population of 25,000 elephant seals is never in the rookery at the same time. According to E-Seal News there are hundreds of seals on the beach in July and August, but literally thousands from January through May!
Young male Elephant Seal
Male, watching over his harem
Young males seem to be practicing for a more heated battle in the future. As of now, their bark is worse than their bite.
Two male elephant seals engaging
Male Elephant Seals making noise
Male Elephant Seal looking for trouble
Stand off between male Elephant Seals
Male Elephant Seal cooling off
Female elephant seals bickering over something
Waves crashing on rock nearby
Shoreline near Elephant Seal’s Rookery
Next… on to Monterey!! I’m trying to get caught up here, so they may be coming up fast for a few weeks. ?
I haven’t said it in awhile, but I do appreciate having you all along on the journey. Please feel free to chime in if you have anything to say, and if you haven’t signed up already you can click on the envelope icon on this page to sign up for email notifications. I confess to spending little time on most of the other social media right now, but I will be attending to my Instagram account again soon.