USA National Parks - mainly SW: Coastal California

After seeing the giant sequoias we headed for the coast. Some fluffy white things appeared in the sky and funny wet stuff came down! We have had 4 weeks of blue skies and heat so this was a surprise. Now we are on the coast we also have the famous Californian fog which is there in the morning, clears in the afternoon, and rolls in again near sunset.

heading for the coast near sunset

First stop on the coast was Hearst Castle, now owned and operated by State Parks. It was built by the media magnate William Randolph Hearst (and his architect Julia Morgan) from 1919 until the late 1940s - an ever changing work in progress. From about 1930 Hearst had a constant stream of invited guests. He could accommodate up to 60 at a time - each guest had a private suite and a servant to attend to their every need. Tennis, swimming and horse-riding gear was provided where needed. The bathroom plumbing was equivalent to today´s - amazing for the 1930s.

the main building

the Neptune pool. There is also an indoor ¨Roman plunge¨ pool 30m long and 3m deep for the entire length. It is UNDER the tennis courts.

one of the ornate carved ceilings

a typical guest suite

a typical guest bathroom

The guests could do as they pleased in the day but had to attend cocktails, dinner and a movie screening from 730 pm to about 1 am each night. Who were these lucky guests? Basically anyone making news headlines – actors, top athletes, Winston Churchill, Amelia Earhart, Nobel prize winners, etc, etc. There were 3 basic rules for guests:
1.no excessive drinking
2.no cohabiting with non-spouses
3.no swearing
Errol Flynn apparently broke all 3 rules within 12 hours of arriving and found his bags packed when he returned to his room; he was promptly dispatched. Mind you Hearst´s wife lived on Long Island New York while he lived at San Simeon in an open relationship with the actress Marion Davies, so he was rather a hypocrite.

The opulence of the buildings has to be seen to be believed. As Hedda Hopper said - it will never be repeated. Apart from the actual construction, the rooms are full of collectibles from Europe – art works, pottery, tapestries, etc. A truly amazing place – makes you long to have been an invited guest.

We are now in Monterey having slowly worked our way up the coast today. The coastline is similar to the Great Ocean Road with the occasional state park with walks to waterfalls and lookouts.