California Trip, September 2014

Thursday, September 25

Today we went into Cambria to pick up a few items, toothpaste and whatnot, and it turns out that Cambria has an annual Scarecrow Festival. Enough to give you weird nightmares.

Scarecrow marching band

Cambrian Wizard of Oz, where everyone is a scarecrow...

Tonight was our night to have dinner at the Hearst Castle. We were taken up on a shuttle bus with a bunch of other people, most dressed in 20s-like garb, but not everybody. The women seemed to get into the theme more than the men. William Randolph Hearst was the tycoon on whom the lead character in the movie Citizen Kane was based. Hearst was an American newspaper publisher who built the nation's largest newspaper chain. He kind of invented yellow journalism, which might have been instrumental in getting us into a war with Spain in 1898. Yay.

Hearst Castle, called "the ranch" by William Randolph Hearst

The "dinner" turned out to be more of a wine-tasting/toothpick-buffet of appetizers and tiny desserts. We stayed outside in the paviliions and tiled patios. It was very pretty, great views, lots of statuary and gardens. They had a live band, and people were dancing the Charleston.

Pat tasting wine at the Hearst Castle

The views were staggering. On the west side, you could see all the way to the Pacific Ocean. On the east side you could see the mountains and valleys.

The view from the west patio

Funny story, I got a big run in my hose, and we couldn't find the restrooms. So I had Pat stand guard while I went into a little alcove on the west patio and took off my hose and stuffed them into my purse.

Greetings from Hearst Castle!

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