Vacation - Continued (Again) - Hearst Castle

Rachel and I spent Monday evening in San Simeon. It was a neat experience, as San Simeon is sort of a throw-back to the 1960's. It is very small, and has no hotels, only motor lodges. It would seem that its only reason for being is to house tourists, like ourselves, who want to visit the Hearst Castle (if you squint, you can actually see it in the picture above).

Situated high on the hill, Hearst Castle was built by media magnate William Randolph Hearst in the early 1920's. Although the house is not as large as the Vanderbilt's Biltmore mansion, the grounds are amazing. It sits on 7,000 acres of land, all originally owned by the Hearst Family (from the castle, almost every bit of land that you can see was owned by the estate). It was home to Hearst, who owned SEVERAL MAJOR newspapers throughout the United States (he was a Rupert Murdoch on steroids). His home was the playground to Hollywood's elite, such as Carey Grant, Randolph Scott and others. Hearst actually owned a DC-3, which transported guests to and from Hollywood to the estate.

The grounds held 4 guest houses, in addition to the main house, each with multiple bedrooms. Guests could stay as long as they wanted, as long as they behaved. Hearst did not believe in telling guests to go home; however, it would be obvious to you if you wore out your welcome. Hearst did not allow drugs on his property, and only allowed drinking in moderation (if you got drunk, you were kicked out).

The grounds contained an extravagent Roman pool, where guests were allowed to swim and play. Hearst was a man of action, so guests were not allowed to sleep late and were encouraged to be active, while staying at the grounds. They could swim, horse ride, visit the zoo on the grounds, or play tennis on the outdoor tennis court.

Hearst was ahead of his time. The castle was designed by architect Julia Morgan during a time when female architects were not given second notice. Hearst was a champion of Women's Suffrage and did not discriminate based on color or religion, although he himself was a religious man.

Mine and Rachel's favorite place was the indoor swimming pool. It was built with bright blue tile enlayed with real gold and was supposedly designed to be viewed at night. As beautiful as it was in the daylight, I can't imagine how beautiful it must be in the evening.

Anyone who is ever in the area should make the Hearst Castle a must.