Cambria & Hearst Castle

[Tommyboy]

My wife's birthday is coming up; she wanted a quick trip to the coast, and so we did just that this past weekend. I brought along the digital Rebel in hopes of getting a few interesting pics.

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This little fellow kept us company on the patio of our hotel room.

My wife had never visited Hearst Castle (and I've only been once, twenty years ago) so we took the beginner's tour. It was quite interesting, and offered no shortage of picture opportunities. Many are so familiar that they are cliché; I'll try not to include too many of thoses.

The following images are from one of the vintage 1945 Dodge fire engines in Heart's fleet:

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Obligatory shots of the outdoor pool:

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The attention to detail in the construction, frozen in time, is one of the most impressive aspects of this tour.

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Guest house detail.

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There are also magnificent gardens.

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I like this still-life. These are original containers of mustard and catsup on the dining table in the main dining hall.

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The indoor pool is also a wonder; this is my favorite of many shots I took in there, a study in reflections.

As a bonus, my wife and I ran into this classic Woodie in the parking lot. There was no one parked to its left, so I could take a few nice shots.

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The birthday girl contemplating the clam chowder in a sourdough bowl that was on its way.

Here's a couple of Cambria views:

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The weekend went by very quickly. We drove Hwy 58 home and caught site of this flock of Turkey Vultures in a tree:

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That's it. Thanks for reading. The rest of the pictures are here (http://snc1923.smugmug.com/gallery/1954686).

[BeachBill]

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Of course, I couldn't pass up on the woodie shots. Nice.

[Andy]

Ahhh very nice series - thanks for posting this. I *loved* my trip to Hearst Castle, really enjoyed it.

:thumb :clap

[mmroden]

Yes, beautiful shots-- the number of excuses I have for not going diminishes daily. Especially after seeing these.

[Seefutlung]

Nicely done. A few, or at least one shot of the grounds to establish the setting would have been nice for those that have never been. The indoor pool is especially nice.

[ian408]

Very nice Tom!

Did you ride down? That's one of the nicest places to ride.

[Dee]

a lot of the nice close ups... that woody is just great too!

We've been to Cambria several times, but never to Hearst Castle.

[Tommyboy]

Very nice Tom!

Did you ride down? That's one of the nicest places to ride.

Hey Ian,

Nah. . . . It was my wife's Bday, and she frankly prefers the creature comforts of a cage. She rode with me to Colorado two summers ago, so I can't really complain. She'll ride, but she doesn't have the same "I've got to ride" verve that I do.

C'est la vie!

[ian408]

Cage or bike, it's a great ride :thumb

[erich6]

Nice series Tommy. The Pacific Coast is my favorite place in the world and the area around Hearst castle is one of the prime spots.

Any weekend trip to this area always goes too fast. Glad that you could celebrate your wife's b-day that way.

Erich

[Mickey57]

Hi Tom:
Another beautiful set of photos. I really liked the woody and the fire engine pictures. The lines in the hose picture are nicely done.
This is another one of those trips I would love to take. Your pictures have moved it up the to do list considerably!

Dan