Hearst Castle

two and half hours north of Santa Barbara

is the tiny town of San Simeon (pop 462)

 home to what was once

one of the largest private homes in America.

formally know as La Cuesta Encantada

(the enchanted hill),

its creator, William Randolph Hearst,

 referred to it as The Ranch

and today, being part of the California Park System

(since soon after his death in 1951)

it's commonly known as Hearst Castle. 

view of the castle

from Pacific Coast Highway 1

Hearst, an only child, inherited the 250,000 acre property 

which included 13 miles of California coast line

from his mother .

he immediately set out

to create a home more comfortable

than the tents he normally used 

while visiting the site for his entire life.

organized tours of the property now take you 

to the castle by bus,

1600' above the pacific

on five miles of switchback road.

the property is still a working ranch

producing wine and grass fed beef

(available at California Whole Foods stores).

zebras and African antelope, decedents of Hearst's one time private zoo

can be seen grazing alongside the ranch's cattle.

the front of the (generally) Mediterranean Revival castle

(with it's Gothic facade appointments)

the entire structure was built

of steel reinforced concrete

the entry hall 

with it's 1800 yr old 

Roman mosaic floor.

the 750,000 tourists a year 

are no longer allowed to come through the front door

as to preserve the tile.

the estate costs $12M annually to maintain

with no endowment left by Hearst

the receiving hall

with it's Renaissance treasures

and Flemish tapestries.

most of the architectural elements 

were purchased from cash-strapped European countries

after WW1.

a mantle-over-mantle fireplace

from a French Chateau

the Gothic dining hall

with it's coffered Renaissance ceiling

depicting Mary and the twelve saints.

there are basically three tours offered

one for the grand rooms

one for the upstairs suits

and one for the cottages and kitchen.

(at $25 per tour)

we only took the grand rooms tour 

so we'll have something to go back and see

at another time.

with the lighting being so low 

it was hard to photograph the other rooms properly :(

the three guest cottages

were the first buildings built on the hill.

ranging in size from 

2500 to 5300 sq feet

and four to eight bedrooms

each was named for it's view

casa del mar

casa del monte

casa del sol

in it's heyday

visiting guests had their trip paid for, 

door to door,

by Mr Hearst.

even with abundant staff, 

it was not run as a hotel.

there was no breakfast in bed

and guests were expected to participate

in daily activities:

horseback riding, tennis, swimming to mention a few.

and sometimes, at a moment's notice

Mr Hearst would request 

his guests to perform an original play.

there is a in-home theater

with a stage (and for movies) 

and since he owned a movie production company

(with abundant costumes)

and a number of his guests were

famous entertainers,

his request didn't seem too far off the mark.

did I mention swimming?

the infamous Neptune pool

highlighting the 4c. Roman temple.

it was heated.

this is the third pool to be built on the site,

Mr Hearst liked to change his mind.....

the pool is currently drained of water

due to leaks of 3,000-7,000 gallons of water per day

(depending on the docent you talk to).

the marble tiles will be removed, 

cracks repaired, a membrane installed

and the tiles relaid 

by the end of next year.

then there's the indoor Roman pool

(with the tennis courts above)

a ceiling of painted cork

that resembles the ocean's sandy bottom

marble ladder head

and diving platform in the alcove

thousands of mosaic tiles on the deck

and the same tiles line the inside of the pool,

to represent the starry heavens.

after leaving the property

a short drive further north

takes you to the breeding and calving grounds of 

elephant seals

by this time of year

most of the breeding and calving are finished,

and what's left laying around are this season's pups.

who after being born at 70lbs

are weaned four weeks later at 

close to 300lbs.

at the time of weaning

the mom is bred again

and she abandons her pup to go back to sea.

the pup will then make their first foray into the water,

building muscle and skill

and loosing some of their buoyant fat

before heading out to sea on their own.

an adult male

(only males grow the large proboscis)

these guys come ashore in November

to establish territory and 

to wait for the females' arrival in January.

they arrive weighing upwards of 5,000 lbs

and leave, once all of the females have gone,

having not eaten in close to three months,

2,000 lbs lighter.

a youngin

reminds me of Phineas....

a happy tourist feeding the squirrels in the parking lot

such a fun day!