My Family Travels...: San Simeon, California

Welcome! Mabuhay!

...travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living. ~ St. Augustine

Traveling to places near and far is both exciting and enlightening. Travel may be close by, within a region, or globally. Visiting a bordering city or island in where you live could give you a fresh new perspective in life. Though, we don’t really need to go so far out to enjoy ourselves and find beauty, because it is all around us… if you open your eyes, stop and smell the roses... you will get that sense of freedom. However if you are a world traveler, it opens up for a much wider point of view. How I wish someday, I will get to do that. Visiting another country and seeing how other people live and discovering their culture provides us with new understanding that we are all different and unique in our own ways, though we are all human… living and breathing on the same amazing planet, Earth…

Enjoy, travel and live life to the fullest!

Friday, November 6, 2009

San Simeon, California

It has become a tradition for my husband and I to travel on our anniversaries. Every year, we contemplate on which vacation spot to visit... someplace where we’ve never been to and make it an adventure or a place that we enjoyed so much and come to love from previous visits. Most of the time, a place that is even just a few-hour drive from where we live.

San Simeon... was one of those places that pop-out in our mind after hearing about it from a couple of our friends who have visited the place. They indubitably love it. At the time, we lived in Corona del Mar which was about a 4-hour & 30-minute drive to Cambria/ San Simeon. Pacific Coast highway is the best way to get there. It does take you longer, because of the traffic lights along the way, but I love the scenic route and it is all worth it, I may add. You might want to consider that instead of taking the freeway. Sometimes, the drive is about a third of the short weekend getaway so, might as well be entertained by the beautiful scene along the way. Making a reservation for a place to stay, especially the well-known inns was certainly difficult and most lodging have no vacancies. Maybe it was during high season being in november that made it more challenging for us. The average hotel rate is higher compared to any small town anywhere in the US (seems like it anyway). We indeed-up staying in a quaint inn. In our first night, we dinned at Moonstone Beach Bar & Grill located just right across the beach, the view is awesome, fair prices and delicious food. It is definitely a charming small town, but quite popular... situated in the Pacific Coast line between Los Angeles & San Francisco... dominated by lodging, although fine restaurants are also available. It is also an artsy crafty town with miles of unspoiled beautiful beaches.

Our main intention of visiting San Simeon was to see the “Hearst Castle”. I have read about the history of the place and how interesting it is. The photos from the website was very intriguing (considering that i’ve never seen a castle in person before). For those of you who have never heard of it or seen it. Hearst Castle was owned by William Randolph Hearst, an important figure from the twentieth century whose influence extended to publishing, politics, Hollywood, and beyond. With his power, money and vision allowed him to pursue one of the most ambitious architectural endeavors in American history, the result of which is the “Hearst Castle”. He spent a fortune in building and furnishing the castle. Lots of very expensive & Renaissance stuff mportant from Europe. The Hearst Castle was also the venue of many Hollywood parties from the 20’s, which was hosted by Hearts’ companion and confidante, Marion Davies. She was an actress from that era, who have made 46 movies in her acting career. During the end of the Great Depression, the Hearst Corporation was hit hard financially. It was later known that Ms. Davis gave Hearst a check in the amount of 1 million dollars in order to bail his company out of debt. Years later, Hearst & Ms. Davies left the castle for the last time. In December 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the “Hearst Castle” to the state of California. Since then it has become an enchanting Tourists attraction and one of the states historical monuments. Nowadays, the Hearst Family are considered to be richer than ever and listed as billionaire in Forbes Magazine.

My husband and I love these type of vacations, not only that we get to scape from our normal activities, but also come face to face with a historic monument. Words can’t describe the lavishness of the whole place. You can see from the photos, but a 6x4 postcard can’t capture the grandeur of the Hearst Castle. You would have to see it in person to fully understand it. One thing that was disappointing was once you’re inside the castle, taking photographs was prohibited. Reason being, camera flashes would hurt the centuries old furnishings. Oh well, we bought postcards and books for safe-keeping. Also, it was overcast in the few days that we visited the area, so the bought postcards came in handy... See below...