Paso Robles, San Simeon and the Hearst Castle November 19-20

We moved south from San Juan Bautista to Paso Robles, California. We explored around the area and visited a couple of wineries. The landscape is beautiful in the valley--mountains all around,  fields full of a variety of vegetables and vineyards with perfectly straight rows of grape plants in a wide variety of gorgeous fall colors! We saw deer and several fields of cattle and horses. It is a  very agricultural area---there are even areas when your views of the mountains are blocked, that the fields and wooded areas could be a part of the midwest.

The next day we got up and drove towards the coast to San Simeon and scheduled a tour of Hearst Castle---built by William Randolph Hearst in the 1920's, it is an amazing estate built high on a mountain overlooking the Pacific that was a playground for the rich and famous in the 1930's. There are photos of such stars as Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Carole Lombard......all enjoying the generosity of Mr. Hearst. The home was given to the state of California and is now part of their state park system and is as it was during its heyday. Very opulent and luxurious---even by today's standards!

We had lunch in San Simeon in a restaurant where our table overlooked the Pacific and then visited a section of the beach where elephant seals migrate each year. Right now the beach is covered with  young males that are fasting and resting up for their migration to the north and west. Large mature males are beginning to arrive and are volleying for supremacy on the  beach. Pregnant females will be arriving shortly, give birth and stay at the beach with their  young until  March at which time they will just leave their young and start their migration. The young will stay around longer and teach themselves how to swim and catch fish. Docents patrol the area all the time when the seals are on the beach---to answer questions and protect the seals! We saw one  group of volunteers put a net over one of the seals that they thought had some plastic around its neck---it turned out it was just a scar--but they were going to cut it off if it had been plastic.

Winery in Pao Robles

First view of the Pacific driving to San Simeon

View from the restaurant

Two large males in the center pool

Heast Castle

Indoor pool at the castle!

 Resting in Santa Maria, California...Debbie and John