Sands Motel San Simeon

... more well known Napa Sonoma area. After following country lanes, you might find yourself at someone's house. Often the tasting room is actually in the winery. In recent years, the wineries have started charging to taste, but the cost is absorbed when you buy a bottle. We spent part of the day talking to people about their wines. Being the middle of the week, we were often the only ones tasting ...

Check out at 11 and set off for San Simeon, Rich's choice for tonight's
stop half way down the coast. Lots more waves and coastal things along
the drive, probably the least exciting part of the pacific highway.
Near San Simeon we find somewhere with lots and lots of MASSIVE
elephant seals, mainly sleeping on the shore making Rich-like noises
and a few fighting in ...

... Rock. We were also lucky enough to see the Peregrine Falcons, just as we were getting ready to leave.
We wandered up Main Street to Morro State Park and the Blue Heron bird sanctuary. This is a protected stand of eucalyptus where egrets and herons (both blue and night) nest. As it was not nesting season, we only spied a couple of the blues and one lonely egret. The walk is easy and not too long, which makes a nice chance to get ...

... is at the southern end of the bay, and usually I have stayed at the northern end.
The hotel is three stories tall with the ground floor being covered parking. We had our choice of parking places. There is a small standing balcony with a nice view of the bay and rock. The room is nice size, with a refrigerator and microwave. Across the hall is the breakfast room which we will sample in the morning. Nice for us, they have an ...

We arrived in LA just in time to see the sunset at the amazing Venice Beach (no signs of the Hoff though!). All the shops along the beach front were just shutting down but at least we got to see a few of the characters that hang around, a little bit like Hollywood Boulevard - a few tourists and a lot of weirdos either shouting at others or themselves. We didn't have anywhere to stay so we drove through Malibu, unsurprisingly it was all a little expensive so we took a random turn off the ...

... mountain. Else, the next best bet would be 40 miles down at San Simeon! I asked about motels and lodges and was told that the next one was about 8 miles south, and could expect to pay $185-$250!!! We continued to the next campground, which was unfortunately also full! The area around the Plaskett Creek campground was heaving with people and traffic!! Apparently, there is a Jade Festival going on.... I didn't think anything of it.

We continued ...

San Simeon - Big Sur - 17 Mile Drive - San Francisco

Nachdem wir den Schock der Pizza verdaut hatten, setzten wir unsere Reise am nächsten Tag fort. Von San Simeon gings weiter nach Big Sur. Die Küstenregion zwischen San Simeon und Big Sur ist traumhaft schön. Das sind nicht umsonst die schönsten 100 Meilen. Immer wieder sieht man wunderschöne Strände und steil abfallende ...

... assorted bric-a-brac shipped in at great expense to complete the effect. The 2 swimming pools are the most impressive elements for me. The Neptune pool (see photos) is just out of this world, surrounded by Roman columns and statuary and the bottom stunningly tiled. The indoor pool seems even more opulent with real gold tiles and stone diving board. Our guide of 25 years service said that the staff are allowed to have their family over once a year to have a swim ...

Sunday morning we headed back down South a bit to visit the famed "Hearst Castle" built by media mogul William Randolph Hearst. In order to actually visit the castle, which sits a good 15-minute drive from the visitor's center, you need to purchase a ticket for one of the various tours offered. We opted for the basic tour, suggested for first-time visitors.

After a scenic bus ride up to the castle, we were greeted by our guide. Our tour included stops in a few of the ...