Fall Fun

We took the boat out on Friday so our Fall has officially begun (you may see my Winter has begun in several weeks!)  We had a very pleasant September and early October, and along with our great trip to California, it's been great.  The leaves have turned and about half have fallen.



The First and Second Mate...you can guess who the First Mate is.





Baily took a swim in the lagoon and came out more black than white.  Here's a shot of Baily and Macy in the shower "demucking".




For our last boat ride we went out to watch the sunset.  Here we are at the start of our cruise.





Guiding us in




On critter watch, Baily's "job"



Monterey

Monterey was our final stop before heading back to San Francisco to return home.  The drive from San Simeon to Monterey along Hwy 1 is spectacular.  We didn't spend enough time in Monterey to get a real feel.  Sardines put it on the map, and this is where Cannery Row is, made famous by John Steinbeck.  There are still signs of commercial fishing, but tourism has taken over.  Went to the Monterey Aquarium, which everyone raves about, highlight for me there were the jellyfish.

Here's a few shots from the drive up the coast and the city of Monterey...

As the road winds it way up the coast you are sometimes near sea level and other times hundreds of feet above.

Fishermen's Wharf in Monterey.  Now restaurants and shops.  Some of the local fishermen in the foreground

Tourists going out to whale watch, behind them a forest of masts.

Elephant Seals

On Hwy 1 heading north to Monterey we stopped at a beach packed with Elephant Seals.  They spend most of their time at sea but in the fall they come to the beaches to mate.  Females, pups, and young males come ashore first, that's what we were observing on this day.  The huge males, 3 times larger than what we see in these pics, arrive several weeks later.



Just like any other beach, enjoying the sun





Two pups singing a tune.




A coast guard patrol passes by



A young male showing how Elephant Seals got their name



Two young males practicing to be two mature males.



William Randolph Hearst's Castle

The Hearst Castle lies just several miles north of where we stayed in San Simeon.  He didn't start building it until his early 50's, after his mother died, which gave him complete access to the family fortune, he was an only child.  His father, who made his fortune in mining, was one of the richest men in the world.  Began in 1920, it was worked on the rest of Hearst's life, another 30 years, but never finished.  He spent with no restraint and in the 1940's the Hearst Corporation was near bankruptcy because of his free spending.  The total property covered several hundred thousand acres.

It is over the top in every way and an invitation there was coveted by Hollywood stars, politicians, and the rich and famous.  It was given to the State of California after Hearst's death.

P.S. Citizen Kane was not filmed here.  Some place on the East Coast I think.  Hearst did everything he could to disrupt the release of the movie.  He was powerful and succeeded.  Citizen Kane had a limited release and was trashed by critics; it's now considered one of the 5 best films ever made.  He destroyed Orson Welles career.

The castle was built on the top of a mountain over a thousand feet above the coastline.

The view from the castle back down to the coast.  The driveway is spectacular!

The dining room.  Hearst always sat in the center of the table.  He never told any guest they had to leave, but as your seat each night moved farther out to the ends you got the message, especially if you were given the end chair by the fireplace.

Supposedly Carol Lombard, an actress and Clark Gabel's wife, was a pool hustler and won lots of bets at these tables.

Hearst was not a religious man but modeled the main building after a Spanish church.

The outdoor pool

The indoor pool, with a second floor diving platform.  This building was to be a complete gymnasium, but the pool was the only thing completed in the building.  It sits under the tennis courts.

Life imitates art.  Would have been better with no clothes but I couldn't get a buy in from Doug.

Cavalier Best Western at San Simeon

From Napa we drove south to San Simeon, the location of the Hearst Castle.  San Simeon is on the Pacific coast about half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles.  We stayed at the Cavalier Best Western, right on the beach.  Our rooms were about 70 yards from the shoreline.



The building our rooms were in, we were on the first floor.




Macy enjoying the sun, Karyl and Doug were in the room next door.




When we arrived there were a number of wind surfers enjoying the surf and steady winds.





On the beach looking for shore birds.




It was nice listening to the waves roll in at night.




The sunset our first night there.




The hotel had three fireplaces along the beach and lit them every night at 7 PM.  It was great sitting by the warm fire with the surf roaring nearby.  Also a great way to meet other travelers.  This couple we are talking to here were from Boston.



Napa

From Nick's Cove we traveled to Napa, 90 miles or so straight east.  This is our second visit there and once again we visited during the harvest, a great time to visit.  The vineyards are all kept immaculate and most offer great tours.  Here's some shots of some of our visits.



This is Benziger Wineries.  All the vineyards have perfectly alligned rows and and the rows follow the contours of the hill beautifully.  You never spot a weed.




Benziger had trams to take you out into the vineyards.




In the Benziger wine caves.




Our pourer took this shot in the Benziger tasting room.




At Kendall Jackson we did a wine - food pairing.  5 wines served with a food course chosen to complement each other.  The chef came out with each course to describe what was being served and why he chose that pairing




As you might guess it was a great experience.



Pride Vineyards.  The border between Napa and Sonoma counties runs right through the center of the vineyard.



A merlot grape I believe.




Pride did their wine tasting in the caves.  Here we are drinking some Merlot directly from a cask.




The Pride winery and tasting room




As our last trip to Napa we stayed at the Embassy Suites.  This is part of their great outdoor courtyard