Bill Hearst's Crib

Morning in Morro Bay.  The sun shone on the rock while a squall approached from the sea...great light!

Dick, Wilma and I toured Hearst Castle two weekends ago.  The pool was closed for repairs...if I recall, our guide said five thousand gallons of water were seeping out through the bottom each day.

Classic view of Hearst Castle.

This is the front door!

The dining hall.  Two drink maximum...Hearst didn't like drunk and disorderly people.  Guests could not drink in their rooms...strictly kapu.  You had to dine and drink formally, in this room.

These flags were imported from Siena, Italy; they were palio standards!  Many of the entire ceilings in the house are several centuries old and were imported from Europe.

The billiards room.  The tapestry in the background is about 500 years old and featured renaissance era sports in Europe...mainly hunting.

Frontal view of the castle.

Hearst Castle is 1500 feet above sea level, set far back from the sea.  The views are astounding.

There were four guest houses in addition to the main building.  Not a bad place to stay!  

In addition to the large outdoor pool, there is an indoor pool, modeled after a Roman bath.  The floor of the pool features tile like this, with inlaid flecks of gold. 

Just a few miles up the road from Hearst Castle, the elephant sloats are thriving!  I saw more pups than ever...just about every female appears to have one.