Hearst Castle

At the end of this week, I'm traveling to California's central coast for my son's blessing.  We'll be staying in Cayucos, CA just south of Hearst Castle, the famous home of William Randolf Hearst.  I grew up in Paso Robles, 40 miles east of the Hearst property and always enjoyed living so close to the castle.  Since my very first visit as a child, I have been in awe of the indoor pool.  The astonishing tile work is awesome to behold in person. Its like a Classical Roman dream-scape. 

Here is the man himself.

He began building the castle in 1919 and never finished construction.  You can see the castle below, perched atop the coastal mountain range.  At one time, the property included 240,000 acres of property surrounding the castle.  This included 60 miles of the California coast line. 

Here is Hearst with his architect, Julia Morgan.

If you have a chance to meet Hearst Castle in person, I highly recommend it.  I probably won't have an opportunity to see it during my visit this weekend, but I love that this amazing castle in the clouds has always been in the back yard of my home town of Paso Robles.  I'll make sure to wave as I drive by.