Cruising the Pacific Coast Highway - Part two

Perching high on the hills of San Simeon, approximately halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, sits Hearst Castle.  Not to be confused with Hurst Castle, Henry VIII's Device Fort near Lymington in England, this Hearst Castle's plans for construction began in 1919 when William Randolph Hearst instructed his architect, Julia Morgan, that "we are tired of camping out in the open at the ranch in San Simeon and I would like to build a little something". 

The front entrance of Hearst Castle, with
towers inspired by a Spanish cathedral

These words must surely rate as one of the understatements of all time.  Hearst's little something took almost 30 years and created an estate comprising 165 rooms decorated with imported European art and artifacts  and 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools (indoor and outdoor) and walkways. 

The Neptune Pool, heated year round

A visit to the house, which is now owned and operated by the California State Parks, offers a choice of several different tours: the Upstairs Suites; the Cottages and Kitchen; the Grand Museum Tour.  We choose the Grand Tour to get the overall feel for the place. All tours include a 40 minute film about the history of the Hearsts (no mention of the Symbionese Liberation Army) and begin with a five mile bus drive from the Visitor Centre (run with military precision) up the winding road to the hilltop estate.  Still a working ranch of 250,000 acres, it is also possible to spot zebra (yes you read that correctly) grazing with the cattle, as for many years Hearst operated the largest privately owned zoo on the grounds.  The zoo was dismantled in 1937 when Hearst needed to liquidate some assets. Only the zebra remain.

Hard to spot, but the castle sits atop the hill

Inside the castle is akin to touring a museum that is a multi-cross between a European church, an American western ranch, a neoclassical art gallery and a movie set.  Hearst had agents in Europe seeking out pieces he could put into the castle  - you know, the odd fully complete C15th Church ceiling, or C3rd Roman mosaic floor -  and he never let practicality get in the way. The architect was frequently required to redesign rooms to fit new acquisitions, or in some cases rooms were torn down and rebuilt.  No wonder it took more than 30 years to build.  Just think, today there would be a multi season TV reality show that would give Grand Designs'  Kevin McCloud palpitations.

Hearst was a great host and invited the Hollywood glitterati and all manner of influential others to stay in the house and guest cottages in the grounds. The food was, apparently, excellent.  However, although he had a massive and well stocked wine cellar (to which only he had a key) the abstemious Mr Hearst deplored excessive drinking and rationed his guests.  This was particularly hard on the heavy drinkers of the Hollywood set and caused David Niven to remark " the wine would flow like glue during the meal" . 

We arrive out on the coast by way of the vineyards of Paso Robles which, locals tell us, is the fastest growing wine area of the US.  Currently there are about 26,000 acres planted with over 40 different varieties, some doing better than others.  In the early days (1950s and 1960s) Bordeaux varieties were mostly planted, and from the 1980s the emphasis shifted to Rhône  varieties including Syrah,  Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Viognier. The ubiquitous (in California) Zinfandel is widely grown and often blended with other varieties.  "Crazy Blends", is the nickname for Paso Blends, as these  wines do not follow traditional rules of wine making.  Lots of experimentation and, as you can imagine, the results can be variable. 

Wild Coyote Winery

We stay an adobe style Bed and Breakfast attached to the Wild Coyote Winery and vineyard, about 8 kms out of Paso Robles.  The location is spectacular: at an elevation of 550 metres we have expansive views over the vineyards, Santa Lucia mountains and the canyon.  It was just as well the location was great, as the welcome is cool, and not in a good way.  The owner/winemaker, who never actually introduces himself even as we do, adopts a patronising tone in our discussions of wine, grape growing and wine making, as if his way ("I've been doing this for over 20 years you know") is the only way.  I really hope our New Zealand cellar door  operators take a much more open minded approach with their visitors, particularly overseas grape growers and wine makers!  Overall the visit could have been enhanced by the presence of actual wild coyotes.  

Our final port of call before departing for home ex San Francisco, is Monterey. 

Monterey Bay

"Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream."  So begins John Steinbeck's 1945 novel, set  on a street of sardine canneries in Monterey during the Great Depression (as opposed to the not-so-great depression). The paragraph continues "Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses."

Breweries rather than canneries

Steinbeck wouldn't recognise 2012's Cannery Row,  now best described as a cup of clam chowder, a bus of Japanese tourists, shops full of junk trading on Steinbeck's novel, and the zip of a credit card machine. The closest you will get to a sardine is in the Aquarium, as the industry collapsed by the mid 1950s due to overfishing.   Even so, it is a pleasant enough area to stroll around and the bay itself is quite beautiful. 



And so ends our Pacific Coast Highway trip - we head up to San Francisco to exit the country.   Sadly, I do not find a yoga room in the International departures terminal.

The Pacific Coast Highway stretches ahead

Cruising the Pacific Coast Highway - Part one

In California the coastal road is known as the Pacific Coast Highway or PCH.  It isn't the quickest way to get from San Diego to San Francisco, but it is definitely the most picturesque.  

PCH north of LA

In reality, the PCH starts at Dana Point, some distance north of San Diego and the Marine Corps Base at Camp Pendleton and extends beyond San Francisco to the north. It is a bit of a schizophrenic road, as at various points it shares itself with the 101 and various other highways. All that notwithstanding, it is worth the journey.  There is not a lot to recommend between San Diego and LA, but beyond that - an array of experiences and coastal driving punctuated with beautiful vistas await.  

The h-g on the beach cycleway

Our first stop is Los Angeles - of course - and we stay out at Marina Del Rey in a hotel right on the marina (shades of our stay in the South of France).  We rent bikes and spend a day on the Marvin Braude Bike Trail, a paved bicycle path that runs 22 miles (35 kms) mostly along the Pacific shoreline. Indeed, it runs not quite along the middle of the beaches, but close to it.  We head north towards Santa Monica and the interesting bits in between.  First, Venice Beach, with its famous subset, Muscle Beach. Initially built in the 1930s for gymnastic and acrobatic performances, Muscle Beach has gone through a few transformations in its time and now the weight equipment is in a caged pen:  it looks like the workout yard in a prison.  All sorts of famous people have trained here, but I have heard of none except Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I'm not sure that's a great recommendation.  There is much strutting, posing and wearing of bandanas.  The beach is still the venue for weight lifting and the tanned and well oiled (if strangely hued) body building competitions for which it is famous. 

The doctor is in - just how bad is that back pain?

All along the street that opens up to the beach front there are stalls, shops and buskers of every stripe.  To me, Venice has a vibe that is still firmly rooted in the late 60s early 70s, complete with tie dye and incense.  There are several medical marijuana shops, where after a short "consult" with the doctor about your migraine/insomnia/ pain/anxiety you will get a prescription.  The pricing is quite competitive, and the spruikers are keen to describe the quality of their wares.



The pier at Santa Monica is part fun fair - the Ferris wheel and roller coaster have spectacular views of the ocean and back to the city. - art traditional seaside pier with an aquarium, arcade, shops and yes, fast food.

Santa Monica from the pier

It is easy to see why Los Angeles is a such a magnet. With a great climate, golden beaches stretching for miles, a laid back outdoor lifestyle and on the other hand plenty of glitz and glam, there's plenty to like, even for those with the most eclectic tastes.  But alas our days are numbered and we move on up the coast to Santa Barbara.  

The general word is Santa Barbara is beautiful, and I have vague memories of watching a TV soap opera of the same name back in the 1980s. Note, however,  I couldn't remember a thing about the show until I just looked it up on Wikipedia - then memories of Eden and Cruz came flooding (well, trickling) back.  I am pleased to read "The show was famous for its comedic style and offbeat writing." so I can't have been completely deranged to have watched it. 

Santa Barbara Mission

Santa Barbara IS very beautiful, set against the Santa Ynez Mountains and the coast, with a crescent shaped bay banded by an historic wharf at one end and a marina at the other. It has a small town feel and a history of Spanish and Mexican habitation that is reflected in the architecture.  The Spaniards built missions and set about converting the local Indian Chumash people to Christianity - as missionaries are wont to do.  The Mission Santa Barbara was founded in 1786 and today  continues to serve the community as a parish church but also contains a museum, a Franciscan Friary, and a retreat house. 

Main street of Santa Barbara

While we find the area, the history and the town engaging to point of considering how to arrange a house swap to live here for a few months, there is dark side to paradise.   While throughout this trip we see a lot of homeless, Santa Barbara seems to have more than its fair share for a town with a population of fewer than 100,000.  Walking up its very attractive  main street we see homeless people every block, either singly or in small groups. Many seem to be military veterans and many are likely to be suffering from disorders.  Creeping unemployment and subsequent loss of benefits, including health care, have seen a growing number of people untreated for physical as well as mental disorders.  It makes you uncomfortable on any number of levels.





Now this is getting a bit depressing - I will finish with a beautiful sunset and a promise of Part two of this trip: the vineyards of Paso Robles, Hearst Castle and Cannery Row. 

Moonrise over Santa Barbara