Monday, January 3, 2011

Enchanted Hill

A friend from church told us last week that if we went to the coast over the next few weeks, we might see elephant seals birthing on the shore. Since B. J. is a National Geographic nerd, Megan decided to endure...but only if a tour of the famous Hearst Castle was in the plan for the day. So...we packed a lunch and got in the Pathfinder to take the chance of seeing a birthed baby seal. WARNING: if you have a weak stomach...don't watch this clip...but if you dig nature...it is totally worth it (based on the excited tone...you can guess which one of us is writting this post!!!).


The following pictures are our the best we could do in trying to capture the magnitude of the Hearst Castle. They really do not do it justice...and if we had more time we would post all of our pictures (to see more, visit B. J.'s facebook page)...but it was AMAZING!!!


The stairs leading to the GUEST house (where Bob Hope would stay)!

The famous Neptune pool where guests could swim freely in heated spring waters.

The view from the guest house.

The dining hall...complete with Heinz ketchup and French's mustard bottles...you know, casual-like!

The indoor movie theater where Hearst would show silent films and cartoons to end the evening with friends.

The indoor, heated pool where folks would get to know one another (in a Christian way) until the wee hours of the morning. The landing in the center of the screen is a 22 k gold covered diving platform.

The bear cages from the former private zoo of exotic animals.

The Hearst Castle from the lowest point on the property.

The Hearst Castle (or "The Ranch" or the "Enchanted Hill" as Hearst called it) was designed to look like an European cathedral Hearst saw once while on vacation. He always intended this property to be converted into a museum for those who could not travel abroad.
What an incredible day in CALIFORNIA!!!! :)