Pacific Coast Highway

My last day in San Diego arrived and I wasn't ready to leave,but time was passing and I didn't come to the U.S. to stay in one place the whole time. I want to see as much as possible in the time I have here. Andy took me down to the car hire office and I picked up a small Kia car, in a horrible burgundy colour. And then off for our last lunch at an Italian restaurant.Surprise, surprise, it was excellent.I headed out of town desperately trying to remember to stay on the right hand side of the road. Most of the first part of the drive was on the interstate and I had a little trouble staying in my lane, I kept drifting to the left. I made it out of San Diego with no mishaps and headed north to where I would pick up the Pacific coast highway, route one.
Driving through Los Angeles was an experience but I didn't hit any traffic, for which I was very grateful. I got past Santa Barbara and decided to stop for the night. Now in line with my policy of not planning things I hadn't had a stop point in mind and so had no room booked. This wasn't going to be an issue as I decided to make full use of the car and sleep in it. I would in this way get my moneys worth from the rental which had been more expensive than I had reckoned on. I found a rest area off the interstate and settled down for the night. Unsurprisingly I didn't sleep late and was on the road again before 7am the next morning. The traffic was light and the weather good, although that was fast becoming the norm for me. At the start of the PCH I came across Hearst Castle, the former home of William Randolf Hearst. I had forgotten that it was here but not that I wanted to see it. It was the first stop of my road trip.
The house sits atop a hill overlooking the California coast and was given to the nation after Hearst's death.In the morning it was shrouded in fog and not visible from the visitor centre at the bottom of the hill. You park there and visitors are ferried to the top in what appear to be old school buses. On the way up we got to see some of the remaining animals from the zoo that was situated below the house. The zoo only existed for about ten years but had animals ranging from Polar bears to African elephants in its heyday.
The first thing you see when you reach the house is the Neptune pool, which is amazing. It is a circular pool surrounded by a colonnade on two sides and a Roman temple at the far end. At the house end is a fountain,balcony and the changing rooms. The main house has three guesthouses, Hearst apparently wanted to build another four. The gardens are dotted with original sculptures,including the Three Graces, which is smaller that I was expecting. The interior of the house looks like it has been ripped from a mix of a Spanish hacienda, French chateau and Italian villa. The artwork is incredible and it was strange to see so much European artwork in what was essentially an American private home.Albeit a billionaires home.Hearst had travelled with his mother to Europe when he was ten and this led to his love of European artwork.Of course having a huge fortune with which to finance that hobby didn't hurt in the slightest.
At the side of the house are the tennis courts and we got to see a Hearst home movie, which showed people like Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard staying at the house. The courts were the first courts ever to be lit so people could play at night. Under the courts is the indoor pool, the floor of which is inlaid with 24ct gold leaf. Hearst spared no expense in building the house and in fact it was never finished. His wife hardly spent any time there as it was the favourite place of Hearst and his mistress. His children didn't really like the house either and made several efforts to get rid of the house after his death.
I liked the house but couldn't get a sense of the people who had lived there. It really is a museum now and that's what it feels like. It feels as if the last person to live there did so hundreds of years ago instead of just a few decades. But that may be down to the interior looking like a castle and it was never Hearst's permanent home. He only spent about half of his time there.
Back on the road and what I was really here on the Californian coast to do, drive the coast highway. The road is a two lane ribbon of asphalt clinging to the cliff side, luckily for me I was going to be driving on the inside of the road up against the cliff. I still have a problem with heights and even though logically I know I am safe, get scared when I come across a high drop etc..Other than the scenery, one thing I noticed early in the drive was the number of convertible Ford Mustangs on the road, there were loads of them. The predominant colour being white, closely followed by red. Now I guess if you are going to drive this road you may as well do it in an American classic.I, for one, would have preferred the Mustang to the Kia I had, but then that's no surprise.
The drive was amazing, I spent a lot of the time looking outside to sea, over the cliffs and at the wildlife along the way. It is such a beautiful drive and I can well understand why people flock here to drive here. Fortunately for me the car was an automatic so I could spend a little time looking out the window rather than concentrating on my driving, without putting myself or anyone else in too much danger. Whenever I think of that drive, I smile. It was a beautiful sunny day, with deep blue skies. I saw elephant seals, rabbits and ground squirrels, who have obviously been fed by humans as they have no fear and will come right up to your feet in the hope of a treat. I drove through small seaside towns with no claim to fame and other towns such as Carmel, home to Clint Eastwood and the neighbouring Monterrey.
I can honestly say that I am so glad that I did this drive and that the car had been invented. Next time I might have to go all out and rent a Mustang!