Sorry for no post yesterday; by the time we pulled into Santa Barbara we were just exhausted and for the first time during this trip our hotel didn't have wireless access.
So, yesterday morning started with a nice run around the beach at Cambria, which was terrific. One of the nicest aspects to this trip is the Wife and I are both waking up early and going on His and Her runs while the other watches the kids. Yet we're still managing to get out the door around 9 am so it has no impact on our day.
First and major activity yesterday was a trip to Hearst Castle. I honestly wasn't really relishing this visit, as I viewed it as a tourist trap (which it kind of is). I also can't really deal with crowds.. Anyway, I was actually very pleasantly surprised: I found the tour to be utterly fascinating and it very much exceeded my low expectations. William Randolph Hearst was a larger than life character -- I imagine he was some sort of cross between Rupert Murdoch/Donald Trump/Hugh Heffner and I interested in learning more about him.
The house itself is absolutely beyond belief. Pictures attached are the grand pool (the indoor one is even more amazing), and the entrances to both the castle and into the Assembly Room (where guests assembled for cocktails prior to dinner). I could have stayed there all day, except that it was a little lost on The Girl, and I ended up having to carry her through most of the Tour. We went on the five room tour: The Assembly Room, Dining Hall, Billiards Room, Movie House (as big as a modern day theater) and the indoor pool. We also walked through one do the guest houses as well, which were mini mansions unto themselves.Each room was more grand than the previous and it really was a site to behold.
After that we walked around downtown Cambria and I was very, very impressed. Though Cambria has a tiny population and is kind of in the middle of nowhere (unless you consider Paso Robles and/or San Luis Obispo to be "somewhere") it's being heralded as the "new Monterey" and the downtown area is as charming as you can imagine. It's a cross between the artsiness/galleries of Monterey/Carmel, yet it has a real Western saloonish-ish, goldmining flavor. We were lucky enough to catch the Friday afternoon farmer's market, which was definitely another highlight (featuring the best dates and snap peas I've had in a while).
We got a late jump on things and didn't roll in Santa Barbara until late. I'll save that for the Day Five post.
With the exception of occasionally poorly behaved kids (and in fairness to them, they aren't really being all that bad) this trip is one of the most enjoyable and interesting ones I have been on in quite some time and I recommend it highly.
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