California Coast.

Much to our surprise the coast of California has a similar look and feel to that of the Maine coast. Maybe it's just the cold weather and fog? So we've dug out our warmer clothes and huddled together for warmth in the tent at night. Our first night on the coast we stayed in San Simeon State Park and then traveled up the PCH to land in Pacific Grove, California. We did stop at Hearst Castle on the way and took a tour of the Gothic European style mansion that William Robert Heart, the newspaper tycoon, built in the 1920's. "The Ranch" is was he used to refer to it as. 

All the most important politicians and movie stars of the time spent weekends at the Hearst Castle and for many years W.R used it as his main residence. The Hearst family donated the estate to the state of California park system and now the public can take tours everyday. Coincidentally, the Hearst family still lives on part of the estate and was in attendance the day Katie and I toured for a big party that night! Wish we could have cashed it;) 

The Castle boasted a grand dining room, two swimming pools, gardens, a billiard room, and a authentic movie theater (just to name a few of the rooms). Set high up upon a hill, guests would enjoy a brilliant view of the ocean while gazing at the many exotic animals Hearst purchased to graze the hills of the estate. Needless to say, it was really a worthwhile stop along the way to San Francisco. 

The Pacific Grove or the PG, as the locals called it, is an historic town near Monterrey Bay. We stayed right on the water in a cheap motel and woke the next day to walk around and stop in a few coffee shops to use the internet. 

After a few days of driving up the coast of California and staying in sleepy little coastal towns, we finally arrived in San Francisco!