Enter the BWM red convertible. Since high school, I have had an obsession with BMW Z3 convertibles. Snazzy look, (relatively) affordable price, roadster engine that turns on a dime - what's not to love? (The fact that I'd never actually driven or even sat in one and certainly had no prayer of affording one seemed irrelevant at the time). Chris decided to surprise me by renting a Z4 convertible for our road trip in - can there be any other proper convertible/sports car color? - fire engine red.
Yes, please.
The rest of this blog entry will be light on dialogue, heavy on photos. Them being worth a thousand words, and all that jazz.
We set off from Huntington Beach headed north along scenic Highway 1 (usually known by its more glamorous name, Pacific Coast Highway). First stop: Madonna Inn, an iconic - if rather bizarrely pink - inn where Chris' parents spent a night on their honeymoon. The inn includes 110 guest bedrooms, all "uniquely" decorated in their own individual themes. I couldn't quite decide whether the place was cute/kitchy or horrifically gaudy, so I'll let you make your own decision:
Continuing along Highway 1, we also passed through Morro Bay, a particularly pretty seaside town:
Second stop: Hearst Castle. Oh my word. Having visited the 250 room Biltmore earlier this summer, I was prepared for an uber house of the opulently rich, but nothing can quite prepare you for the blindingly white Hearst Castle, set among myriad white marble statue/sarcophagi. The interior decorating taste was overly dark/gothic for my palate, but the exterior structures were impressive and the views truly phenomenal. Lots of bonus points to William Hearst for using as his architect Julia Morgan, the first woman architect licensed in California and director of over 700 projects during her lifetime. (She once said "My buildings will be my legacy... they will speak for me long after I am gone" and that is certainly true here).
Construction on the house lasted from 1919 until 1947, when Hearst's failing health prohibited its continuation. The 28 year span of construction encompassed a wide range of Heart's mind-changes and re-designs, though the structure as is seems essentially complete. Shortly after his death in 1951, Hearst's family donated the castle to the state of California, where it is now included in the California park system.
The house was at its heyday in the 1920s and 30s, when a bevy of famous visitors included Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, Charles Lindburgh, and other "Who's Who" of the political and Hollywood hit lists. They enjoyed, among other things, swims in the opulent pools - the indoor "roman" pool and outdoor "neptune" pool (drained for restoration):
Also some pretty sweet guest quarters:
And I mentioned the views were spectacular, right? (That band of darker blue near the horizon is all Pacific Ocean):
From the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, we made our way to Carmel, stopping for frequent photo shoots along Highway 1/PCH:
At last - to Chris' relief - the Nikon took a breather and we reached the Hyatt Highlands Inn in Carmel. Chris has been accumulating Hyatt points like candy during this last year of frequent business travel, and we are reaping the rewards this week by staying in super-swanky Hyatts using his points. Our room - among other features - includes a wood burning fireplace and balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Truly spectacular, like most of our day!
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