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Published: March 12th 2009
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March 10, 2009
Everybody else was up early, but I slept in until almost nine missing a good part of another sunny calm morning. We were all out in front of the flagpole at ten for our official tour of the Piedras Blancas area. Our guide was a retired college professor from Cambria and his specialty was soil, so he knew a lot about the flora of the area. For over two hours we were educated in lighthouse keeping, whale spotting, “first peoples” abalone middens, bobcat track finding, the gestation period of the elephant seals, exotic ice plant eradication, gardening in windy areas, shipwrecks, and more.
After sandwiches in the house we were off to Hearst Castle, just a few miles away. When we arrived we called upon Shane, the manager of the IMAX Theater. Shane had previously worked at the IMAX in Tusayan and I had worked with his wife, Shannon, at the GC school. It was great to hear about his family and I made plans to see Shannon tomorrow.
It had been 32 years since Joe and I have been to Hearst Castle and although the castle looked the same, the rest was very different.
Three decades ago we drove ourselves up the hill, but today after seeing the movie we boarded a bus that took us to the castle. There is now a huge complex near the road consisting of restaurants, gift shops, the theater, and offices. I don’t think any of that was there before. Now there are four different tours and we went on the “experience” tour. We saw the two pools, one of the guesthouses, the dining room, the billiards room, and two sitting rooms. It’s still mind-boggling to comprehend the money spent on this venture. It is beautiful, but for some reason the “wow factor” wasn’t the same as it was the first time we saw it.
Jim joined us for dinner and we grilled Ahi tuna, salmon, and “Cambria” sausage. Gloria and I fixed rice, bread, and I finally got to cook my giant cauliflower that I bought at the farmers’ market. I mashed it and melted a little butter and cheese into it, added salt and pepper and it was delicious. It was a fun night and we are so grateful to Jim for his hospitality. Piedras Blancas is a very good place to be.
March
11, 2009
We packed up the car, said our sad goodbyes to Frank and Gloria and left Piedras Blancas around eleven. We stopped in Cambria at the middle school where Shannon works to say hello to her and her daughter. We got there in time to witness the students buying water balloons that they were allowed to throw at their school principal. This bombardment went on for a good 20 minutes, with the good-natured principal becoming soaking wet. I think about $150 was raised for the leadership club. Cute idea. It was good to see Shannon.
We stopped at Morro Bay to grab a quick crab cocktail at the marina and to take a few photos of Morro Rock. It was a pleasant drive until we reached the outskirts of Los Angeles. It was slow going from then on.
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