San Simeon

Had the chance to go camping with some friends. I'd never been to San Simeon before... actually, I didn't know where it was but I've driven past it several times traveling up Highway 1, Pacific Coast Highway. As a matter of fact, when a friend and I went to Monterey last summer we stopped not too far from San Simeon to check out all the elephant seals on the beach.

One this trip, there were 9 of us... some of them camped at this location last Spring so they were regulars. A friend of mine had amazingly never been camping before. And was so excited to sleep in a tent and sleeping bag. Whew! It sure was cold with temperatures in the high 40's and the coastal breeze. I was glad we cheated and brought a propane heater! We cranked that sucker on and stayed nice and toasty at night. In the day time, it was in the high 50's and what a difference the sun makes - shorts, t-shirt and flip-flop weather!

One of the evenings, we went up to Hearst Castle for a tour. Wow! What an amazing place! Just the kitchen alone would be such an awesome place to hangout and cook all day long. The architecture was incredible! A majority of it like the ceilings, a few doors and some wall panels were hand-carved. The swimming pools were fantastic - there were 3 of them. One was lined with gold. Quite extravagant! I wish I could have taken more pictures but flashes were not allowed and each picture turned out too dark.


A friend of mine had a very nice zoom on her camera. This is Hearst Castle.

We went for a short hike (yes, in flip-flops!) and open land is so nice to see compared to city life!

We camped not too far from the ocean.

On Hearst Castle property, I think the plan was for a zoo many years ago. It didn't quite happen but there were zebras on property.

Stopped over at Pismo Beach on the way home for a few scenic snapshots.

Pismo Beach pier...

The 9 of us - Lek, Heather, Stacy, Kate, Boo, Wendy, Kat, Deb and me.

Elephant seals along the beach. Most of these were still young.

Oh! On our way to the beach we came across a bobcat. It was just sitting there on the path, at least 100 feet away... I didn't see it since it was in the shadows and of course, I was without my glasses. One of my friends yelled out for everyone to stop walking... then zoomed in on her camera.