We were looking for something to do as a family before summer ended. Mom and Dad came up with an idea to drive down the coast a little bit and visit San Simeon to see Hearst Castle and then stay in Pismo
Beach a couple of nights. Everything went really well in the beginning. Unfortunately, Saturday afternoon we encountered car problems when the Pilot wouldn't start after shopping. We called AAA, got a jump,
and the driver said according to his readings the battery was still good. He said if we drive it around for about 40 minutes the battery should be sufficiently charged and we should be good to go. Well, we
drove around for another hour, stopped to get gas, and then abruptly got stuck again. So, after another call to AAA for another jump, we decided to cut our losses and simply head home.
Hidden Kitchen Friday, July 21, 2023
We started the trip early Friday morning, July 21st. We picked up Jordyn and immediately headed south. We arrived in Cambria southeast of San Simeon and had an early lunch. Mom found this place called
Hidden Kitchen that sounded like a vegan hippie/dippie place at first, but once we saw the menu we realized they had a variety of dishes that sounded good. The plates all included blue corn waffles that
acted like a base for whatever we wanted. Deb, Jordyn, and Connor had the Fiscalini Fruit (bananas, strawberries, syrup, and whipped cream). Tyler tried the Avila Avo, a savory dish made of eggs and avocado
with lots of seasoning. Dad had the San Luis Sunrise that included eggs, bacon, and avocado. Everyone enjoyed their meals and wouldn't hesitate to go back again.
Hidden Kitchen.
Fiscalini Fruit.
Hearst Castle Friday, July 21, 2023
After lunch we completed the drive to Hearst Castle. Our original tour was scheduled for 1:40pm, but since we were there at noon we checked to see if we could get on an earlier tour. As luck would have it
there was space on the 12:40pm tour so we switched our time. When we queued up for our updated tour we were told there was still space on the 12:20pm tour so we got bumped to an even earlier time.
Hearst Castle is one man's dream of taking pieces of art and architectural elements from his personal collection and creating an amalgam of design and aesthetics unique to his vision. Over the course of time,
William Randolph Hearst would host lavish parties for society's elite and oversee his media empire from this space.
Pool.
Deb and kids in front of the pool.
Cottage.
Egyptian statue.
Casa Grande.
Assembly Room mantle, ceiling, and tapestry.
Refectory.
Refectory ceiling.
Theater.
Saturday, July 22, 2023
Saturday was reserved for touring around Pismo Beach. We started the morning with breakfast at the hotel, and then proceeded to walk down to the pier. We stopped in a few shops and had planned to circle
back Sunday morning to pick up a couple of things, but the car problems nixed those plans. We were still able to find, probably, the only shave ice shop in all of Pismo Beach however. As you can see, they were
plenty big!
