Hearst Castle
Hearst Castle was the first stop we made, because who wouldn’t want to go there? Lol. I’d actually been here a few years ago, but didn’t take as many photographs as I did this time around. Tickets for tours still cost $25 and this particular one was of the Grand Rooms.
When we arrived, the next available tour was in five minutes or in about an hour. We opted for the later one so we could have something to eat. We picnicked a table between PCH and the parking lot and made sandwiches with groceries we stuffed into the cooler.
After the tour (which I think the photos above depict well), we had to use porta potties outside because the bathrooms inside the building weren’t working. Ended up chatting with one of the employees who apparently had just started working there three weeks ago. He shared that his coworker received a nasty comment from a Hearst Castle visitor (about not cleaning well enough or something).
The guy was spraying the toilet seats and wiping it down with a small, square white cloth. Then he sprayed the floor of the stall, wiped it. He went on to spray the plastic covering the tissue rolls, then wiped it (after wiping the floor). That last part was a little gross, but the brief exchange was a highlight because their jobs are far glamorous or easy, but they play a big role in maintaining Hearst Castle.
And honestly, those porta potties are probably the cleanest ones I’ve ever been in.
Monterey, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, Elephant Seal Rookery, Moonstone Beach>>>