The Beach

Yesterday, the Bullards drove me to the beach! It was so sweet of them! We left early Saturday morning and our first stop was Carmel... my new favorite town! I did not know this was where "Ocean Avenue" was!


Carmel is FILLED with cute little shops (my favorite) so we browsed around and headed down to the beach! It was beautiful and filled with families and their dogs! Tucker would have gone crazy! Also saw some pretty unique trees...

(The sun was super bright... sorry for the squint!)

Lots of seagulls!


The beach... also Pebble Beach golf course is here. Who knew!?!?

There were so many cute little cottages! This was my favorite! Beautiful flowers!

We packed a lunch and ate it on the beach... and then headed to Monterey! There we went to the aquarium!

I do not remember the last time I have been to an aquarium... but it was really fun to see everything! It was also cute to see the kid's expressions as they stood in wonder. One of the fish tanks was 1 million gallons! It was huge!

Pictures didn't turn out great because of the flash... but I tried to take a few. I saw really cool jellyfish...

This was a leafy dragon sea horse! Never seen anything quite like it!

Our next stop was Bubba Gumps for dinner! Good shrimp and a great view!

Great conclusion to a fun day.

I can't believe this is my last weekend here! The time has gone by fast... well... on some days at least. I am so grateful for this experience and I have learned so much about pediatric physical therapy! I have met some super sweet children and heard some pretty sad stories... but it has all affirmed my decision to enter this field. Hurry up May 2010!

My mom flies here on Wednesday and then we hit the road early Friday morning! We will be traveling Friday and Saturday back to Dallas! Please pray for our safety.

Hearst Castle!

A little background... William Hearst was a VERY successful newspaper and magazine publisher during the Great Depression. He traveled throughout Europe with his mother when he was young and wanted to bring all of his favorite parts about Europe back to his favorite spot in California. Hearst Castle has 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, 127 acres of gardens, indoor and outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts, a movie theater, an airfield, and the world's largest private zoo! Definitely a dreamer!

May day at the Hearst Castle...


This is the view from the visitor's center. I rode a bus all the way to the castle!


Our first stop was the Neptune Pool!


Stuff like this was everywhere!


This was the view from right by the pool...


One of 4 guest houses. This one is call "Casa Del Sol" or "House of the Sun"


The main room in the guest house...


One of the 18 bedrooms in the guest house we toured!


Another view...


So much detail...


This is the main house or "la Casa Grande". It is over 60,000 square feet!


This is the main room or the "Renaissance Room" where everyone would gather before dinner...




Next was the dining room decorated in a Gothic style



The East Room or Morning Room



Billiards room


Cool ceiling


Indoor Roman Pool! If you are wondering... yep... it is 22 karat gold tile!


I decided I needed proof that I actually was there!

Cambria and San Simeon California

The next town past Paso Robles was Cambria. The town is filled with cute little restaurants and shops. I spent some time here Saturday before heading on down Highway 1!

I finally made it to my hotel for the night... Hotel Morgan! Yep... that's right! I saw it on the Internet and knew I had to stay there! It was named after Julia Morgan, the architect of the Hearst Castle.


The nice room I had all to myself!


Complete with a fireplace you turned on with a light switch! Pretty cool!


Lobby

Beautiful Sunset

This was my first time to the coast of California since I arrived. To set the scene... it was about 55 degrees paired with lots of wind... but the view was awesome! There were several spots to pull over... so I did just that!


I could tell it was going to be a beautiful sunset... and it did not disappoint! I tried to capture the progression...







I will never again take for granted sharing moments like this with someone. It just makes it that much better.

Paso Robles (ie- Wine Country)

Saturday morning, I headed out toward the California coast to visit the Hearst Castle. Along the way, you pass through Paso Robles. The city is FILLED with wineries! So... I had to stop and check it out! I decided on the Meridian Vineyard.


Cute street sign along the way!

This was the BEAUTIFUL view from the top of the road... Reminded me of ITALY!!!


There was a cute little garden area that looked so peaceful! The lady that worked there told me to bring my friends back and have a picnic here... any takers?


Had to do a little wine tasting myself! (excuse my look... I had been in the car all morning!)