Carmel-by-the-Sea to Hearst Castle

 

We drove from Carmel to Hearst Castle near San Simeon, which is about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

 

We took the famous Highway 1, which follows the coast, where the fog rolls in from the sea.

 

The scenery was quite spectacular.

 

The little splash between the two rocks on the left was made by a sea otter.

 

Looking for sea otters.

 

Fog rolling in.

 

White poppy.

 

Lots of white poppies.

 

More fog.

 

Surf beach near San Simeon.  From there, we went to visit Hearst Castle.

 

Hearst Castle, about half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles, is in the middle of a very sparsely populated section of the Californian coastline, yet about a million people visit it each year.  Consequently, San Simeon, the nearest town, has become a strip of huge motels and cheap and cheerful diners.  Our motel had 72 rooms and was typical of the area.  Here is Laura with a burger and Arend with ribs.