An old friend once told me San Luis Obispo was his favorite place in California. He would check for SLO jobs weekly in case there was something to apply to that would get him back to his favorite city. Because of this I’ve always wanted to visit, it is a bit of it’s own destination as it’s not too close to either the Bay Area or Los Angeles but located somewhere in between. With an Elephant Seal rookery just north in San Simeon, nearby Hearst Castle, and the Channel Islands an hour to the south there was a lot to see and do on this trip.
On our first day in San Luis Obispo we booked two tours at Hearst Castle. If you’ve never heard of it Hearst Castle is an incredible museum that you must visit. Media mogul William Randolph Hearst hired architect Julia Morgan to build a vacation home on his San Simeon property he inherited from his father. Construction began in 1919; it took about 20 years to complete and is now run by the State of California as a historical site. I will not get further into the stories and history of the castle as there are too many to tell, you’ll have to go take one of the tours yourself! We did the Grand Rooms tour and the Upstairs Suites tour. Each tour requires a 15 minute bus ride from the entrance of the property up to the castle and then a return ride. You cannot stay at the castle to do multiple tours so you must book them with time to return between tours and then take another bus back up to the castle.
Hearst was quite the collector, he collected all sorts of rare artifacts and art pieces and had them shipped in from Europe and elsewhere to help complete his castle. So while the castle was built in the 20’s and 30’s some of the pieces inside and even building materials were much much older. In some ways it is like visiting an old European castle or a mix of European castles all in one place with all the old world items Hearst procured. I unfortunately cannot post any pictures per Hearst Castles rules for publishing pictures of the property. But here is the ubiquitous Anna’s Hummingbird feeding nearby!
Not only is the castle incredible but so are the gardens and land around the castle. Hearst built his own zoo, again procuring animals from all over the world. During the great depression he had to sell or donate most of the animals but a few are still roaming the grounds. Driving down Highway 1 through San Simeon you can sometimes spot Zebra roaming through the fields.
While Hearst Castle and the Elephant Seals are clearly great spots to visit, San Luis Obispo itself is a wonderful quaint little city. It has a great downtown and lot’s of great places to eat. It is also an excellent jumping off point for the Santa Ynez Valley wine country. This area was made famous by the movie Sideways, there are many vineyards to visit. In the valley you’ll find the town of Solvang which is Danish themed and reminds me very much of Bavarian themed Leavenworth here in Washington minus bratwursts and beer, but replaced with wine an pastries. For a great steak and unique dining experience check out Jocko’s in Nipomo. This place has over 100 years of history and will load you up with way too much to eat.
This is a beautiful part of California, from the Elephant Seals of San Luis Obispo to Hearst Castle to Wine Country there is a lot to do. We will definitely return and spend more time in the future as visiting here and the Channel Islands on a four day trip was just too much for such a short period!
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