Travels With Lacey--Perving at the Castle

We finally reached the Hearst Castle, a goal of Lacey's for many years.  $25/ea/tour, 3 different tours...  crazy, Hearst makes more money from tours than the newspaper biz...  Anyway, the castle is a magnificent example of conspicuous consumption...  those Deer Valley homes with their $19K refrigerators don't even come close.

There were so many photo ops, I didn't know where to start.  But then I noticed quite a collection of marble statues spread around the grounds and inside some of the "common" areas.  So the perv in me took over...  Get ready,  hormone rates are about to explode...

 And on to the show...

This one above was pretty funny...  many women in the tour just had to sit next to it and strike the pose... while their partners snapped their pics.

Orgy time around the pool...

I've got more than this next guy...

Is the above what they call homoerotic???

Ok, now just to cool off a little, a few other pics of things I found interesting...  First, a feature on the walls of the "home theater"...

Now a place setting at the master dinner table...  note the mustard and ketchup bottles...

A neat Chinese lamp...

A way cool Deco clock (I really wanted this, tried to sneak it under my coat but was caught and sentenced to do this blog)...

And now our tour guide (!?!) posing with some of the outdoor features found on the guest buildings around the castle...

This next pic is kinda weird...  don't know how to explain it...

And, finally, a neat mosaic...

And that concludes this tour of the Hearst Castle...  I have to admit, it was quite worth seeing, even though it's out of my price range...  And I have to give Hearst some credit, he's given the castle and thousands of acres around the castle to the State of California for preservation.

Travels With Lacey--The Big Stone and Moonstone

After the auto museum, we headed further north up the coast.  We wandered through Solvang, the Danish village/tourist trap, thankfully off season and a weekday.  Then it was off through a million miles of vineyards, looking for Route 1 and the coast.  Murro Bay called to us, we stopped to admire "the rock" and walk along the boardwalk.  Discovering the local Chamber of Commerce, we interrupted a woman trying to close up (early, I noted).  She was kind enough to invite us in, way too kind it turned out...  I think we were the only tourists in weeks...  wow, she went on and on about the local area...  finally recommending Moonstone Drive up the road in Cambria.  So off we went seeking lodging for the night closer to our San Simeon destination the next morning.

Yep, this is what we found on Moonstone Drive...  a wonderful mile of inns, motels, restaurants, and some homes, all facing stunning views of the Pacific.  And, off season, we got a decent rate on a beautiful room at the Sea Otter Inn.

After checking in, we still had light enough to explore the shoreline...  and found the tide out and the seals in.

And just to prove I was there...

That evening we dined at the Sea Chest restaurant, a very excellent seafood meal, great wine, wonderful companionship.  A special birthday evening...

The next morning was cloudy and foggy, but still clear enough to explore the boardwalk that runs the length of Moonstone Drive, with little parks on each end.

"I shall always love a purple iris..."

My buddy and his buddy...

Then it was off to the Hearst Castle...

Travels With Lacey--Mullin Auto Museum

I'd read about the Mullin Automotive Museum several times, but it's location, and the fact that it is open only on Saturdays (if at all) made it difficult to visit.  Thankfully a good friend of Lacey's is the owner's sister-in-law, and her husband helped arrange a special tour.  That's the good news...

The bad news was, due to construction, most of the rare cars were covered as protection.  So another visit will be in order.  But more good news, not only does the museum display cars from the 20's and 30's (primarily Bugattis), but there are also very nice displays of art deco furniture and other period artifacts.  Apparently Carlo Bugatti was also a furniture designer.  (if you click on the pics, you'll get a larger image, and can even expand the image to read the print).

A couple era posters and an interesting sculpture...

The museum is dedicated primarily to the discovery, purchase, restoration, and display of the classic Bugatti mark.  While most of the cars are restored, a couple have remained in found condition for display purposes.  One is the "barn find", another was hauled up from a lake in Switzerland.

Upstairs were some more recent Bugattis, produced by new companies trying to maintain the Bugatti image.  Here's a rare example, amazing!

Although it is difficult to visit, due to location and limited hours, the Mullin Museum is absolutely fabulous!  ... one of the finest museums of its kind, and a wonderful example of Art Deco design in all its aspects.  I'm sure it will also continue to grow (there are quite a few cars stored elsewhere).  And special exhibits will enhance its value to the car buff and art appreciator.  

Travels With Lacey--Taking Off

So the Hawaii thing didn't work out.  Couldn't make reasonable travel arrangements.  As a consolation prize, we decided to head up the Central California coast with lots of time and only vague destinations in mind (a car museum for me and the Hearst Castle for her).  We also had a dinner date in Santa Barbara the following weekend as an end goal.  This was interesting, kinda winging it, different for us.

We took off from Pepperdine in West LA, a late start but who cares!  We did have a phone call in to a hairdresser's husband about a special tour of the Mullin Car Museum in Oxnard, and the OK arrived just as we hit the city.  So we wandered down to the Channel Island area of Oxnard, found a nice hotel along the bay, and settled for the night.  A walk around inspired my fascination with fishing boats and found a special friend for Lacey.

Never thought of Oxnard as a coastal city, but it sure is, rather nice in fact.  And good seafood for dinner (starting a trend during this trip).

Daytrippers

Our Fall trip to the San Rafael Swell was cancelled at the last moment.  So we substituted a day trip in search of the Sun Tunnel installation in the West Desert north of Wendover.  As we crossed the Salt Flats cruising on the Interstate, we decided to stop at another art installation right along side of the road...  the Tree of Life!  (we've often passed this installation on the way West, but never really stopped to examine it).

And, no trip to Wendover would be complete without a moment to appreciate the awesomeness of the Salt Flats (pretty much impossible to capture in a picture).  And a reminder that I need to check out speed week next year.

We took the exit to the "famed measured mile", then headed north, 45 miles between the Pilot Range and the Salt Flats, towards the Lucin railroad crossing.  Here's the Pilot Range with Pilot Peak on the left, a shot from the road back towards the Interstate, and a look back East to the Salt Flats.

We also ran across a hitchhiker, who refused a ride because we didn't have good snacks.

At the North end of the Pilot Range is a microwave site.  In another lifetime, I used to service this site.  During the Summer, it was a really cool place to hang, but in the Winter, well, getting there was a big hassle.

The road was not well marked, but generally the route was reasonably straight forward.  We took the correct spur road for a couple miles and easily found the Sun Tunnels.  On one hand, they were just four large concrete cylinders...  But there are some curious things going on here.  I don't have good info on all the details of the installation, but it has a lot to do with the sun on Solstice and Equinox.  The holes in the tubes have significance as well (I guess!)...  maybe a solar calendar of some sort.  Anyway, I missed the lecture...  but I have the pictures!

Here's Rod, the world's greatest photographer, taking a picture of something...  holes in concrete?

And an obligatory pic of the vehicle that got us here...   With new Yokohama's keeping us on the road.

Leaving the Sun Tunnels, we drove another few miles north to Lucin, basically a ghost town/oasis, originally a major site for railroad construction.  Not much left except a shot up monument.

Then it was back to the highway that connects Northern Utah to Eastern Nevada.  We thought about getting a beer at the Cowboy Bar in Montello; however every deer hunter in the area had decided to catch football on this Sunday afternoon...  crowded as hell...

Hmmm...  deer hunt....  that means it's Deer Widows Weekend in Wendover!  Hey, a couple middle aged stud muffins could have hot, drunk, horny babes crawling all over them!  So we headed hell bent for Wendover...  as we entered town, Wendover Will seemed to acknowledge our lurid thoughts.

But apparently all the lonely babes had gathered their hangovers and headed back home that morning.  All we found were the desparate, the meth addicted, and the retired...  kinda depressing all in all.  But the casino was glitzy, that's for sure...

So we pigged out at the buffet and headed home ourselves...  All in all, a good daytrip...

Conference Time

Attempts at diversity in SLC...