Today we went to Hearst Castle and had a tour of the gardens and social rooms. William Randolph Hearst, newspaper magnate, built the house on land that his family owned. He used to go camping there with his parents when he was young and liked it so much that he wanted his house to be built at the top of the hill. He filled it with art and artefacts that he had collected on his travels, with no expense spared. The gardens are beautiful with statues and marble benches, tiled floors and fountains. The Neptune outdoor swimming pool is being restored as it was leaking water but we were able to view it from the terrace. The rich and famous who were guests of William must have loved swimming in it. Inside the house we saw the Assembly room, where guests gathered before William made his appearance, the Refractory, the Morning room, where the guests went after dining, the billiard room and the movie theatre where full length films and newsreels were shown. He was a collector of tapestries so there were lots hanging on the walls. The dining table was very long but the crockery was ordinary blue patterned, no fancy china and linen cloths, mustard and sauce bottles on the table. Apparently he liked to dine as he had when camping there with his parents. The tour ended with the indoor Roman swimming pool. He also had exotic animals in the grounds until money problems forced him to sell them to the nearby zoos. However zebra still roam around with the cattle from the ranch. After leaving the castle we made our way further down the coast stopping at Cayucos beach where Lola and Evie played on the beach and in the water for a while. We then drove on to San Luis Obispo where we went to see the Bubblegum Alley. This is a small alley where people have stuck their bubble gum on the walls. We all did it but the girls weren’t impressed. The town looks like a nice place to visit and there was a free concert on in the park but we had to move on to our next campground so couldn’t stay. We drove on to Lake Lopez where we are staying for three nights.