We got a phone call from Joey's Dad around quarter after 5 this morning. He had been watching the news and heard that there was an earthquake in British Columbia and Southeast Alaska. The main reason he called though was because he saw that our SPOT tracker showed we were camping right near the ocean. The news said that there was a tsunami alert for the Washington, Oregon and Northern California. Luckily we were far enough south that we shouldn't really have to worry about it. But, even still, I had a hard time going back to sleep because all I could think about was a bunch of water rushing towards us and our tent floating away. Laying there listening to the waves didn't help either- it was a mental thing, but it always seemed like they were getting louder. Eventually though, I was able to fall back asleep for a couple more hours. When the alarm went off at 7, we got everything all packed up and ate the last two blueberry muffins that we had left while Loic did his morning exercises (yes, he does push-ups, sit ups, and does curls (using a panier) on top of riding bike!). He is so healthy and fit, us Americans- not so much. Since we were only about a mile from the Hearst Castle Visitor Center, it didn't take us long to get there. The doors were open and so we didn't have to wait too long. Joey was able to get 3 tour tickets for 9am, and the first showing of the IMAX video was at 8:15 so it worked out perfectly! We were worried we would have to wait until 10 to take the tour because we wanted to watch the video first, which would make it so that we got on the road a lot later than we would have liked. The video was awesome! It told the story of how William Hearst grew up and how events in his life lead him to build such an incredible place. Since it was an IMAX video, the scenes were amazing from views of a plane flying over mountains and the ocean to beautiful images of different places in Europe. I am so glad the video was included with the tour, it was a great way to get a better idea of how the castle came to be what it is today. After the video, the three of us were a little hungry since we didn't have a lot for breakfast. Joey and Loic went over to the "snack bar" to satisfy our hunger. Loic came back with a sandwich and a cookie and Joey came back with 2 chocolate filled croissants that were still warm. Joey and I thought they were awesome, but according to Loic, that quality croissant would be considered a low end croissant that you would get at a grocery store for 20c. I guess we need to go to France- I can't imagine how good their "good" croissants must be! We boarded the bus and headed up the 5 mile winding road to the castle. It was neat because as we were climbing up to the 1500ft elevation, the castle would come in and out of view as we ascended. When we got there, I was just so excited and I think Joey was too. Loic on the other hand grew up in an area where there were really massive, beautiful, historic castles around him, so this wasn't quite as exciting for him, although he did enjoy getting to do something different from riding. Just the outside of the "ranch at San Simion" was incredible. There was so much detail and quite a lot of gold plated decoration too. Our tour guide, Anni, was great! She really knew her stuff and made it seem like she was excited to tell us all about the place. Our first stop on the "Grand Rooms Tour" was the waiting area where Mr. Hearst's guests would enjoy cocktail hour before dinner. What an incredible place- full of beautiful art and antique wall coverings; it's really pretty impossible to explain. From there we went into the dining room, where our guide made sure to point out that amongst all of the expensive art and decoration, the tableware that Mr. Hearst used for dinners was not elaborate. In fact it was your basic silverware and plates, and the best part was that it was "Americanized" as Loic put it, because there was a ketchup and mustard on the tables still in their original glass jars- again, very low key. Next, we went into a sitting room. More beautiful art, another fire place ( it seems like there was one in every room), and beautiful furniture. The billiards room was next followed by the movie theater/ stage. Everything was just incredible. As we perused the gardens and pool areas (we could spend as much time doing this as we wanted-could stay right until the last bus went back down at 6 even) I couldn't get over how beautiful all of the flowers were and how amazing the walkways were laid out. The outdoor pool, which was built 3x before they were happy with it, was stunning, oh what I wouldn't give to go for a swim in there. There were a number of orange and lemon trees on the grounds along with a few cottages, that were equally as beautiful. There are 2 full tennis courts, too. The indoor pool was just as impressive, if not more impressive than the one outside. There was an amazing diving platform from the second floor and there were gold accents everywhere throughout the room. The buses, which depart every 10 minutes pick up near the indoor pool. I wasn't quite ready to leave yet, but the boys were, so we got on the bus and headed back down the mountain. There was a little museum in the visitor center that we walked around for a little while before getting ready to go. I am so glad that we got to see the castle! We used part of Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Mary Lynn's donation to see the castle, just as we used Mr. and Mrs. Banagis's donation to go see the Winchester Mansion in San Jose, which I think I forgot to mention when I wrote that journal. So- thanks again to Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Mary Lynn, and Mr. and Mrs. Banagis!! Since it was getting close to lunchtime and we were all hungry already, we headed over to the little park across the road from the visitor center entrance. Joe was still in the mood for breakfast, so he had some oatmeal, but since it was close to lunch time, I was ready for lunch, so I had some mac and cheese. It was already pretty hot out, just as it has been for the past couple of days. It will be so nice to get a shower at the end of the day today when we get to our host, Joel's house in San Luis Obispo! It was around 12:30 when we got on the road, which is earlier than we anticipated. For most of the ride it was flat. We had a little bit of a headwind in a few sections that slowed us down a little, but we still didn't have as many miles to do today so it was ok. We stopped to fill up on water in the town of Cayucos. It was a very cute little town full of little shops and restaurants. We found a little coffee shop, and were surprised to see Jame's bike out front (the cyclist from the UK that we met yesterday,) We chatted with him for a little bit, looked up the exact directions to our host's house, since both of our phones were dead, so we wouldn't be able to call him very easily, and then were on our way again. The second half of the ride was a bit more hilly. I was a little tired when I woke up this morning for some reason, and I was really feeling it this afternoon. The sun was beating down and we were all sweating like dogs. I think part of the reason that I was feeling so tired was because the last few days have been so warm. When we made it to San Luis Obispo, we stopped at a halloween costume store, just to look around, and to show Loic what it was all about. Right next door was a gas station. Loic bought a bottle of gas so that we could clean all of our chains tomorrow, and it was probably the cheapest gas fill up ever- just over a dollar. We didn't have any trouble finding Joel's house, but did have to climb a little bit of a hill in order to get there. When we got there, we got our bikes all put in the garage and then Joel showed us where we would be staying for the night. I was so excited to see a bed again and was really looking forward to the shower! There was a world map with a bunch of pins in it, showing all of the countries that Joel had traveled to- that is his big thing is traveling, not necessarily by bike, but there are some places he has traveled in by bike. After what was an amazing shower, We enjoyed some crackers and feta cheese and then a wonderful dinner of pasta, homemade basil pesto, Italian sausage, tomatoes, fresh bread, and homemade wine. It was delicious!!! After dinner, Joel took us in his car to go see the downtown area of San Luis Obispo since we had missed it on the way in. The three of us walked all over the downtown area with our very own tour guide. We saw one of the old missions, the creek with a bunch of restaurants and a brewery, and a very fun, tree lit downtown that was pretty much like an outlet mall, but in a downtown area. There were a number of chain stores fixed in with the general downtown. There was even what they call "bubblegum alley," just like Seattle had. Who knows which one came first. It was a pretty cute little quaint area. It was so nice to get to see it, I am glad that Joel suggested it. Later on that night, Joel fixed Joey up wit h the Daily Show on his tv (it worked out well because that is one of Joel's favorite show's too. I went to bed pretty early since I was sleepy. I was falling asleep sitting on the couch as it was. Another wonderful day. We can't believe this weather- and neither can Joel since he said it is extremely unusual for this time of year. After a wonderful morning getting to see the castle, we rode 45.04 miles.
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