My Wanderlust Adventures

On the way to San Francisco my daughter and I spent a moment in Ventura, California, then I took her on Hwy 154 to Solvang, California, which is a community with Dutch influence. I had driven to Solvang before but really wanted my daughter to see it as well.

Then we were off to Cambria, which is such a beautiful small town. The people there were genuinely nice and warm. It has a population of about 6,000 with a median age of 54. Now that sounds like a place that I could live. We stayed at a really nice place called Creekside Inn, which is within walking distance to the downtown area. All of the businesses there are locally owned, no chains and that was really great to see. There was a yoga studio owned by a really nice lady name Vivian, a tea house, several places to eat, art galleries, etc.

We decided to eat the first night there at this quaint little place called Wild Ginger, and the food was great. It was tasty and presented beautifully. Most importantly the owner Debbie was a great host, with a big personality, that I just loved.

The next day we had reservations for Tour 1 at the Hearst Castle, that was only 8 miles or less from Cambria on California Hwy 1. It was definitely a site to see. You wonder at times why as well as how people live this lavishly. This is the former home of William Randolph Hearst.

William Hearst inherited this 250,000 acres from his mother, which included the original 40, 000 acres that his father, George Hearst purchased in 1865. In 1919, William Hearst solicited the services of an architect by the name of Julia Morgan, yes a woman, to build this estate, of which it would take 28 years.

William Randolph Hearst was also the grandfather of the infamous Patty Hearst, (Patricia Campbell Hearst)

After leaving the Hearst Castle, we decided to go back to Cambria, have lunch and to get gasoline so that we can continue on Hwy 1 to San Francisco. It was a good thing that I filled the gas tank before continuing on Hwy 1, because once you get on it there is no getting off. The drive was absolutely breathtaking.

To see more photos you can click on the above photo and it will take you to some of the photos taken along the way.

It doesn't look like I am going to make it to Tanzania this year, but it is a trip that I so want to take. Hopefully I can make it happen by the end of next year.

I am trying to continue to explore the country that I am in. There is so much beauty here to see.

Tomorrow I am on my way to San Francisco by driving up the coast on Hwy 1 with my daughter. I have been wanting to take this trip for some time now, and I am going to finally get the chance to do just that, with the one that I have the most fun with.

We will stop in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo before spending the night in Cambria. The next day we will tour the Hearst Castle before moving on up the coast.

We will cruise through the
north-central coast to San Francisco staying in Daly where I am looking forward to meeting a relative that I located through Ancestry.com. She is actually the granddaughter of my great great grandparents on my mother's side.

We regret not being able to get tickets to Alcatraz, which is something I have been wanting to see most of my life, but I guess it will not be on this trip. I had a friend tell me that she didn't enjoy the Alcatraz visit, because she could sense the hurt and pain that took place there. She knows that I am also sensitive to various energies, and believes that my missing out on Alcatraz was not by accident.
So we are planning to take in some of the many attractions on and from Fisherman's Wharf. I hoping to have a host of great photos to share when I return.

The Ghost Tour on the Queen Mary was quite interesting. It is actually more of a show, than the telling of the ghosts that possible haunt the ship.

This photo is of how the water poured into the galley after the ship collide with the HMS Curacoa, which mis-judged the speed and zigzag of the large ship and they collided.
The HMS Curacoa was cut in half, and 331 to 432 crewmen died. This was the most tragic accident in the history of the Queen Mary.

The Ghost Tour wants you to believe that the souls of these crewmen still haunt the Queen Mary.
The fact that this picture came out of camera with red overtones was a bit spooky to me. I used a flash unit to light the photo as it was quite dark in the bow of the ship.