California 1

The main purpose of our trip down South was to tour Loma Linda Medical School.  David's brother-in-law grew up across the street from the Jetton family.  Dr. James and Marge Jetton were benefactors of the Medical School.  Their son, Dr. James Jetton II followed in his fathers footsteps and also attended Loma Linda Medical School.  David and Dr. Jetton have formed a friendship over the phone and planned to meet and tour the school together.  Dr. Jetton has been advising David through his application process and it was a pleasure to spend time with him at a place so close to his family.

We spent two nights with David and Barbara Bridgnell.  They are the parents of David's brother-in-law Eric.  They live in Rolling Hills, CA just south of Manhattan Beach.  Did you know that peacocks run wild?  They have a pet peacock named Waldo who comes every morning and night for pieces of bread. Oh, and check out the picture below of our view from the breakfast table every morning!  I felt like I was on a tropical island.

David (Big David - how we would distinguish the two), collects butterflies and beetles.  And by collect, I mean travels the world just to find specific butterflies and beetles to "pin."  He has cases upon cases of insects that he has hunted from around the world, places like Ecuador, Honduras, and India.  Do you want to see what I saw? .....

Yep, I was terrified of the beetles as you could probably imagine.  I had a hard time believing that if I saw one of these in real life and it bit me, that I wouldn't die.

We started our drive up the coast of California on Highway 1, with our first stop in Santa Monica to visit my friend Sarah.  We walked the beach to the Santa Monica Pier and had lunch at Big Dean's.  Even though we weren't there for very long, I loved getting to see Sarah and meet her new boyfriend Daniel!  I wish we could have stayed longer! 

Further north we stopped in Santa Barbara, David's old stomping grounds.  We basically sprinted to Pacific crepes, one of his favorite places, for a snack.  Then we walked around State Street and peeked into a few shops.  Santa Barbara is slowly becoming one of my favorite cities in California.  Shhhh, don't tell David, I don't want him to get a big head! 

Two more hours north, and we pulled over in Morro Bay.  Very, very small little fishing town.  They seem to only really be known for this giant rock in the middle of the bay.  At least thats what I could gather.  We had seafood, naturally, for dinner.  Guess what David ordered..... Cioppino.  In the morning, we got breakfast at a french bakery and walked along the dock.  Literally saw, maybe seven people. 

Now we get to my favorite part!  We went to San Simeon and spent the afternoon touring Hearst Castle!!  

I really didn't know much about the Hearst family before visiting the castle.  Simply, George Hearst who happened to be from MISSOURI, discovered Silver.  He and his wife moved to California and had a son, William.   William started a publishing business, which is what he is known for, however we learned that it didn't make him that much money and he seemed to live off of his fathers fortune.   William built this "ranch" to follow through on a childhood dream.  Many influential figures from history have visited, including Winston Churchill, Cary Grant, and the Kennedys just to name a few.   It took somewhere between 28 years to build this masterpiece and it remains unfinished to this day.  William had to move from the ranch in his 80's due to health problems and was never able to return.  One of my favorite things about Hearst castle was knowing that it was left just the way it was when William left.  All of the furniture and belongings were untouched!  

The grounds were beautiful.  After the tour you are free to explore and lounge by the pool as long as you wish.  I almost felt like I was in a different country.  Hearst Castle sits high on a mountain over looking the ocean.  Probably one of the most beautiful views I've seen.  The Hearst family bought 390 square miles of Central California coastline, with this he got the view.  The Pacific Ocean? .... He did not own it.   How much fun would it have been to spend a weekend here in the 30's?  Who stood where I stood?  Who saw what I saw?  Jackie Kennedy?  Its possible!  

Our guide told us it was a perfect day to take a nap by the pool.  He didn't offer to let us jump in, but boy did I want to!  

Before hopping on the bus back down the hill, you have to walk through the Roman Pool inside the gymnasium.  We were told it was rarely used.  I can't imagine why.  The detail was so luxurious.  Did I mention the floor was made of gold?  "Walkin on, walkin on, broken gooold." 

Three hours and 15 minutes later, we were back in San Jose.  Seems like we did a lot for a three day weekend huh?  I'll pat myself on the back for that one.  Home for four days then I'm on a red eye to Raleigh North Carolina!   Stay tuned!