1 minute read
Street Smarts
by 270 Media
ENVIRONS and EN ROUTE
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BY JEANNE COOPER AND SPUD HILTON
Summer road trips create a memorable classroom for all things California
Sure, every California fourth grader gets a hefty dose of mission-era history (not to mention model-building) in school, but there’s nothing like a family road trip to convey the vast and varied wonders of the Golden State. Here are four teachable-moment destinations, each reachable in a day or less, with notable attractions nearby or en route.
DESTINATION Hearst Castle, San Simeon
This year marks the 65th since William Randolph Hearst’s fanciful aerie became a state park and a full century since he inherited thousands of acres around San Simeon from his mother, the feminist and philanthropist Phoebe Apperson Hearst. Another woman with vision, architect Julia Morgan, collaborated with the publishing tycoon on what became 165 rooms encompassing Spanish colonial revival and European Gothic and neoclassical styles, plus 123 acres of landscaped gardens, terraces and pools.
Today, a bus from a visitors’ center with a restaurant and massive gift shop leads uphill to the castle, past fields where zebras and other animals descended from Hearst’s former menagerie still roam. After most of the thoughtful guided tours of Casa Grande, as Hearst called it while entertaining guests during Hollywood’s Golden Age, visitors can also roam freely. Park yourself by the recently restored Neptune Pool to bask in its Greco-Roman opulence. 750 Hearst Castle Road, hearstcastle.org
Take a break from driving and stroll through one of Northern California’s most beautiful promontories, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Wild flower-lined trails pass coves where you’ll see seals, sea lions and sea otters (plus a scuba diver or two); two tiny museums, one in a former cabin built by Chinese fi shermen, document the area’s cultural and whaling history. Off ighway 1, three miles south of Carmel, pointlobos.org
Burgers don’t come with more beautiful views than those at Nepenthe in Big Sur, opened 70 years ago by the same family that runs it today. Below it, Cafe Kevah serves brunch, coffee and pastries on an open-air terrace with equally exquisite vistas. 48510 Highway 1, nepenthe.com
Four miles north of the turnoff or Hearst Castle from Highway 1, the viewing point for the Piedras Blancas elephant seal rookery provides a free, easily accessed spot for observing the ungainly giants. While their
The Bay Area’s must-attend event of the year is back! SF’s best of the best in food, wine and spirits will once again gather under one roof for one epic day celebrating food, drinks and community. Eat Drink SF will take place on August 24, 2019 at The Midway.
EAT DRINK SF
The Midway, San Francisco, CA eatdrink-sf.com @eatdrinksf
PLAYA
