Tuesday 17th April

We had a buffet breakfast in the large kitchen/diner in the main building, which also has cookies and nibbles to keep you going all day. We left for 17 Mile Drive, just up the road at Pebble Beach. This is a private road for which a $9 fee was charged, and is home to the rich and several very exclusive golf courses. We made several stops for photos, with a longer break at Spanish Bay which is incredibly beautiful but icily windy. We walked along the beach and boardwalk, admiring the power of the sea. Next we stopped at the Lodge for a drink and visited an art shop - but most shops are geared towards golfers, which we are not. We returned to Carmel and spent quite a long time looking in the art galleries although we couldn't afford to buy, but discovered some wonderful artists previously unknown to us. We stayed in during the evening, having bought some food and wine, and watched a DVD.

Wednesday 18th April

We made an early start after breakfast as we had to drive nearly 100 miles of rugged coastline and arrive at Hearst Castle in time for the 2.20 tour we had already booked. The road had some faster stretches so we had a little time to visit the Pfeiffer State Park where we took a very steep 2 mile walk through the fabulous redwoods. Our only other stops were for photos and a longer stop to look at the hundreds of elephant seals - very smelly.

We arrived at Hearst Castle at 1.30 and were able to change to an earlier tour. It is all very well organised, you take a bus up the 5 mile road to the castle with some commentary on the way. The location is spectacular, right at the top of the mountains. The castle was built by WR Hearst, the newspaper tycoon, between the 1920s and 1940s. The buildings and sculptures remain very white due to the purity of the air. There are several tours taking you to specific places (no wandering about on your own) and our guide was very knowledgeable. Hearst bought artefacts from all over the world and the overall effect is actually very pretty as well as grand. The huge Neptune Pool had been drained as it had been leaking badly - not many people get to see it like that! After the tour we saw a film about Hearst and how he came to fulfil his dream - very interesting.

Then we set off on the last leg of the day's journey, on to Cambria, very nearby and easy to find. We stayed at J Patrick House, and our room was in a cabin in the back garden, the main house having the breakfast room, 1 letting room and a large lounge. It was a lovely place and a shame we were only there for 1 night. We arrived in time for the wine and appetiser hour in the lounge and we met 6 other guests, all American. It was very pleasant sitting there drinking local wine, nibbling on appetisers and talking with the other guests. There aren't any restaurants within walking distance so not much wine for Martyn as he had to drive later. We found Cambria's restaurants to be very popular and our first recommendation was already full but we managed to get a table at Robin's. We had a lovely meal and then returned to our room and warm cookies.

Thursday 19th April

After an excellent breakfast we checked out - this was our only 1-nighter - and went into town for a quick look at the shops and then a walk along Moonstone Beach. Then on towards Santa Barbara. The route wasn't very interesting but did improve as we approached. We decided to go straight to the Mission before going to our B&B. It was an interesting place to visit.

We arrived at our B&B, the Bath Street Inn, just in time for tea and cakes/biscuits, and met some more nice people. Not long after it was wine and nibbles hour so we decided to walk it off rather than drive out to dinner that evening. We walked quite a long way, Santa Barbara being a much bigger town than those in which we'd been used to staying. We ate at a very popular place called Opal and dined very well indeed, before returning for more chatting. It's a very sociable Inn.

Friday 20th April

It rained hard during the night and continued when we got up. The lounge was packed with breakfasters - less food here but that's no bad thing! We headed off for The Courthouse which had been recommended by a fellow-guest in Cambria and took the 10.30am tour, so we had time to visit the tower first, with its wonderful views, including snow-capped mountains. The tour was very interesting and all the guides (docents) are volunteers. The building is beautiful, in the Moorish style, one of my favourites. It's not all it seems though, e.g. "wood" was sometimes plaster and some thick walls were hollow. Then we visited the Art Museum on the next block - also very good but much was devoted to a retrospective of one artist, Tamayo. Then we had a drink and sandwich before continuing our walk down to the coast. It stayed dry but there were some very black clouds overhead. We walked to the end of the pier but felt tired so thought we'd go to the cinema, of which there are many. We struck lucky with the third, with 'Fracture' starting in 20 minutes. That was our first visit to an American cinema and we enjoyed the film. On our way home after we stopped at a lovely Italian restaurant called Olio and Limone. We felt a bit scruffy as we were in our 'walking around' clothes but they let us in! The food was fabulous - the most expensive but the best we'd had this holiday.