Today’s topic is magic.  No not in Disney kind of magic, but in the way you feel about a place.  That it’s magical for reasons perhaps only known to you.

We visited Hearst Castle yesterday.  It’s opulent and way over done for my taste, yet it’s still magical.

Mr. Hearst built this on land he inherited from his parents.  They had gone camping on top of this hill when we was a boy, and after they died he decided to build ‘a little something’ because he was getting too old for camping in a tent.  There are 192 rooms, almost all done in heavy Italian or Spanish style.

I was most fascinated by the ceilings, each room different.  You can see the European influence in the ceilings of the Gothic library where he ran most of his businesses remotely way before remote working became a trend.

Notice the deeply coffered ceilings in the library.  I can’t imagine the man hours required to put that together.

And I was taken by the intricate detailing of the ceiling in Marion Davies’ bedroom.

But what made this house so magical for me were the pools…both the indoor tiled pool under the tennis courts…

…and the outdoor Neptune Pool overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Sitting next to the pool, enjoying the sun, with my feet up I could, for just a few magical moments understand what it felt like to be a wealthy socialite visiting the Hearst ranch.  It felt pretty good.

After our tour of the castle we wandered the coast again.  We stopped for a bit and visited with the seals just up the road from the castle.  They were feeling pretty good themselves, enjoying the sun in a way only seals can.

A couple of them were doing a little bit of young adult male testing the waters so to speak as they played a bit of a duel.

But most of them were just enjoying a day at the beach lounging in the sun, having a magical California afternoon.

Finally, further down the beach we found the best dog park ever!

What a great place to run and play in the waves!  I got to get my feet wet too, and noticed these cool patterns the water and sand made as each wave receded.

I can’t tell you how many photos I took of not ripples…it was hard to catch it just right and I couldn’t see my camera screen in the bright sunlight to tell.  But this is exactly what it looked like and it was magical.  I loved having my feet in the ocean, even if it was darn cold.  Nothing a kid from Michigan hasn’t felt before!

Actually, having my feet anywhere in California has been great.  Couldn’t ask for a better vacation so far.  Where to next?  Hmmmm…I have no idea.  Let me put my feet up here next to the pool and think about it.

Or nap.  Whichever comes along first.  Magic.

We spent Sunday night at the Montecito Sequoia Lodge located inside the Sequoia National Forest.  The building was built years ago, added on and added on, the interior was a maze of twisting halls and stairs.  Yet our room was quaint and comfortable – and without a TV!

Which was fine as we were exhausted and feel right to sleep.

Monday morning we were back visiting the giant sequoias, this time in search of General Sherman, the largest living tree (in terms of sheer mass) in the world.  On our way down the many steps to the tree we came across a stone mosaic that showed us the size of General Sherman in a way that made it easy to understand.

The stone tiles are in the shape and cover the same size as the base of General Sherman.  The tree is 109 feet around.  Amazing, and hard to see when you’re right up next to the real tree.

So here he is, looking from the ground up.

Truly awe inspiring.  I said to someone today that I have run out of descriptive words for these trees.  They are, in fact, indescribable.  You just have to be there.

These trees, thousands of years old, remind me how short our own lives are.  They’ve been here, sitting right here long before I came along and they’ll be here, sitting right here for a thousand years after no one remembers me at all.  That might make me feel insignificant, but in fact it gave me comfort to think that some things continue on.

We walked around a meadow in the forest too…

…which offered a bit of relief from the overpowering strength and shadows of the giant trees.  Yet in the woods surrounding the sunlit meadow were hundreds more huge trees waiting to be discovered.  They weren’t named like the trees in the giant grove, yet they were just as impressive.

And you could get right up and touch them, no fences between us and these sweet giants.  We also learned on the walk around the meadow more about how fire helps in the restoration of the forest and aids in the birth of new sequoia trees.

Everywhere we looked we saw the cycle; the new seedlings, the tall but immature trees, the mature giants, the burned stumps and the roots of the fallen.  It was sobering to be walking alone among these trees that have lived such long and good lives.

And for a break from the trees we decided to climb this:

This is Moro Rock.  There are only 350 steps to the top of it.  Think of it like God’s stairmaster…without the gym membership.

And when you get to the top it looks like this:

And you get to see views like this:

And this:

And then we climbed down the 350 steps to the car, while giving encouragement to those beginning their ascent.  I knew better than to lie and tell them they were almost there.  But I could promise them the climb was worth it.

Oh.  And we saw bear!  A mama bear and her two cubs down the hill from the road.  The cubs were darling, but no pictures, we only got a glimpse.  Then a bear walking down below the parking lot at Moro Rock, but we only saw him through the trees, more a shadow than a real bear.  And finally one walking down the road in front of the car in front of us.

I got a couple quick shots of him (or her)..mostly bear butt shots, but this one was when the car in front of us was passing him slowly and the bear decided he didn’t like that.

And this shot through our driver’s side window shows a disgruntled bear kind of ticked off to be the center of attention.

Blurry, but proof we saw a real bear.  We also saw these guys.  They were cute and stood still for their portrait.

Where to tomorrow?  I don’t know.  But it will probably involve more driving and less climbing.  I’m pretty sure.

Though you never know.