An Amazing and Informative Field Trip!

HS Class Trip to Visit Californian Missions and Hearst Castle

On December 1 and 2, the HS class took a short overnight trip down the coast of our beautiful state to visit a number of California Missions and the astonishing Hearst Castle.

Our first stop was San Juan Bautista near Monterey. This is an extensive mission with many different buildings dedicated to showing the timeline of California history from since before the Spanish settlements up until the gold rush. 

The students were amazed that this tiny sleepy town used to be a bustling city on the main stage coach route that followed the El Camino Real up and own through Alta California. The development of the railroad caused the town to fall off the beaten path and decline to the little pocket of history that it is today! This mission is known for being featured in Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo."

Checking out the blacksmith's work in the forge behind the stables.

Eating lunch in the main plaza at Mission San Juan Bautista.

Next, we drove to Mission San Antonio de Padua - the most remote mission in California - and thus the most authentic in terms of setting and vistas. Set in rolling ranch country, this is one of the few missions that did not have a town evolve around it, so it is much as it would have been in the 18th century.

Mission San Antonio happens to be accessed through a U.S. Army base. It is quite a contrast to the charm and peaceful atmosphere of the mission to exit and enter a high-tech gate with a tank on display!

As we journeyed, we saw many beautiful views of the rolling California hills, now green from the recent rains.

We spent the night in Cambria, CA. The next day, we drove a few miles north to San Simeon. Visting Hearst Castle was a huge contrast to our previous explorations. The wealth and opulence of the castle was amazing after the simplicity of the missions.

It was a stormy day. The winds were high and whipping the palm trees on the top of the hill.

The Neptune Pool is probably one of the most famous parts of Hearst Castle. It is currently being renovated but we could still appreciate it's amazing beauty.

William Randolph Hearst filled his castle with antique furnishings and parts of buildings from all over Europe. Walking into the grand rooms is just like being transported to an old castle in Europe - even though much of the materials are "composits" of wildly differing ages and styles.

Steven liked the games room with two pool tables. The ceiling is a Moorish wooden artwork from Spain stained dark brown from years of burning coals in a brazier.

The Roman Pool is another masterpiece of artistic talent and construction. We all wanted to jump in and take a swim.

 Sometimes, we can't resist the temptation to be dramatic in such a dramatic setting ...

 Getting ready to leave the Hearst Castle Visitors' Center and start the journey back home.

This is the sunset over the ocean from our hotel in Cambria.

The interior of Mission San Miguel - we stopped in briefly. This mission has Franciscan friars who still live on-site, so access to the courtyard and grounds is limited.