November 16
Hearst Castle! Depending on traffic and your style of driving, but for me, it was 5 hours from SF to San Simeon, and 5 hours from San Simeon to LA, SF-San Simeon being the more scenic leg. So I’m thinking it’s not a one-nighter round-trip from either SF or LA. I could have used another night, to mess around in Cambria, enjoy the beach, and stop more along the way. Another night and you’d be havin’ some fun.
So, you follow the sign off HWY 1 to Hearst Castle and arrive at a big parking lot where there is a relatively new ticket center (new to me yet already under refurbishment) where you get the bus to go up for your tour. You do have to buy a tour. They have food there, a big gift shop, and the movie theater.