Day 25 - Big Sur, CA to San Simeon, CA - 70.11 miles

The big things we saw today - literally - were the coastal fog, elephant seals at Piedras Blancas, and the Hearst Castle. Although we were disappointed the fog hadn't lifted, we were actually able to look down from above the clouds because of the big climbs we had today. It was a very surreal experience and looked a lot like a view from an airplane - hopefully the pictures will do it justice. In an effort to have time to see the "big" attractions, we pushed 60 miles before taking a real break. The 2 ton male seals were grunting, growling, play fighting, and constantly flipping on their sunscreen (sand) while waiting for the females to arrive for mating season. We made it to Hearst Castle just in time for the last tour. We were skeptical of touring a mansion - especially at $24/person - but it was actually worth it. W.R. Hearst's "tribute to ambition and affluence" was decorated with an extravagant worldly taste. He shipped in Spanish Palm trees, exotic flowers, Canadian Elk, African Zebras, Tapestries owned by the Sun King (Louis Quatorze), Swiss cheese, Egyptian sculptures, and (of course) Jersey cows. His 80 million dollar debt made sense after learning that this was just one of the five estates he was continuously augmenting.