Well, as most of you know, I’m performing this weekend with Blue Street in Pismo Beach. Today, Denise, her kids, and I did something that I’ve been wanting to do ever since I started playing in Pismo many years ago. Seems like I just never had the time to do it, but it’s really just the fact that I have poor planning skills… Anyway, we went to Hearst Castle!
Who ever thought that a media giant could have so much money! That aside, the castle is amazing! The most intriguing thing for me, though, was the fact that this structure was custom-built and is a proverbial melting pot of architecture. It is truly, in every sense of the word, American, from its Gothic-ness to its Romanesque outdoor pool to its Heinz Ketchup bottles… A mixture of world cultures? Yup! Self-indulgent? You Bet! One of my favorite lines from the tour guide today was, “How many of you out there collect ceilings?”, which was met with a big fat ZERO raised hands. Every ceiling was specifically purchased from different countries and shipped to the states, and they are very VERY ornately carved!
But even more interesting than the castle itself, is the story of how its owner came to love all of these different cultural influences in art and architecture. As a boy he and his mother went on a European tour that would last for nearly a year. Talk about a life-molding experience! I couldn’t help but to look back on my first trip to Europe in high school. My mother always told me that traveling is something no one can take away from you, and I have been a believer of it my whole life! I completely wiped out my entire savings account just so I could visit the German speaking countries of Europe in 1993. After that trip I was hooked, and began saving money for the next trip and the next! Traveling is life-changing, and we are very lucky to be able to do so. There are people in this world who have never been outside of their own village! And that puts things into perspective for all of us, especially those of us who travel as part of our business.
