“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” (-St Augustine)

Saturday night, I was extremely restless, and could hardly sleep. I tossed and turned all night as my mind was anticipating the trip I’d planned for my day Sunday. I wound up with about five hours' sleep.
Here I was in Carmel by the Sea again, one of the most beautiful areas of California, over a weekend, with no other pressing obligations, and I couldn’t resist the tug of adventure.
Why was I stressing? I’d traveled this route before, and so I knew what would be awaiting me:
...steep, twisting, narrow roads and treacherous precipices, my car meandering around the mountainous terrain of the California coastline.

I was also worried about running into fires in the southern part of California, near Santa Barbara. (I do have a reputation for worrying in advance. My brother continually teases me about this.)

But I was determined to set out on an adventure and so off I went, early Sunday morning, in pursuit of San Simeon and the Hearst Castle.

And...off to an interesting start, I headed out, drove about 20 miles and realized I'd left my camera battery and charger in the outlet at the hotel after I'd already checked out. (It's always the things you DON'T worry about, n'est ce pas?) So I turned around, and, disgusted with myself, retrieved it. Always the auspicious start, eh!? Then, I white-knuckled it, and faced my demons head on: my fear of heights was in full force all day long, but I was rewarded for all that stress!

I’d always wanted to see the Hearst Castle, and the last time I took this trip, I vowed I’d go to see it if I came again, and I am so glad I went. (I had called and made a reservation, which is also why I stressed. I was afraid I wouldn't get there in time for my reserved time, knowing how long it takes to travel that route.) As it turns out, I was there JUST in time, even though I left quite early.

The views are just incredible, and the castle and guest houses were more magnificent than I’d imagined them to be.

The waves crashing against the coastline were amazing, too, and I was reminded once more of why I push myself to explore when I am in an area where I can see new things on weekends as I travel. As it turns out, I did see some of the smoke from the Montecito fires, and even closer to Malibu, I still smell the smoke, but thankfully I was safe on my journey.

“You lose sight of things…and when you travel, everything balances out.” (-Daranna Gidel)