We chose SLO because my friend wanted to visit Hearst Castle. Luckily, I have a friend from SLO who offered us her home since she would not be there. Central California is really amazing. We went to a winery (there are at least 15 close to the city), we visited a hot springs, we hiked.
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| Montana de Oro |
We ate good food. We toured Hearst Castle:
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| Indoor roman pool -- from the internet |
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| aerial view -- huge main home, 3 separate guest houses, an indoor and outdoor pool, tennis courts, a theater, 116 bedrooms, 50 or so bathrooms |
The castle is the property of the State of California. After Hearst died, the heirs apparently did not want to maintain the property and sold it to the state for $1. Hearst had an interesting will. He did not allow his 5 sons to inherit his wealth directly. He set up a trust (or some legal entity) in which each child and grandchild owns shares in the Hearst Corporation. The privately held company has 13 board positions and only 5 can be from members of his family. The company is now very valuable so I am not sure what shares are worth now. I read an article from 2006 that said each heir got $10 million a year from the estate. When the last of the grandchildren die, it seems like the heirs will then split the value of the company.
I heard an interview with Warren Buffett where he said the two worst words for the human spirit were welfare and trust fund. It seems most of the Hearst heirs are the idle rich but they do seem to have the energy to sue the estate on occasion apparently in search of more money.
I understand why Hearst chose central California for his Shangri-la. The weather is perfect. The views are always amazing no matter where you stand. Birds of Paradise (my favorite flower) are everywhere as are bottle brush trees, palm trees, flowers of all colors.
We really enjoyed our weekend. Luckily, I get to return in July with the family while we visit my husband's family. Yahoo!
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