Trippin. Road Trippin': Hearst Castle

"You guys... We got to visit the real Great Gatsby House!"

Okay, so this isn't actually the real Great Gatsby house, but it sure as heck could have been! We don't even know where to start in explaining just how out of this world this place truly is. From the gardens, to the detail, to the billions of dollars that were clearly dumped on this place, I don't think our jaws ever removed themselves from the floor. Mr. Hearst was a dreamer and an amazing dreamer at that. We don't want to spoil to many of the facts because we want you guys to make your way there and find out more for yourselves but we will share a plethora of photos with you guys. Disclaimer: Photos do NOT do this place any kind of justice. Something to experience first hand.

We truly had zero idea what we were getting into. This was recommended by a co-worker about a week before our trip. As soon as we walked up to this entrance, we knew we were in for a treat.

So how did this all come about? William Hearst decided he was tired of camping out in the hills and reached out to Julia Morgan, a female architect (which was truly unheard of in these times) to build what Hearst originally considered to be "a little something". Hearst and Morgan were the dynamic duo who brought these thousands of acres to life. Everything was thoughtfully considered and created.  Every. Last. Detail

The Hearst Castle sits on top of La Cuesta Encantada, which translates to "The Enchanted Hill". This hilltop is the home 165 rooms, gardens, extragant pools, tennis courts, and even a ZOO filled with animals flown in from all over the world! Including Africa! No, we're not kidding. Hearst truly went all out here.

This is the Roman Pool. Caped with statues and detail saluting to Roman Gods/Goddesses, this indoor pool is the definition of Marvelous.

Even the bottom of the pool tips it hat to all things Roman. Which we appreciate. Fun fact: Each of the tiles in the Roman Pool Room and in the pool itself were HANDMADE. And this 1,665 sq. ft. room is decorated from floor to ceiling with these 1" tiles.

The Roman Pool was one of the "TURN UP!" spots on the castle's premises. Mr. Hearst was kmown to host insane parties and "gatherings". Just like Gatsby! Except Mr. Hearst's parties  were invitation only and were plagued with only high rollers and the who's who of the early 1900's. *insert "oh you fancy, huh" joke here* ;)

A corner shot of one of the rooms is the Casa Grande. A CORNER shot. Look at how many items are in one small corner of this castle. From the ceiling design and molding, to the furniture and decor... it was insane!  

The Library of our dreams! Can you imagine posting up in one of those plush chairs with a great book right next to the window... on a rainy day? I die!

Vantage points for days! Again, peep the detail!! Pretty impressive to say this was all popped up in the late 1800/early 1900's

You even have amazing views of the Pacific Ocean from a lot of the rooms throughout. The life!

This right here is the famous Neptune Pool. It's currently under reconstruction as it was leaking hundreds of gallons of water a day. Which doesn't actually make for a good situation when the state of California has been in and out of drought emergencies for the last 5 years and counting.   

Not sure what's more impressive, the views or the pool. This beasts holds 345,000 GALLONS of water.

We're still scheming how to build a home this extravagant. But once we strike it rich in the next billion dollar lottery, we'll be sure to invite you.

Have you ever been to "the real Great Gatsby house"? Tell us what your thoughts were in the comment section below!

Trippin'. Road Trippin'

CA-1 Highway (Pacific Coast Highway)

 There’s an unwritten law that states: “One may not live in the state of CA and simply NOT drive the PCH.” For valid reason too.

 We decided to humor everyone that raves about this drive and took on the Pacific Coast Highway. Turns out, the road is legit! It ended up being one of our favorite road trips of all time. Not only were there great views, THE ENTIRE WAY, but there’s so many different cities that you can pop in and out of along the way. Unfortunately, our time was limited on the route up to SF so we didn’t have too much time to explore endlessly; however, we made as many stops as possible. Let’s recap, shall we?

We cheated a little bit and stayed the night in Ventura to get a 4 hour head start on our day. Doesn't sound that pressing, but when you’re trying to visit/explore/tour more than 10 cities in 16 hours, every. Second. Counts. Here's how our trip went:

1. San Diego, CA (Starting Point)

2. Ventura, CA (Resting Point)

3. San Luis Obispo, CA (Gas point and apparently Car Wash Point)

4. Morro Bay, CA

5. Hearst Castle

6. McWay Falls

7. Bixby Bridge

8. Santa Cruz

9. Mystery Spot

10. San Francisco

We made our trip up the CA-1 in literally 3 days and it was manageable but we'd absolutely recommend taking your time with this drive. We're talking a full week, plus some, kind of time. Trust us - it is beyond worth it. There's truly so many things you can do and see on this route - to this day, we're continuously learning about a lot of the stops, views, trails, etc. that we missed out on since we didn't have the time to truly take on the 1. But you bet your bottom dollar we will be re-visiting this scenic route very soon!

Have you been on the CA-1 before? What was your favorite pit stop? 

Essentials for your Bora Bora Packing List

Alright ladies and gents, we all know one of the best (and sometimes worst) part of traveling is packing. If you’re like Tey, you’ve probably already created a mental portfolio for your outfits on the trip, you’ve likely created a bullet list of all the things you need/want to bring and you’re ready to master the art of packing the max amount of essentials into the smallest bag possible. Packing is typically one of the final steps in preparing for your trip and perhaps even one of the most exciting steps. This is when you realize, “it’s FINALLY here – this is the final countdown *cue music*” and you are more than ready for your adventure.

Bora Bora was definitely an interesting trip for us to pack for. The fact that it was an international trip, a tropical trip, and our honeymoon made things a little more interesting in the world of packing. But throughout, we discovered some ESSENTIAL items that must make your list.

Here’s a list of 6 things you’d want to take special note of while packing if/when visiting Bora Bora or any location similar.

1. Island Clothing

Swimsuits. Lots and lots of swimsuits. Pretty self-explanatory, but sometimes, you just gotta stress the obvious points. Since you’ll be surrounded by water 24/7, it actually makes it harder for you to find a dry swimsuit come the end of your trip due to the fact that your swimsuits likely won’t dry... even if you lay them out overnight. The humidity is at an all-time high majority of the year so you’ll want to try to outsmart the system if you hate putting on wet swimsuits. If you don’t mind, then by all means, pack 1 or 2.  

Pack lightweight, breathable clothes that fit loosely. With the heat and humidity, you’ll be sweating up a storm. Ladies… pack those cover ups like there’s no tomorrow. Chances are you’ll be eating, sleeping, truly living in your swimsuit the entire time so it’s nice to have something you can pop on/off as needed. Men, bro-tanks are where it’s at. If you plan on doing a nice dinner while there, ladies, dresses are always a go and shorts are fine too. Guys, this is the one time you can pull off casual slacks and v-neck at a 5 star dinner so take full advantage!

2. Universal Travel Adapter

 Bora Bora uses 220 Volts – 60 Hz. In layman’s terms, you’ll need the same type of connector found in Continental Europe. Our best recommendation on this is to purchase a universal travel adapter. That way you don’t have to play the guessing game on whether or not you brought the right adapter along with you. Our personal favorite? This 4-in-1 Universal Travel Adapter

3. Travel Card

We’re new to the world of Travel Credit Cards so we’re still trying to find one that works best for us but rumor on the Travel Streets is that Chase offers “the best travel card”. We shall neither confirm nor deny this rumor as we didn't opt for this one for Bora Bora but truly, which ever card you have in your wallet will work. I believe we actually swiped our card once, maybe twice, the whole time we were there (majority of everything was simply charged to the room or pre-purchased) but it was nice to have as a “just in case”. Cards are also made out of plastic so if you accidentally drop some water on it… you won’t have to worry about laying it out to dry/having it tear on you. Just be sure to lightly rinse it off with fresh water if in case you do drop it in the pool or it gets salt water on it.

4. Bluetooth Speaker

 In the situation that you stay at a Resort without an iPod dock, it’s always nice to have the option to jam out whenever you feel like it. Whether it's while you’re getting ready or laying out on your deck soaking in all the rays and amazing views, it's just nice to have the option. So bring a Bluetooth speaker, hook up to your resorts wi-fi and play some tunes. We personally have a Bose wireless speaker that may be too bulky for most, but we made it work. There’s also some great travel Bluetooth speakers that you can find out there. Make Google your best friend and do some searching. Travel + Leisure recently featured the Buckshot Pro 3-in-1 speaker  and we’re thinking it may just be our next travel purchase.

5. Waterproof Phone/Camera

We’re a "Samsung-for-life" family so our phones came waterproof; however, we know that some of you iPhoners don’t have that option. So be sure to grab a case to waterproof your phone such as Lifeproof.

In terms of a waterproof camera, we brought our GoPro along for this trip and ended up swimming with it all day long to get great footage of life under the sea. ALSO! Fun tip, we bought a couple GoPro Floaty Backdoor pieces and slapped one on our GoPro and also put the floaty on the backs of our plastic phone cases to make our phones float too! Life. Saver.

6. First-Aid

We threw together our own kit that included allergy pills, nausea and diarrhea remedies (you never know!), anti-itch cream, Band-Aids, pain killers, and some supplements. Didn’t use any of these, thank GOD, but you always want to be prepared.