{"id":2213,"date":"2023-09-26T01:02:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-26T01:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/?p=2213"},"modified":"2023-08-19T13:39:44","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T13:39:44","slug":"chap-14-the-hearst-castle-caper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/?p=2213","title":{"rendered":"Chap. 14 – The Hearst Castle Caper"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chapter 14<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hearst Castle Caper  (In 3 Parts)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIRST<\/strong> PART<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Of us all, only Sally had never been to California before.  After apologizing to her for making a joke about her fishing abilities, and her telling us \u201cNo matter- I\u2019m having fun,\u201d we headed south towards Big Sur.  Strapping Sally into the shotgun seat we told her this was going to be the most fabulous ride of her life.  We\u2019d quit worrying about how long Sally was going to last on the bus.  \u201cYou know,\u201d she said, \u201cI left my husband because he didn\u2019t like fishing, not because he wasn\u2019t into politics.  And yah, you guys are not all that big on fishing \u2013 What? – three fishing expeditions in 29 days? . . . and on one of them I\u2019m supposed to act like I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing . . . but you know what?  I\u2019m sorta getting hooked on your politics, and yep, I think maybe<\/em> I\u2019ve  caught the biggest fish of my life, a Pirate – better than a mannequin,\u201d Sally ended getting a laugh out of all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     We all had views, but we told Sally riding shotgun would provide the most panoramic (not mentioning terrifying) views.  And it did.  Heading south on California 1, Skip was driving and doing his best not to careen around the ninety-degree curves high above the sea \u2013 precipitously one-thousand-feet straight down from Sally\u2019s window perch \u2013 almost like being in an airplane.  Behind Skip and Sally, Rocky (our \u201cwhat is fun guy\u201d) and Huck (our musician) were in seats across from the kitchen galley.  Rocky pulled out a cooler and sat in the aisle to get a better view and actually slid off his perch on one curve.  \u201cGeez Christ, drive straight Scotchy,\u201d he complained, grabbing for the wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     The rest of us were in the back, Patty with her camera on, taking in the sweeping veranda-like view.  The large bed (where three of us slept at times) folded-up into a five-seat, wrap-around couch with a fold-up table in the middle.  At night you could pull the curtains but now our view was mountains to the left (with redwood groves on the slopes); to the right, plunging steep gorges (and sometimes a sea otter or two); looking behind us, a road clinging to the mountain side (along with the occasional car, van or motorcycle trying to pass us); straight ahead, Rocky\u2019s ample rear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Sally, based on her exultations, was lovin\u2019 it, and liked being navigator.  She directed us to a place called Hurricane Point, a little before Big Sur.  We got out to stretch at the beach with ocean spray coming off the rocks.  It would have made for treacherous fishing.  \u201cHey guys,\u201d Sally said, looking good in one of her V-Necks and a red beret-like hat, \u201cI know we don\u2019t think of ourselves as tourists, but I\u2019ve never been here before, and I really want to go slow, take it all in, even the Hearst Castle, before we get to San Luis Obispo.  Skip, call your friend in San Luis and tell him we\u2019re going to be a day late.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Patty seemed agitated, stomping around in her cowboy boots looking like she had something to say.  Hitching her thumb into that belt with all the sparkles, she started complaining, \u201cYou know what, I\u2019m not getting any good film except scenery; anybody can buy a National Geographic video and see what we\u2019re seeing.  I\u2019ve got nothing, nothing since that bar scene in Palo Alto where Rocky got the whole bar drinking Flaming Tennis Shoes.  We\u2019ve got to do something more than just being tourists on a fishing trip.  If we\u2019re making a movie, somebody come up with something along the lines of what that guy Sacha Baron does \u2013 you know setting people up . . . besides ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cI\u2019ve got it!\u201d Rocky chimes in behind his aviator glasses.  \u201cThis could be fun.  I\u2019ve been to the Hearst Castle.  Talk about opulence . . . pompousness . . . extravagantness . . .  Trump\u2019s kinda thing \u2013 that\u2019s the Hearst Castle.  Most the tourists, probably Trumpers or Trumpeter<\/em>–types<\/em> \u2013 note my picking-up on what you call them, Patty.  I\u2019m sure Skip, with my help, can instigate something for your movie here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cAll right!,\u201d Patty exclaimed.  \u201cNow we\u2019re talking.  Maybe we can even figure out some guerilla theatre<\/em>.  Let\u2019s scout the place out, camp out tonight, and script some roles for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter 14 The Hearst Castle Caper  (In 3 Parts) FIRST PART      Of us all, only Sally had never been to California before.  After apologizing to her for making a joke about her fishing abilities, and her telling us \u201cNo … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2213"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2244,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213\/revisions\/2244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/andydawkins.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}