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Here is the living room of our favorite vacation getaway--Poppy Cottage in the Cambria Pines. We arrived on Dec. 29, 2004. Taking advantage of a break in the rainfall, Ollie built a lovely fire and the little dogs settled in on their beds in front of the fireplace. We were surprised to find the rustic Christmas tree! |
| Ollie made himself at home in the kitchen. I set up my laptop computer on the little kitchen table in front of this counter. During the time we were here, I managed to write two brand new poems! |  |
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Despite horrible weather, we took a night time tour of the Hearst castle. Everything was still decorated for the holidays, greenery and lights on a massive scale. |
| The low light conditions made it very difficult to obtain decent digital photos. Still, this shot gives some impression of the lavishness of what we saw. |  |
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We carefully made our way over slippery marble, through sluicing rain and whipping winds to view rooms in two guest houses and the main house. Some of the rooms contained actors in period costume re-enacting holiday scenes from the 1930s. |
| Almost every room in the castle contained some festive touch. Even the kitchen was festooned with lights, garlands and these lovely poinsettas. |  |
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After our tour, we returned to our warm little cabin and two very happy little dogs. Later, we watched movies and then cuddled in this lovely bed. We spent New Year's Eve having champagne fondue before a crackling fire. On New Year's Day, we treated ourselves to an incredible prime rib dinner at Brambles in downtown Cambria. As in the past, we enjoyed our time at the Poppy Cottage so much we hated to leave to come home. |