Yerba Buena Gardens

Yerba Buena Gardens

Looking north across the park on a spring afternoon during WonderCon 2010. It rained most of the weekend, but the one day we were (mostly) indoors was the one day that the sun came out.

The tiered building to the left is the Marriott Marquis, the convention hotel. The church across the way is St. Patrick’s. The tall building behind it is the Four Seasons hotel.

Photo: Yerba Buena Gardens

Neptune Pool (Hearst Castle)

Neptune Pool

The main outdoor swimming pool at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. Taken on a tour last February.

This was at least the third time I’ve been to Hearst Castle, and the second time as an adult. I vaguely remember visiting when I was eight, or ten, or somewhere around that age. Years later, in 2008, my wife and I planned a trip to San Francisco and decided to do it in stages, including a stopover at Hearst Castle. We only had time for one of the four tours, so when we planned another trip this year, we made sure to include another stop in San Simeon. This time we had a little more sense of how much time was involved, and managed to fit in two of the remaining tours.

At some point, we need to head back during spring or summer when they’re running the garden tour.