Unfinished Work

On August 20, 2009, Ajo & I drove from San Jose to San Simeon to take a tour of "Hearst Castle". We love to travel and explore, hence we decided to take the trip to see this castle. William Hearst who inherited a ranch land from his family wanted to build a "little something", hence the building of this magnificent castle began. The castle stands in a hill which used to be called Camp Hill but now renamed to Enchanted Hill.

The dedication and toil behind the castle is worthy of applause since the labor behind building a castle on a hill is quite a complex and tedious task. The castle has 3 guest houses, one main house, one indoor pool, and one outdoor pool. If you are not impressed yet, here is what the castle as to offer -56 bedrooms, 41 fireplaces, 61 bathrooms, and 19 sitting rooms. That is huge. One man followed his dream to built a "little something" which turned out to be an enormous work of art, architecture and history.

Despite all the number of rooms he built for the castle, ironically there is only one dining room. It was during these meal times that Mr. Hearst met with his guests. Every one gathered together and dined around one table. Perhaps, there is more than a simple reason why the castle was designed with one dining room. Perhaps, the gathering around one table reminded him about his humble beginnings from tents and camp fires. Whatever the reason may have been, I feel that it highlights a character trait of a man who had much perseverance about building his dream.

This magnificent castle with all its splendor and charm still remains unfinished. From below the hill, the castle is perfect in every way but at the top of the hill, you notice the unfinished exterior. The construction had to come to a halt due to financial burden in 1947. More so, the dreamer left the castle to seek medical attention and the work of the castle never resumed. Hearst Castle stands as an embodiment of one man's dream and the unfinished work proves that no man can ever finish another man's dream.