Our Second Visit to Hearst Castle

For his 4th grade project on California history, Christian chose the infamous Hearst Castle ... so the Lucero family took our second field trip San Simeon!

Scarlett didn't want to go, until she learned she got to ride the bus from the visitor center to the castle.  Funny how a bus ride is the highlight for her.  She wasn't at all interested in having her picture taken, so most pictures included Christian by himself, which was fine since the pics were for his project.

Our first tour last August took us through the main house, "La Casa Grande."  This tour was the "Upper Rooms" tour and we got to see bedrooms, sitting rooms, the vast library, etc.  Every aspect of Hearst Castle is soooo fascinating and completely over-the-top ... and I love it!

Above: William Randolph Hearst's private bedroom

Above:  the ornate ceiling in one of the many bedrooms.

Above:  The Hearst Ranch property is huge and extends to the furthers mountains seen here.

Potential Path to Glory: Trampoline

Back in January, Christian started a "Tumbling & Trampoline" class (while Scarlett takes a gymnastics class in a different building).


Christian is a kiddo who doesn't like to try new things (unfortunately).  He greets new experiences with anxiety, fear and resistance.

He fretted the entire drive down to his first class.  He was nearly in tears for the entire hour-long class, and then literally cried most of the drive home afterwards.  So many big emotions for our lil' man!

As it turns out, his coach, "Coach Smiley" is a special education teacher during the day and so he is a PERFECT fit for Christian.  Christian is SO happy to see Smiley each week, and if coach is out one week, Christian just isn't himself.

So today, Smiley worked exclusively with Christian one-on-one, which is unusual.  I sensed he was evaluating Christian, but didn't know why.

Afterwards, Smiley talked to me about the remarkable and fast-paced progress Christian has made over the past few weeks.  He was, in fact, evaluating Christian to see about his potential for being on the competitive Trampoline Team!  Whaaaaaat!?!

It just so happened that the team's practice was right after Christian's class, and so we stayed to watch for a few minutes.  And ... WOW!  These guys are amazing!  I'd love to see Christian doing some of those moves!

Christian wasn't paying attention our conversation, and so afterwards I explained to him that Smiley thinks he might be a good fit for the team one day.   And, Christian being Christian, started to panic, "But Mommy ... I don't want to leave Coach Smiley EVER!"

Christian's anxiety was literally growing by the moment.  I explained that he would need to learn more skills and take more time to advance before joining the team ... so this is a potential change that wouldn't take place for a while.   But with Christian, he needs time to "come down" from his anxiety, so eventually ... after a few hours ... he let it go.

Nonetheless, we're excited to learn he has big potential in a physical activity that he loves ... which is fantastic for a boy who would stay safe and sound in our house 24/7 if he could.

⭐Here is a newly updated video!⭐

https://youtu.be/HeaZNXfRM3I