Lake Amador and the Surprise Castle

The first day of our old-fashioned family road trip has begun. This morning, we squeezed Axel, who is on spring break from his junior year of high school, into the backseat amidst all our other belongings and headed towards the Lake Amador Resort Campground.

When we were about 15 minutes from our destination, we saw a castle in the distance. Yes, a castle. I said, "is that a castle?" We debated what it could possibly be for about 5 minutes before hanging a left and driving up toward it. Docents were waiting by a chain link fence and told us the castle was open for self-guided tours.

I always welcome the opportunity to wander through antique buildings, so I jumped at the chance to explore Preston Castle, which was originally built to house a large number of boys. It served as a reform school from 1894 to around 1960, rather than as a residence for lords and ladies. Prior to 1894, juvenile criminals were sent to San Quentin or Folsom Prison. Preston Castle was seen as a preferable option for rehabilitating the troubled boys of California.

The castle from the parking lot.

Axel's shirt matches the paint in the infirmary.

Selfie in a large staff apartment.

Axel and Jon admire the artwork.

This room housed the 60-70 boys of Company B.

Axel asked us to drive several blocks away because he wanted to capture this image of the castle.

Eventually we made it to Lake Amador Resort, where they have three disc golf courses as well as idyllic lake-front camp spots. This is the maiden voyage for Jon's new awning on the 4 Runner (pictured above). I think it looks great. The boys played 40 holes of frisbee golf. I played fewer holes in favor of nesting about the camp site and taking a nap.

This journey is intended to carry us to Hensley Lake, Bakersfield, Solvang, Ventura, and Morro Bay, culminating in a weekend visiting Leah and Pepper in Monterey. Axel is scheduled to tour the CSUMB campus there as he is considering attending his sister's alma mater.