Labor Day Getaways

Labor Day is the unofficial end to summer—though, technically, autumn doesn’t begin until September 20th. So, before the kids head off to school and cooler days are on the horizon, there’s still time for a little family fun. At The Wine Wrangler, one of our favorite Labor Day getaways is a trip up the coast to San Simeon to see the elephant seals at Piedras Blanca and, of course, a tour of Hearst Castle.

Hearst Castle is a popular destination for visitors to the Central Coast and it’s one of our most requested tours at The Wine Wrangler, but what you might not know is that it’s just about as popular among locals.
The tour begins with a showing of the movie “Hearst Castle: Building the Dream”—a documentary that details William Randolph Hearst’s early life and influences and then goes on to tell the story of how he, along with architect Julia Morgan, spent the next 30 years building the castle.

Whether or not you’re a history buff, you and your family will enjoy learning about Heart Castle. Here are some interesting facts that you may not know:

·         A Never Ending Project: Hearst started construction on the castle in 1921 and at his death in 1951, Hearst Castle still wasn’t completed.
·         Guests Galore: Hearst loved entertaining so he built 3 guest houses which had a combined total of 46 rooms—a good thing, since most of his guests drove up from Los Angeles and back then that could have been a week’s worth of driving!
·         La Casa Grande is Really Grand: Hearst’s main house, La Casa Grande, had 100 rooms, including 38 bedrooms, 31 bathrooms and 14 living rooms.
·         Big Houses Cost Big Dollars: While no one knows exactly how much Hearst spent to construct Hearst Castle, it’s estimated that he spent around 30 million dollars which would be equivalent to 300-400 million in today’s monies.


Don’t wait for school to start to learn something new. Load up the family and come along with The Wine Wrangler on our Hearst Castle Adventure Tour. Not only will you tour the castle and see La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Hill), but we’ll take you up the coast to see the Elephant Seals at Piedras Blanca and on the way back, we’re more than happy to fit in a little shopping or wine tasting. 

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