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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