Every home has a story. Here's ours...

A Defining Moment...
Some moments change the direction of your life forever. They test your resolve, reshape your perspective, and ultimately define who you become.
My moment came in 1978. shortly after my marriage ended. I was 23 years old, sharing a rented townhouse with five other guys, and trying to figure out how to restore a sense of stability and normalcy, not only for my three-year-old son, but for me, too. 

Highlands Castle was born from a father's promise to his young son...
"Jason, this is not our home... this is temporary. Someday I'll build a home for the two of us. Someday I will build you... a castle". 

I don't know why I said 'castle'. I loved 'log cabins' at the time, and still do. Perhaps it was a gentle nudge from above. Looking back, the promise had more to do with a desire to rebuild a better life than an actual castle. 

It would be almost 5 years before the ideal property presented itself, a mountaintop in Bolton Landing, NY.  While driving on Route 9N North, along the shores of Lake George, I stopped at the Ranch House diner to grab a cup of coffee on the go. Sitting on the counter was a local circulation called the 'PennySaver', and a small 'Land For Sale' ad caught my eye. I put a quarter in the pay phone and had a short conversation with the seller. I explained that I was looking for land with a bit of privacy - land where I won't see any neighbors, and they won't see me. He said this land was the top of a mountain in the woods. It sounded perfect, and it was.  

While clearing the land for the foundation, a surprise was being painted with a chain saw. Within a matter of weeks, the most spectacular views of Lake George and the Adirondack Mountains was uncovered. It seemed as though this majestic vista had been waiting to be revealed. Was it luck that I would be the one to settle here, or something much greater? How was it, that I would purchase the last parel of land in a development called 'The Highlands'? And sucha fitting name for the castle I had promised! I believe that I was led to this spot. Throughout my life, I have felt 'evidence of things not seen'. I hope you recognize each one of yours. 

Once the foundation was completed, the wood framing construction rose to the roof within a few months, and the structure began to find its outward appearance. Finally, I graduated from a sleeping bag in a tent to a mattress-on-the-floor of what was essentially a large plywood box - but I was happy to be sleeping in my own house.

In the summer of 1986, my son, Jason, now 11 years of age was instrumental in helping me meet Yvonne, the woman I would marry. He was playing in Rogers Park in Bolton Landing and met Alex Hinkle, a kid around his age. At the end of the day, we walked Alex back to his house, a short distance away. We were greeted by his mother, Lee Hinkle, who invited us to stay for Friday Night Pizza, where I would make a comment that would change my life - "Bolton Landing is slim pickings". Lee asked "What do you mean by that?" and I replied "Well, for a single dad with a son..." Within seconds, she said "I know somebody you should meet. Yvonne is the Assistant Manager at the Sagamore Resort where I also work". On July 19, 1986, Yvonne and I went on our first blind date, and she is, without question, the best part of my life. I often say that it was her 'light' which turned a pile of rocks into a home for me, and for my son Jason.

On July 19, 1992 - six years to the day after we met (and I wish I hadn't waited that long) - my parents officiated our wedding right here. 

Also in 1992, a decade into construction, I told my son, "I promised I'd build you a castle; I didn't say you wouldn't be helping me!" So Jason, now a teenager, joined in the stonework. Naturally resourceful, he recruited his High School football teammates to lend some muscle over the summer months. Their daily mantra was "Let's rock!" - and they took great pride in their accomplishments while working together again as a team. The stonework was a slow and tedious process, and laying up a thousand tons of local granite with a handful of masons would take decades.

For many years, Highlands Castle was simply home - first mine and Jason's, and in 1992, home to Yvonne as well.

Sixteen years later, in 2008, I had an accident. A fall from the roof, shattering my right ankle. It was a rough eight months and four operations before I could walk again. The idea of opening our doors to others was a result of this accident, and since 2010, we've had the pleasure of meeting so many kind people from around the world.

It all began with a promise, and over the past 44 years, that promise has grown into Highlands Castle - a place unlike anything I could have imagined when I first spoke those words to my son. Today, a series of three castles where familes and friends come together to create their own special memories and to celebrate life's most meaningful moments. I hope you'll share 'Our Story' with your family & friends - and that you'll have the chance to visit us one day.  

Kind Regards,
John

John & Yvonne Lavender
Hosts/owners of Highlands Castle

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