'The Story Behind the Castles'

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...
"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' to my 3-year-old son. I loved 'log cabins' at the time, still do. Perhaps a gentle nudge from above?
I didn't know where I would build it.
I didn't know what it would look like.
And I didn't know how I would fulfill the promise. 
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. How was it, that I would purchase the last parel of land in a development called 'The Highlands'? And such a fitting name for the castle I had promised! Was it luck that I would be the one to settle here, or something much greater? 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 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 - and happy to be sleeping in my own house.
In the summer of 1986, my son, Jason, now 11 years of age was unwittingly instrumental in helping me meet Yvonne, the woman I would marry. He was playing in Rogers Park in Bolton Landing and met Alex Henkel, a young boy around his age. At the end of the day, we walked Alex back to his house, a short distance away, and were greeted by his mother, Lee Henkel. She 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?" I replied "Well, for a single dad with a son..." Within seconds, a woman who I had just met said "I know somebody you should meet. Her name is Yvonne and she 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. 
On July 19, 1992 - six years to the day after we met (and I so 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. I often say "It was Yvonne and her 'light' that turned a pile of rocks into a home" for me, and for my son Jason. She also restored the stability and normalcy I was seeking years before. 

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.
What began as a promise in 1978 has grown into Highlands Castle, a place beyond anything I could have first imagined. Three castles perched on a graceful mountaintop above one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, where familes and friends come together to create their own special memories and to celebrate life's most meaningful moments.
Highlands Castle is more than a place to stay. It is the realization of a promise, the embodiment of a dream, and the reminder that sometimes the most extraordinary things in life begin with simply believing they can be done. 

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
Owners/Hosts of Highlands Castle

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