Our Story...

*A 'Defining Moment': A point in your life when you are urged to make a pivotal decision or experience something that fundamentally changes you. Not only do these moments define us, but they have a transformative effect on our perceptions and behaviors.
*My 'moment' would stem from a divorce at 23, while sharing a townhouse rental with five other guys. 
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". 
That was in 1978. I loved 'log cabins' at the time, and still do. I don't know why I said 'castle' to my 3-year-old son. Perhaps a gentle nudge from above. Looking back, the promise had more to do with a desire to build 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.  I was driving on Route 9N North, which follows the shores of Lake George, and stopped in the Ranch House diner for a cup of coffee. There on the counter, was a local circulation called the 'PennySaver', and a small 'Land For Sale' ad in this flyer 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 some privacy, one where I didn't see any neighbors and they wouldn't see me. He replied that 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 picture 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 unveiled. That I would be the one to settle here, was it simply luck 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 construction was to the roof within a few months, and the structure began to find its outward appearance. Finally, I graduated from my tent to a mattress-on-the-floor of what was essentially a large plywood box at the time... but I was happy to be sleeping in my own house.
About 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. Over the past 44 years, the property has evolved into what it is today, a series of three castles where Families & Friends from all over the world gather to create their Special Memories.
I hope you'll share 'Our Story' with your family & friends, and that you'll have an opportunity to visit us one day!  
Kind Regards,
John
John & Yvonne Lavender
Hosts/owners of Highlands Castle

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