July has arrived, the peak of vacation time. How would you like to hang out in a castle? No problem, and you won’t even have to go to Europe. We have a castle a few miles down the road from our house.
Our neighborhood is a crazy mix of small homes like ours (1,200 square feet), moderately larger size homes, farm houses and super-sized luxury properties.
If our local castle is not your style, you might wish to stay in the lion house, named for the two stone lions that guard the long driveway that leads up to this gigantic villa. It has everything you need for a relaxing stay; tennis courts, multiple swimming pools, a full-size gym, a bar room, a media room and, almost as an afterthought, Lake Michigan in the front yard.
There’s only one possible hindrance to a stay at the castle or lion house and that is the price for one night’s rental. Both were originally built as single family homes. The 1% spare no expense when it comes to family comforts. Now both are upscale B&Bs without the second B. The castle goes for $1,450 a night. The lions command a heftier price, $4,500 for a one night stay.
If you are not in this economic league, you can vacation in another local attraction, an authentic replica of a German guest house. One man’s dream, it was built by him and his family over a period of five years. The owners were not wealthy and put every cent they had into the project with nothing left for advertising. Sadly, their Gasthaus went bankrupt. Another local family purchased it and now it is called Highland Lodge and Pub, a bit of a misnomer. But it’s still a delightful place to stay and only $120 dollars a night…breakfast included.
I’d choose the latter . . .
Evie, no castles for you? Me too.