Hello all,

We are just as excited about Spring and Summer as you are! Get ready, there is so much to see and do, my list has doubled more than once. How about yours? We just got our copy of the 2023 Great River Road Wisconsin Travel and Visitors Guide. Whew, that’s a mouthful. What a great guide! We are very happy to see our ad with a great photo of Castle La Crosse and the message “Spend the Night in the Castle” which is a great idea for you to add to your travel plans. Along the way, if you are coming from the North, there are some great small towns and places to see along the way. Or from Iowa or the South, same thing for sure. Here is a link for the Travel Guide https://www.wigrr.com/
We highly recommend a visit to Kinstone, which is a rock garden on a very grand scale. A must see for anyone that enjoys something different, something slightly magical and a little bit Lord of the Rings if the sun hits the stones just right. It’s a fun walk, the Kinstone park covers about 30 acres and the trails take you from one huge boulder or rock formation to another. It’s undeniable the good energy of that place! Worth checking out, here is a link for that site: https://www.kinstonecircle.com/
We have a few favorite wineries and eateries, one that is always on the list is Villa Bellezza. Step back in time to a Tuscan villa and enjoy a glass of their best while you decide which case of wine will fit in your car. We have our favorites, but see what you like best at their tasting bar. Those are just a couple things, there is a long list and we will be updating our room guides with more information to help our guests enjoy their time in the driftless region.
A quick update on projects around the Castle? I finished one, started another, forgot I had one going in another part of the house, got back to that, got distracted, bought more paint and well, there we are!
I have been writing a presentation that I will be giving to a group in May. I’ll share one line from that that I hope you enjoy. When talking about how our lives took a hard lefthand turn and we started this adventure that we call our lives at Castle La Crosse, people asked about that transition. After all, we did move across country, launch a new business, take on a massive house and had to be fearless more times than I could count, but what I read from one of my favorite authors says is best. Frances Mayes, who wrote Under The Tuscan Sun, which is a great book and an ok movie, said, “All this compliments what was already a way of living. I fell into it, easy as a canoe nudging into a stream” and it’s been an adventure I highly recommend ever since.

It’s time to make some travel plans, we are booking up for Summer and even into the Fall at this point. If you have a favorite guest room or want to try another, please give us a call or check availability online. We’d love to see you! We have had some wonderful groups of travelers. One for a milestone birthday, a book club or two and a big surprise proposal all happened last year. I am excited to see what happens this year. If you can’t pin down a date, then a gift certificate is always the right answer. We are here and the big house is ready for some company!

Take care friends, see you soon

Billy and Brandon
Castle La Crosse