Hello all,

Thanks again for reading our latest blog post about the Castle.  It’s time to plan your summer travel and also to look forward to events at the end of summer before the kids go back to school.  Summer is a busy travel season and we are usually very busy with guests coming and going fun places.  We have a few rooms open on the calendar for July and August, but those are filling in daily. In the meantime, have a look at the video from our friends at Explore La Crosse, “If you like, then you’ll love…” series on local businesses.  Here is a link, enjoy!  https://www.tiktok.com/@explorelacrosse/video/7489101219013725471

They have also put together a fun list of things to do, see and eat in the MOST WELCOMING CITY IN THE MIDWEST as La Crosse is known.  I agree, La Crosse has been so friendly and welcoming to us and have helped us get established over the past few years.  Here’s the link:  https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ogbl#inbox/FMfcgzQZTVtnnvkKmvlpchTJDhMFNnfj.  Just scroll down to “Let’s Shop” or “Learn More”. We love our community and have embraced the staycation idea a few times.  Why live in a beautiful castle and not enjoy it a few days a year for yourself.  It’s certainly the most comfortable home we’ve ever had.  Many of you have heard my tales about the various homes I’ve had, the one that was cursed, the one we bought from Joan Crawford, the old apartment in the French Quater, but none of them compare to the welcoming feel of our home at Castle La Crosse.  We have started the story over again for the old house, it was never abused and didn’t decline, but for many years it didn’t have much to do.  Now it’s like a cruise ship, back in the water, full of people.  I wish there was a novel based on the Castle or set here with some historical notes and a look at how people lived here over the decades.  Can you imagine Castle La Crosse in the 40’s or the 60’s?  I live here and it’s hard for me to imagine even what colors were on the walls and what music might have been playing.  Of course, many of those years the Castle was home to the Bishop from the Diocese of La Crosse, so maybe there was no music, but there may have been flowers and interesting visitors.  The largest room in our home is the main parlor, during those years that room was actually the chapel.  Not open to the public, but for the Bishop and the nuns that taught at the school he founded.  There were also a lot of seminary boys here, too.  We were lucky enough to talk to one of those gentlemen and he had a few memories of the Castle and what it was like, but he wasn’t here long.  The seminary boys went from house to house as they advanced, so all the boys here were freshmen in the program.  I assume some moved up faster than others, so some would have been here longer than others.  Luckily the Castle is built…well, like a Castle, it’s strong where it needs to be and massively built all around, so it could withstand all that it has been through.  I find it nice to imagine who has passed by the biggest stained glass window on the grand staircase, literally thousands of people over the years.  I hope they took a minute to glance up at the colors and little jewels in that amazing window.

Have you checked your calendar yet?  What are you waiting for?

Big Hug for you, safe travels and see you soon!

Billy and Brandon and Pronto

Castle La Crosse