Our Getaway Weekend

in #travel3 years ago (edited)

I’m happy to report that our hiatus from travel officially came to an end this past weekend. We took the two-and-a-half hour drive south to La Crosse, Wisconsin to visit friends Danny and Sabrina and to help celebrate their daughter Charli’s fourth birthday. We had a great time reconnecting with them, meeting more of their family, and seeing Charli open her presents.

Small-ish Town, Big Vibes

With a population of just north of 50,000, La Crosse is a smaller town, but in all the right ways. It has music, good food, and culture without many of the drawbacks of a larger city.

We enjoyed one of the best meals we’ve had in a while at a restaurant called, Lovechild. They didn’t take reservations but we got there early to get a table. Every single course was excellent and the prices were around twenty-five percent less than we would’ve paid for a similar meal in the Twin Cities. If you find yourself in La Crosse I would highly recommend this restaurant for a special occasion.

In the fall the city hosts the largest Oktoberfest festival outside of Munich. I’d love to make it back for that but it would have to be for 2022 because accommodations for this year are already booked solid. It looks like we'll have to wait until next year to get our "Oom pa-pa" on.

Castle La Crosse Bed & Breakfast

While in La Crosse we stayed in the Maple Suite of the Castle La Crosse Bed & Breakfast.

To say that this was a memorable stay would be an understatement. From the moment we were greeted it was clear that hosts, Billy and Brandon, have a passion for what they do.

Their stunning house is truly a castle, it’s been lovingly restored and decorated with antiques from the late 1800’s and older. The woodwork throughout the house is the most beautiful I’ve seen anywhere and it stands to reason because a nineteenth century lumber baron built it.

This dark chandelier that hangs in the library came from a seventeenth century French chateau.

The breakfasts were truly gourmet without being unhealthy and portion sizes were just right.

The only downside to the entire weekend was the humidity. La Crosse is nestled between rivers and bogs and this creates one steamy situation in the summer. That humidity seems to feel worse just as the sun is going down. Saturday evening Dark Sky registered 88% humidity. The only thing I can compare it to is central Florida.

Now that I know everything La Crosse has to offer we’ll surely be back. Maybe just not during the peak heat of summer. Now that we’re back I have to get used to my boring breakfasts again.

This weekend was a great reminder how important it is to slow down from time to time and really savor life. Every single day we wake up on this Earth is a miracle after all. I'm very grateful for this journey we're on.

Click on the slideshow link below to view more of our photos:

All for now.

With Gratitude,

Eric Vance Walton



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Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.

Pick up a copy of Ephemera today on Amazon.



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These moments are usually fragile, evaporating in seconds. What if there was a way to train your mind to experience more of them? It’s deceptively easy and requires nothing more than a subtle shift in mindset. My new book, Mindful Moments, will teach you to be much more content despite the chaos and imperfect circumstances continuing to unfold around you. Upgrade your life experience today for only $15.99 on Amazon.com.



Let’s Keep In Touch

www.ericvancewalton.net

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Nice digs!!! I would have been in heaven in that castle.
And good food in a small city too. I hope you make it back there soon. 2 1/2 hour drive isn't prohibitive at all.

Thanks! I felt like a like a king for two days. Lol. I think we'll be making regular trips down there now that we know how nice it is, just not during the months of July and August. It was great to connect with old friends and celebrate the publication of Ephemera!

Congrats on publication. I have been meaning to look into your book. Is it poetry?

Thanks! Yeah, this last one was poetry. The one before it was a book about Mindfulness.

Sounds like you had a really great time. The heat and humidity have been pretty bad lately. Kind of surprising since we had such a dry start to the summer. I've never stayed in a bed and breakfast before and I have never had a multiple course meal either. That does sound really awesome about the Oktoberfest thing! I would totally go to that! The house looks very similar to some of the ones we have near me that the lumber barons built. I guess that is probably pretty typical when you are near a river town like that where they could just move the logs up and down the river.

It was a really great few days. It was just so nice to get out of St. Paul for a bit, have a change in scenery and socialize. Honestly the BnB thing is a little strange your first time, at least it was for me when we went to our first one in 2009. The idea of having breakfast with strangers and sharing common areas caused me a little anxiety when we first did it but after the initial shock of that it's fun to meet people and hear their stories. Oh man, I would absolutely love to experience Oktoberfest down there. It seems like you have to make reservations at least a year in advance so maybe 2022 would be an option. There are similar houses on Lake Erie in Ohio too. It would be difficult to build one like that anymore. I think Billy said the walls were solid 22" thick limestone. That place would probably cost $20M to build today and that's only if you could find craftsmen who could do the work.

That is nuts! Yeah, I think I would be experiencing some definite social anxiety. I am horrible with small talk... I'd need to hide behind my wife and let her do all the heavy lifting! That is crazy about the walls! They definitely don't build things like that anymore! We are heading down next week for our Hocking Hills vacation. I am pretty excited.

Due to Covid, this time, they sat each couple in a different room of the house for breakfast. I have to say this was a nice touch, people could socialize if they wanted but weren't forced to. Most BnB's offer you the option of taking breakfast in your room as well so you can social as much or as little as you'd like.

Hocking Hills is wonderful. Enjoy your time there. I actually want to spread some of my Dad's ashes there. We did so many hikes together in those woods and he spent a lot of time there as a child as well, camping and swimming.

I am looking forward to it! I know there are a handful of popular attractions there, but are there any that you would recommend that might be hidden gems? What kind of things did they serve you for breakfast?

We mainly just hiked the trails at Old Man's Cave. Our favorite was the hike from Old Man's Cave to Lower Falls. We left Columbus before sun up and would cook breakfast on an open fire before descending into the park for the hike.

Here are the menu cards from both days....

Phenomenal food.

I keep that in mind! Those do sound like some pretty amazing breakfasts! Nothing there that I wouldn't eat I don't think!

Oh wow, a real regal castle; I must say I would have chosen the Oak or the Maple Suite, took a peek at their website. I really like the way they've done their booking suite so one can see each room's availability immediately! Gorrrrgeous decor and food!
We've had our second vaccine shot so in about another week's time the world will be a much safer place for us to get out and about again; well deserved spoil after all the long hours you put into launching Ephemera!

The life the wealthy led back then is almost unimaginable today. That house would have had a full staff and the owners really would have to do nothing but make decisions and write checks. My wife picked out the Maple Suite and we were more than happy with it. Our room was on the right hand corner on the second floor, right in the turret.

I thought that website was nice too! I like how they integrate their blog and everything.

I'm so glad to hear you will be fully protected soon. The delta variant is wreaking havoc here in the US amongst the unvaccinated. I really do think we'll be in full lock down again by autumn. Thanks Lizelle! Your book should be arriving soon. The copies I shipped to the UK have all arrived. Have a great evening!

That looks like the type of place that mid-February, when the winter is at it's coldest ... Tuck away in the castle with a good book (did you leave a hidden copy of Mindful Moments on a shelf) and a roaring fire (I see a stack on the roof that looks like it's for a wood fire) for a nice weekend of relaxation.

If the weather is too bad, you might want to get Uber Eats to deliver lunch and dinner. Just so that you don't have to change out of your reading clothes.

Oh yeah, that's a good idea! I hear La Crosse is amazing during the autumn with the fall color. I didn't leave a copy of Mindful Moments but I did give the hosts a copy of Ephemera. It's a tradition of mine to always leave at least one book behind. : ) Hope you're well, @gikitiki!

You never know.... years from now, the owners of one of the places you've stayed at may come across a store like this. (https://www.baumanrarebooks.com/authors/Stephen-KING/205284) and find your books instead of Mr. King's. :-).

Then, they will be really happy that they put that extra effort into making you a perfect breakfast!

Wow, $7k...that is amazing! I'm happy if readers walk away with something of value from my books. I wish there was a way to receive a little more feedback from readers who find the copies I leave, like a virtual message board. Maybe I'll create something like that at some point in the future.

Hello dear friend @ericvancewalton good evening What a joy to know that you had a great time in this beautiful place, by its appearance it makes us suppose that the service should be more expensive than in the city. If the humidity hadn't been high, it would be the perfect vacation.
I appreciate that you let us know about this experience
I wish you a splendid night

Thank you @jlufer! I hope you've had a great start to the week. Is it cooling down at all in your part of the world?

This was fabulous!I came too late to upvote it (I'm soo sorry!) I used to own a summer home on Little Bay de Noc in Michigan, the upper peninsula. SUMMER, never in the winter. So I would go to La Crosse as they had The Company Store Factory there, before they had an outlet so, it was a great stop for down quilts etc.

I loved it there! So glad you went and their Oktoberfest is over the top amazing! I hope you go in 22!!!! The castle is amazing. How lucky were you!!!!

OMG, it was an amazing experience. No worries for being late! I've heard the U.P. is amazing but I've not experienced it yet. The North Shore of Minnesota is beautiful in ways I imagine the U.P. to be. It's too late to reserve much of anything for Oktoberfest this year but I'd like to try to arrange it for '22 as well. We were lucky! I highly suggest the castle if you find yourself in LaCrosse.

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