Sunday, August 13: We had a leisurely morning at the anchorage in Lake Charlevoix and then decided to head back to the marina since the electrician said he could resume his work Monday morning. Went by this popular lunch spot next to a cable ferry. (And for the record, I only took ONE picture today, only to be outdone by taking a million pictures the next day). Monday, August 14. A new day dawns. On my optometer, I had the electrician arriving by 9am. Uh, no, not coming until at least 2pm!!!But one nice feature of the marina is that they are part of a Bike Share program. I was able to sign out this pink bike and ride over to a nearby tourist attraction (about 3 miles away). And here it is – Castle Farms!So in 1918 Albert Leob, a Sears and Roebuck executive bought this land and built a model farm to sell farm equipment. The turrets were actually silos. Basically he disguised barns and silos as a castle. But a mere 6 years later he died suddenly. His family attempted to keep the farm running but failed. It lay vacant for 40 years before being sold off. Three owners later it was revived – very similar to the Boldt Castle story. Now it’s an amazing lay out of wedding/event venues, model trains and whimsical gardens. Entry to the Queen’s CastleGardens everywhere.Rose garden close-upAerial views of now – Lake Charlevoix is in the background – we anchored fairly close for a lunch stop on Sunday. And then, when in the later 70s to early 90s the roofless buildings surrounded a stage to host rock concerts. Lots of popular bands and artists over a 17 year span.Some of the players.Moving on to the Alphabet Garden near the model train village.
Wait a minute – there’s an “obedient plant?” Seriously?? Can you feed that to kids???And the rest of the alphabet.Outdoor gathering area for one of 5 wedding/event venues. The large barn doors open up to…Indoor seating. This wedding carriage is used regularly for the various weddings. Antique farm toys. Hold on, Fisher Price farm set is an antique?? No way!The current owner, Linda Mueller (who built her fortune with her husband by buying up hundreds of Domino Pizza franchises) made this quilt over a 5 year period. The quilt’s design illustrates events during the years of the Castle’s restoration. However, I’m not seeing a “Rock the Castle” square. Another larger venue area. More flowers. Back around to the model train area.
Tracks atop a cedar hedge maze.Even the inside of this turret had train tracks in it. Dizzying to look up!More miniature village.Train track spiralsThis is Norm the Dragon. He was purchased in 2012 at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids. It is made entirely of scrap metal pieces from shipping containers. The plants around Norm are a theme of plants depicting fire and danger (i.e. prickly cactus and flamer thrower flowers). The next bunch of photos were taken in the butterfly garden. Linda the owner is determined to help increase the monarch butterfly population. She doesn’t cut out any milkweed that pops up and has a screened in area for caterpillars to grow and turn into butterflies.
I was curious as to where this pathway led…And just like Alice, it led to a small (3 foot high) door. Wasn’t able to go through the door however.
Entrance to the Manager’s office. I liked the embedded horse shoe.Roof top view.This room was a lounge for all the workers (pretty small considering they had dozens of workers working there). On the TV is a continuous video loop narrated by Linda Mueller. She had such an upbeat narration of the castle’s history and restoration. 1918 corner stone.View from the back pond. Whimsical rock/wood art on one of the pond side buildings.OK, think I covered this place! But in case you want to know more, go to Castlefarms.com
One thought on “August 13-14, 2017 Castle Farms in Charlevoix”
Such a beautiful place! And you captured it magnificently!!
I can just imagine our Moms walking through those gardens with you with the same appreciation for the beauty, the arrangement of plants together, the attention to detail on the hedges and how much effort it is to maintain!!!
Islandia Grabo's Blog 
Such a beautiful place! And you captured it magnificently!!
I can just imagine our Moms walking through those gardens with you with the same appreciation for the beauty, the arrangement of plants together, the attention to detail on the hedges and how much effort it is to maintain!!!
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