If you think you’re going to see a medieval castle or some grand estate, you’ll be disappointed. But if a lifetime of work done with passion and craftiness using natural materials is your cup of tea, you’ll love it.
I’m a rock hound so it was fascinating to spend hours looking at the crystals including amethyst, quartz, rose quartz, smoky quartz (many with inclusions or varied minerals on one matrix), turquoise, celestite, fluorite, zoisite, calcite, gypsum, dolomite, tourmaline, kyanite, obsidian, tektite, and dozens more. She combined form with function to display her treasures, cementing them to create multiple objects like bird baths, patio seating, garden borders, flower pots and more. The most spectacular project of all was making cement and rock tiles used to ornament the entire exterior of her large 2-story Italian-esque villa. Everything you see and touch was painstakingly done by hand — an obsession turned into a family legacy and delight for the public to marvel at.
The construction of the house itself is also interesting and shows expert craftsmanship, using multiple types of beautiful hardwood milled themselves from their own property. The term “bringing the outdoors inside” never fit so well to describe this place.
I do wish the family caretakers would give the crystal pieces inside the house a wash and gentle cleaning with a toothbrush. They are layered with years worth of dust that just show lack of care, which I found shocking since several of the most valuable and rare mineral specimens are inside the house. I would happily spend an afternoon stooped over a bucket outside washing them and letting...
Read moreThis is a beautiful and unique home with a great story to it. My wife loves rocks, butterflies, and gardens so for her this ticked off several boxes. She even half jokingly asked the current owners how much to buy the house.
The story of the house is fascinating and the pure beauty of it is amazing. Thinking about how much time the grandmother spent doing all this is just mind boggling. It's hard to put into words the experience.
The garden out front is beautiful and you'll find large quartz, flourite, and etc throughout. All the walls are fascinating to look at. Entering the home is just astounding with about a 2 foot wide section along the inner outside wall where the ground is accessible and plants are planted growing up to the second floor. The butterfly wall is beautiful to see as well as the shells with the small fish pond all inside the home.
It is definitely a unique experience that I enjoyed and my wife was in love with. Talk about knocking it out of the park with this find. I got some serious...
Read moreOne of the the best places I have visited. It’s beautiful and will give you plenty of creative ideas to enhance your home and make it more greener. It’s just an amazing feeling to have nature inside the house. You will truly appreciate the history and hard work that has went in to building and maintaining this masterpiece.
The tickets are $9 per person cash and if you pay by credit card, square would charge you 4% service fee.
The grand kids still stay at this place and will give you the history of the place when you arrive. After a short history they leave you alone for as long as you want to be mesmerised by the beauty of the nature. If you have any questions, family members are readily available to answer those for you.
BTW on arrival you ring a bell, and one of the family members will escort you inside the castle once you pay the entry fee.
It’s not wheel chair accessible but the terrain and stairs are very manageable if you can walk slow with some help.
Definitely a site not...
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