This week has left me a bit dazed. I was on the water yesterday, and for a brief moment, when I closed my eyes, the sun and the breeze and the predictable rocking of my boat led me to believe that it was a July sea I was resting upon. It seemed natural, the water and the temperature and the way the sun felt on my arms. It was only when I pulled into the pier last night, with the unmistakable night time chill of autumn surrounding me, that I realized the day had been but a dream. I shall head out later today to capture some more of it, perhaps to bottle it somehow so that I might sip from it during the darkest days of a winter that isn’t as far away as 80 and sunny might have me believe.
This weekend, Lake Geneva plans to out do itself, as it tends to do on many, if not most, weekends. The weather will read like summer, but the colors shout fall. It’s not a loud shout, not a distressed shout, but a cheerful one, one that says “look at me”, but in a polite voice. Fall colors at Lake Geneva are at about 60%, though some areas are further along than that. When viewed from the water, some of the estates off of Snake Road appear to have the best color right now, a fact that I recently learned isn’t an accidental occurrence. Apparently our predecessors didn’t only build lavish estates, they also planted and schemed and hired the most famous of landscape architects in an attempt at providing the longest lasting, most vibrant fall foliage possible. This Geneva shore line looks natural and inspiring, but if you ever see a magnificent cluster of sugar and red and silver maples arranged just so, it’s safe to assume that Jens Jensen had something to do with it.
Lake Geneva hosts Oktoberfest this Saturday and Sunday, and when they planned this event around the long weekend that is Columbus Day, they must have dreamt it would look just as this one is assured to look. Bright sunshine, bright fall colors- colors not yet muted by time and still mixed with enough green and yellow that one doesn’t feel depressed as dark browns and diminishing reds can make one feel- and 80 degree temperatures. It might be fall, and it might be Oktoberfest, but I’m pleading with you to leave your Frye boots in the closet and employ your sandals for one last glorious weekend.
So what exactly is a Lake Geneva Oktoberfest all about? I’m glad you asked. It’s basically just an excuse to drink a little more and shop a little heavier. Which, by some standards, is what a normal Lake Geneva weekend consists of on a regular basis anyway, Oktoberfest or otherwise. Shops in town will have sales, restaurants will have an uncanny amount of spaetzle on their menus, and Sprechers restaurant will feel, for one weekend, as though they are some sort of mecca for all who crave pretzels and mustard.
Not to be outdone, and to ensure that I will not be able to participate in any of the weekend fun, I will be hosting a couple of open houses on Sunday. Since the Bear will not play the Lion until Monday, your Sunday should be clear to stop out and say hello and, if the feeling is right, buy one, perhaps two vacation homes from me. I’ll be holding open my Indian Hills listing at 619 Aweogon ($695k), a fine home with surprising square footage and a fun lakeside deck with impressive lake view. I’ll be there from 12-2 pm on Sunday, perhaps longer if the traffic warrants it. I’ll also be at my Oak Shores listing ($695k) from 12-2 on Sunday. This home is a traditional ranch with a great boat slip in a rarefied association. Each home is off of South Lakeshore Drive in Fontana, so follow my stylish little blue open house signs until you reach your destination. In an epic feat of endurance, I will then travel to my listing at 647 Hazel in Glenwood Springs ($479k) and hold that new listing open from roughly 2:15-4pm. How I’m going to be at both the Indian Hills listing and the Oak Shores listing at the same time I haven’t yet figured out, but I assure you that I will.
There will be other open houses this weekend around the lake, as brokers reach out to capture a little fall market activity on this exciting weekend. If you do stop in to other open houses, I only ask that you inform the host broker that you are working with me. They will sigh, they will slump, and they will be dejected. This is sad, but this is how it must be. If you do stop into other open houses, stop into one of mine as well, and we’ll chat. It’ll be fun.
If you missed this summer at the lake, this is your one weekend for redemption. There will be sunshine and there will be fun, and it will be a most fabulous way to spend your weekend. If you do come up, promise me that you’ll get out of town for a bit. Take a walk down the shore path, take a tour on a Geneva Lake Cruise Line boat. Do some eating and shopping, sure, but don’t judge Lake Geneva this weekend by the downtown. Lake Geneva’s city center shines, but the true splendor of a Lake Geneva fall is found on a narrow leaf lined path that runs next to that giant blue lake.