Lake Geneva has an ordinance in place for all its privately-owned lake-front properties that essentially states, while pier access may be private, the lake front must be accessible to the public. It doesn't say that this access must be easy or hospitable, just accessible.
I've been to my in-law's place on the lake several times but this 4th of July weekend was our first attempt at taking this lake front route back along the south shore from downtown. However difficult for a few stretches, it was thoroughly enjoyable and totally worth it (I ended up taking that walk two more times over the weekend). Most of the homes are PALATIAL...most of them are simply summer vacation homes for the families who own them and a clear example of what my husband and I like to refer to as "fuck-you-money" (as opposed to "fuck-your-mother-money", the likes of which I doubt I have ever seen actual expressions of up close).
The "Expect a Miracle" house stands out among them all. I call it the "Expect a Miracle" house 'cause that's the marquis on the front and back fences of the estate (much like the "Graceland" marquis on the fence of Elvis' home). While the walking paths (where there are any at all) behind many of the houses are in various states of maintenance, the one behind this house is a deliberate "Welcome!" to all people who pass this way. It is a white-fenced path with inspirational quotes expertly painted along the rails and runners. The landscaping is deliberately designed for the pleasure of passers-by, there is beautiful and peaceful music piped in to the path area, and even a case that houses a signing book for visitors to share their sentiments of the house and the brief time they spent passing it. The path itself is paved with natural brick and well maintained. Where the terrain is uneven, small level bridges have been built to make the walk more accommodating.
It stands out not for its beauty (though it is) and not for its size (it's palatial), but for the extraordinary sentiment it conveys which seems to say "We have been extremely fortunate in our lives, but we have achieved this with purpose and grace. Come, linger...share our fortune with us, and let us share with you some of the tenets by which we have lived to help us get here". I don't know the people who own this house. I don't know what they do. I don't know how they achieved their success. But what I DO know is how I felt walking past their home for the first time, reading the fence, hearing the lovely music, enjoying their landscaping and flowers and the hushed sounds of the waves lapping on the shore behind me as I faced the house. It was beautiful, and generous and peaceful and gracious...like a giant hug for the soul. It literally brought me to tears. And then I laughed out loud when, just a few yards further, passing the Wrigley mansion (now known as "Stone Manor") - whose lake front "path" is a sloped, muddy line as treacherously close to the drop to the lake (and as far away from the house) as possible - seemed to scream the sentiment "fuck you, peasant!" The disparity between the two experiences was downright comical. read more