With the light of the day outside just about gone for the evening, I lit a candle at the bar while John poured Prosecco into two cut crystal coupes. He looked at me with a calm smile, waiting for me to finish my inner thought as I paused for a moment to gaze at the candlelight glittering gently against the crystal and bubbles. It was 4:45pm on a Maine January Wednesday evening, and a toast was in order: The town had just formally approved 7 new addresses for the Sanctuary, bringing our on-site structure total up to 10.
Ten. Ten places that didn’t exist five years ago. Ten places that we just dreamed up in our heads, ten places that started out as nothing more than an idea one of us brought up to the other, and through sweat, and determination, and consistency, and belief, and persistence, and a little skill thrown in there…we created them.
We raised our coupes toward the ceiling, “Saluti!!”
Our Owners Cabin.
The Utility Building and an adjacent Maintenance Garage.
The Co-op Yurt.
The Welcome Lodge.
The Sauna by the natural plunge pool.
Two power stations: Mid Station and Cradle Station.
And last but certainly not least, the 3 customer-facing, rentable structures:
The Treehouse named “Evernia”
The 12-Guest Log Cabin
and the creator’s retreat Mirror House.
If you think about it, what we’ve actually created… is like an entire mountain village! There are villagers “homes” (the units). There is “public works” (our utility buildings, underground infrastructure, and off-grid power stations) and a “town hall” (the Welcome Lodge). There is something akin to a “school” (the homeschool co-op yurt – complete with 11 students!) and “parks and recreation” (all the amenities). We took 500 acres of raw Maine mountains and created a goddamn village.
It took until that moment, when I heard myself say it out loud – “here’s to ten buildings, Johnny-kins!” that I finally realized the magnitude of what we’ve accomplished. And I felt proud.
We’re not done yet. So much lies ahead to do in 2025. Not all of these structures are completed and some are just shells. There are interior build outs, furnishings, and trailwork to complete, not to mention the edible trail network and all of our amazing nature-integrated amenities.
But we’re getting there. Slow and steady.
Here’s to the Village!
