The things we remember

After my last letter, a reader named Steve wrote back.

He told me about a place he and his wife have returned to twice: Triple Creek Ranch in Montana.

But what caught my attention wasn't the ranch itself.

It was something else he wrote.

He said his dream is still to own 10 or 20 acres somewhere in the foothills of North Carolina or Virginia.

A place with a workshop.

Outdoor living spaces.

Maybe a small garden or orchard.

A place he could slowly shape into something meaningful.

As I read his note, it struck me that his dream doesn't sound all that different from my own.

I think many of us carry around an idea of a place.

Not necessarily a house.

Not necessarily a vacation.

A place.

Somewhere life feels quieter.

More intentional.

Where mornings move a little slower.

Where we spend more time outside.

Where the people we love gather around a fire.

Where we create things.

Build things.

Plant things.

Remember things.

For years, I thought ALARKA was about building villas.

The longer I work on it, the more I realize that's not really true.

The villas are simply a way to create a feeling.

The same feeling Steve described.

The same feeling Sue described in her reply about an Airbnb host in Rome who carried her luggage upstairs and left flowers waiting on the table.

People don't remember square footage.

They don't remember countertops.

They don't remember cabinet finishes.

They remember how a place made them feel.

That's becoming one of the guiding ideas behind ALARKA.

Not luxury for the sake of luxury.

Not amenities for the sake of amenities.

But creating a place people think about years later.

A place they tell stories about.

A place they return to.

One question before you go.

If you could create your own perfect place, what would it look like?

Hit reply and tell me.

I read every response.

———

Thanks for being here.

Trevor

Founder, ALARKA Micro Resort

p.s. Steve, if you're reading this, I hope that dream place eventually becomes real.