Floating Away

Photos from Peru

I have been very lazy to share photos from my trip to Peru, but finally got around to setting up some space on my .mac account to do it.

To see all my photos from Peru, click HERE.

My Trip to Peru

This weekend, I booked my ticket to Peru for the month of June.  I will be there for just over 2 weeks and during that time am also hiking the Inca Trail on my way to Machu Pichu.  Hopefully, I will live to tell the tail and come back with beautiful photos like the one above.  More of these photos can be found here.

On a co-worker's recommendation, I picked up 101 Hikes in Southern California. My goal is do one or two of these a weekend to get into hiking shape. Some could argue that I am in really, really good sit on the couch shape, which isn't helpful for hiking the Inca Trail.

If anyone out there knows of any good hikes, let me know. I would really appreciate it.

Own Your Own Town

In 2002, Bridgeville, CA made history as the first town sold on Ebay.  Apparently, after some renovation, the town is back on sale at Ebay starting today with an opening bid of $1.75 million.

What do you get for that price, you ask?  Let's break it down:

• 83 acres
• a vacant machine shop and cafe
• your own zip code
• your own post office (running for 136 years)
• 8 houses

So, what do you do once you own the town? Apparently it's not the thriving place it once was.  The realtor gives you lots of suggestions. 

• a private or corporate retreat
• a riverfront resort
• a university campus
• a movie set
• a RV park

So, I guess it begs the questions, what would you do with you own town?

My Day at The Watts Towers | Pics

 

Last weekend, with Lauren in town, I wanted to do something very cool, very LA, yet not lame. I have wanted to go to Watts Towers for sometime, but never really got my act together and with Lauren in town, it seemed like a good reason for us both to go.

The Watts Towers is certainly one of the most unique pieces of art/architecture I have ever seen.  I thought a lot about my trip to Park Guell in Barcelona when wondering through the property, but this was much different, largely because the towers were built entirely by one man, Simon Rodia.  Rodia worked construction jobs during the day, but on the evenings and weekends, he scoured his neighborhood for odds and ends and built an incredible series of towers and objects out of mosaic tiles, glass, pottery, shells, and his own mortar.

He never used any modern tools, no scaffolding, no bolts, no rivets, no welding.  The man was truly a visionary.  The arts center offers tours on the hour for $5. It is money well spent.  Our tour guide was excellent and they let you roam the grounds after the tour is over. 

Last October, the LA Times had a piece on the Towers and the challenges it faces now.  Read it here.

The Watts Towers of Simon Rodia is located at 1761-1765 East 107th Street.

More Watts Towers images after the jump . . .