Scrapper heaven -- Cambria, California -- from Xanadu to Nitt-Witt Ridge to gem collecting by the waves.
I just spent a relaxing weekend getaway in Cambria on the central coast of California.
Cambria is a scrapper haven, covering both ends of the spectrum. At one pole you've got the high end scrapping of Italian Palazzos and Spanish Villas to cobble together William Randolph Hearst's playland Xanadu -- Hearst Castle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearst_Castle
(it's an annoying video, but the pics of the castle are pretty good)
On the other end of the spectrum you've got my favourite-- Nitt Witt Ridge:
A stunning cliff house built entirely from garbage and Abalone shells from 1930's - 60's by counter-culture guru Arthur Beal -- a man truly ahead of his time. It's a state landmark for Folk Art -- but with no funds appropriated for its upkeep, Nitt Witt Ridge has been slowly collapsing since Arthur died in the late 1980s. Arthur was part of a small city of craftsmen who helped build Hearst Castle during the 1920s, and it's hard to imagine he wasn't influenced by that experience to build his own little Xanadu by the Ocean -- one that incorporated his reverence for nature and mother earth. As the garbage man for this resort town by the sea, surrounded by multi-million dollar estates and made from glass, steel, and mahogoney, Arthur was the town eccentric and soothsayer visited by emerging counter culture explorers who plied coastal highway 1 during the late 60s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitt_Witt_Ridge
And since scrapping is essentially a form of Treasure hunting, one can't visit Cambria without a stroll on moonstone beach. Covered with surf-tumbled and super smooth semi-precious stones, you can find everything from moonstone agates to polished bits of jasper and jade. And the views of the waves sooth the soul too.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbryan777/1558408790/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/patriot...hy/2785516708/
http://www.astronomynotes.com/nature/pic18k.htm
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