Dr. Tinkerpaw's Nitt Witt Ridge

First of all - Tinkerpaw? I think I'm in love.
"Known to his neighbors as Captain Nitt Witt or Dr. Tinkerpaw, recluse Art Beal spent 51 years constructing a different kind of castle than that of his famous neighbor, William Randolph Hearst. Nitt Witt Ridge, as it's called, was Art's "castle on a hill", his "Poor Man's Hearst Castle", three tiers of salvaged materials lovingly assembled by the former garbage collector who worked for the town of Cambria. Using only hand tools and whatever he could scavenge, his castle is constructed of artfully arranged junk, mostly cans, car parts, abalone shells, TV antennas, driftwood, and local rocks. It’s an intricate network of terraced gardens, stone arches and buildings. He never threw anything away and the house still displays his clothing and personal effects as if he still lived there. You can just drive by or, to arrange a tour, call Michael and Stacey O'Malley who recently bought the property and are in the process of restoring it."

ROAD TRIP!!!

Actually the interior of this place reminds me of this house my friend in Austin took me to. It was filled with amazing relics, peeling wallpaper, old fixtures, and an overgrown secret garden. I'm a sucker for a dilapidated structure, especially houses and barns. Places like this that you know have so much history but you can only imagine the scenes of what it may have been like when the place was inhabited from the abandoned ramshackle that gets left behind. We don't get a lot of these growing up in LA and if you do they're full of squatters and the types you don't wanna get stuck in a dark alley with. And now that I think about it, as a teenager there were a few instances where we did party in abandoned buildings in very shady neighborhoods with exactly the types I'm referring to. The soundtrack that comes to mind is "I got 5 on it" or Dr. Dre's entire Chronic album.

I still have get up to SF this summer and just need to figure out which weekend to go, why is there never enough free time?

On another note - look at what was just gifted to me!
Yes, this is for real. My parents were camping last weekend in Olema and made friends with the couple camping next to them, turns out they just bought a new RV and had this pop-up camper they're not using anymore, and basically by the end of the weekend the couple decided to give this to me! They have never met me. It sleeps 8 people, has a fridge, stove, sink, and heater. I'm a little overwhelmed by this serious gift. I still don't know where in the world I'm going to park this thing, I live in an apartment in the city after all.

It will be perfect for trips like this with friends though (I'm too much of a chicken to camp without a group of people and a pitt-bull). And Chris also pointed out that it will also be perfect for making hemp bracelets in.

Thanks Sonya!