the o.c. report, feb 06

so the o.c. is growing up. every time i go home, there's new stuff. this time i was plesantly surprised to see some nice glass & stucco high rise residential in irvine, and was heartened at the news that the great park proposed for the defunct el toro airbase is a go. it will provide a wilderness corridor between the pacific, laguna canyon, and cleveland national forest in riverside county. definitely going to push property values up. i heard the owners of the pictured cabana on cotton's point in san clemente already are asking $3.7M. can't beat the ocean views, but its kinda breezy in the winter.

dual skylines in seattle

so we just spent a week out in the emerald city and i was thoroughly impressed. there are so many hills and water bodies, with islands and mountains in the distance that almost anywhere you go, you have a great view. the park system is designed by olmstead, but greenery is everywhere, even growing on the sidewalk. this photo is from gas works park, looking across lake union towards the downtown. the centerpiece is an old rusted out gasworks, which stands like a post-industrial statue. although seatlle definitely has that clean, west coast feeling of not being mired in layers of history, it was refreshing to see that the remnants of the past have been reclaimed from decrepitude. perhaps new york should take note when (if?) the post-industrial waterfront is developed here.