We were always looking for a space to live that was a little more unique, more interesting, and certainly less cookie-cutter than the tract home we lived in. Even as far back as 2013, we had been looking for properties and homes that would give us a place to call home for our quirky natures. Both of us love to be enveloped by nature, whether it be in the desert where we were or here in a forest on a lake, where we are now – we have always craved nature. We love wild animals running around, plant life, and especially water (queue the lake house). When we first began looking for something different, something out of the ordinary, that we could call home we were looking in the Mojave Desert in Southern California where we lived. Although the hot summers were not our favorite thing or the harsh winds that could swoop down from the hillside with a biting cold off of the snowy mountains nearby, we still loved the desert. We have always been the type to appreciate the beauty around us and make a good situation out of one that might be less than ideal. I wrote about the adventure of finding this first home in a previous blog about how I accidentally found Phonehenge. The home was odd and quirky and filled with bright colors everywhere I looked. From the paint, to the gorgeous wood grains, and the cacti located throughout. I could tell that someone loved that home with all of their hearts but I also got the feeling that something grand was missing from the space and it was… Phonehenge! Phonehenge was built by an amazing man, Kim Fahey, in Acton, California. He creativity and ingenuity turned a place in the low hills of the desert and transformed it into an artistic structure that overlooked miles of scenery. Here are some great shots we got of Phonehenge – or what was left of it when we happened upon it. Click here to see the blog and to see what the real Phonehenge looked like (in the video at the bottom of the blog).
This next house, most people would have run screaming in the other direction. Dennis had spotted it from the freeway one day and just had to see it. We took a dirt road that lead to a trail that lead to the house. The house, I’ve got to admit, was pretty creepy. I could definitely feel a negative energy coming from the house itself – almost as if a creepy troll lay wait inside, waiting to eat us for dinner. The rest of the property though and the barn on site were quite charming. There was a big circle of trees overlooking a large pond. The barn was a nice start to a more sturdy structure with some repair. The biggest downfall was that it sat right off of the freeway and the traffic that would not cease roared by as we walked about the property. It was a bit noisy for such a secluded spot.
Neither home worked out for us. After finding out about Fahey’s story and how politicians and government destroyed his life-long work, it just wasn’t the happy place it once was. And the home near the freeway, well, we just couldn’t take the noise. How about you? What is a deal-breaker when you’re buying a home or finding a place to live? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
