Cape Dutch California

It really looks like a piece of South Africa in California. Did the Meekers have links to that land?

Good to see you venturing west of the Mississippi, in any case. I thought you considered that part of the country a barbaric wasteland

Not venturing myself, merely posting the realtor’s photos!

California is far from a barbaric wasteland. There is much to be said for it; it is simply not very much to my tastes in general. That said, I do hope some day to complete a Mission tour up the coast.

Nice house. The grave is interesting too–never seen anything like it. Is it a baldacchino over an altar-table?

I understand what you mean, Andrew. California still lacks that lived-in quality the East Coast possesses, and can feel rather plastic in places. On top of that it seems to have the world’s highest concentration of far-left wackos per square mile.

On the other hand, though, one can’t help but admire its Catholic history, dating back to a time when the East was still staunchly Protestant and, dare I say, anti-Catholic. A land whose main cities have names like San Francisco, San José, San Diego o Los Angeles can’t be all that bad.

Another thing in its favor is the hilly coastline landscape, which never fails to uplift my soul. The overwhelming flatness of the Eastern seabord, on the other hand, can feel really oppressive.

“On top of that it seems to have the world’s highest concentration of far-left wackos per square mile.”

You obviously haven’t been to the Upper West Side!

Wow, what a house and it is so good to see Cape Dutch in other parts of the world. I find it the finest of all architectural styls. It is not like many English colonial styles that tried to dump their saxon past out of some sort of cringe for quaint and instead go for neo-classical, that Roman Greek stuff. The Dutch kept their Kelto-Saxon roots in their architecture, the keltic and Saxon shape became the bedrock of what is traditional, but they livened it up with a bit of Baroque and so on, but the cottage remained the overal shape, giving a delightful timeless style that fits well in any land. I am glad to see this masterwork in the USA.

Andrew, this estate is up for sale again as of last month…