Zeeeeeeeeees!

I went out driving around this past weekend in hopes of finding something interesting to photograph and just wasnt really feeling in the mood to battle through blackberry bushes to get into an old abandoned house or get hollered at for standing on someones yard trying to get pictures of their old broken barn...so I found myself on the edges of Zee's Recycling out on the Guide - a place I think may very well be the ultimate Heaven and where I want to go when I die.

Wandering.....for all of eternity, through the mazes of mounds of rusty goodness - yes, if I could pick where Heaven was - this would definately be it for me. ;)

I couldn't get in of course - at least not without having someone call the police to rat me out...its right on the busiest road in the county and there were old watchful eyes peering out at me from the house across the street, just waiting to see if I was going to try to climb over the boxcar barricade or squeeze my tiny self between the two that would have possibly let me in with just a few small bruises on my ribcage ;) - probably with fingers poised and ready to dial 911 upon seeing me disappear into that wonderful land of "Yummy."

There are SO many different things to photograph just on the outside...I can only imagine all the joyous things Id find on the other side....but alas, I was doomed to wander the edges of Heaven and find myself denied by barbed wire, chain link fences and giant textured boxes - which were enough to fill my entire memory card with photos of close ups of the peeling paint, rusted edges and various odd cracks and dents that they were so proudly displaying.

These are some of my favorite shots - I just love all of the different colors and shapes...

And I couldnt help but laugh at this last one - when you cant find any paper...just write it on a boxcar door..."Red Sam - Going out today!"

I kept expecting to find a grocery list on the other side ;)

Anyway - thats my walk through Zee Heaven.
Someday, I'll make it to the other side....
My luck, Im going to Hell - where everything is shiney and new ;)

Fairhaven Find Part 2

I decided I wanted to get a few shots of the old Fairhaven building - Reid Boiler Works - from the lower level near the railroad tracks and happily froze my fingers off one afternoon not too long ago and wandered down to the beach to get a better view.

Its just a gorgeous building - and after doing some web research on the place, I found an article about it - where it talks about a big fire back in 1904 that destroyed most of the original building. I believe they are hoping to restore some of this building and keep it from completely falling apart to save some small bit of history for this town - seems to me that far too many historical buildings are getting taken out and replaced with more condos every day :(

I really hope they do fix it up enough to let people inside someday - Id love to get in there for just one minute! (ok, I could probably spend an entire day in there if I could get inside! shoosh...)

*sigh* I'll just keep dreaming...

Art house

I've been driving past this house for weeks now - eager to get into the place... but its location makes it near impossible to get in to without someone seeing you sneak past the posted "No Trespassing" signs on the shed at the entrance of the driveway ...so I decided I'd go early in the morning on a Saturday when the neighbors were sure to still be asleep and I could do my "Tiny little ninja" impression and get inside before anyone noticed...

I made my way past the shed and spotted various things laying about in the yard - a couch and a matress as well as a couple of old broken down cars that were being consumed by black berry bushes (WHAT IS IT with blackberry bushes devouring old abandoned houses/cars/sheds/anything interesting that I might want to take photos of ...anyway??)

After getting up enough nerve to push the door open - I stepped into the kitchen - the sink was missing, but there were alot of dishes smashed up on the floor, more garbage than Id have liked to be stepping in and a lovely "there's something in that icebox that you probably dont want to know about" smell - so I didnt stick around too long in the kitchen and moved to the hall where the bathroom was located.


Quite frankly, I was half expecting alot worse after seeing the state of the kitchen but thankfully there was no "You should probably be wearing a gas mask" smell coming from anywhere in the bathroom and so I snapped a few pictures, a self portrait and took a few minutes looking at the drawings on the wall before I went back further into the house.

I was starting to get a little disappointed - the last house I was in had all of that amazing graffitti covering the walls and ceilings and I was really hoping for some of the same in this one but so far I hadnt seen much except for a pencil drawing on the wall of the bathroom...



I started to get a little excited when I rounded the corner and found what looks to be the main living area of the house. I saw a few drawings and paintings on the wall and snapped a few pictures but was no where near prepared for what I would see when I stepped completely into the room.




This wasnt graffitti - it was a full blown painting. I couldnt believe the detail, the thought put into each portion of the artwork. I actually had to sit down for a few minutes and just sit and look at it all. Someone spent hours and hours creating these murals - I cant believe they are just rotting away now. Where did these people go? Why is no one living here anymore?

I found more penciled in drawings that never got to experience the joy of completion - and realized I had been in the house for alot longer than I had intended (I had no idea I was stepping into an art gallery) - and still had the entire upstairs to explore...


but as I placed my foot onto the first step - it dawned on me that I might very well end up startling some homeless guy awake at 8:30am on a Saturday morning and could end up in a situation that might not end so well...(The house is near a homeless camp) so I decided maybe it wasnt such a good idea to go upstairs without having someone else there with me - but I plan to go back with my new sharper lens and get better detailed shots of the murals. (any one volunteer to be my buddy?? ;) ahem)

You know you want to go inside.... ;)

Industrial adventure

I went out to test out my new camera this weekend - in search of old houses and rusty things. I found a few houses but nothing that really struck me so I headed home and took the long way to avoid the mall and freeway traffic...and found myself over in the industrial area off of Bakerview Spur.

I found a lovely little corner full of rust and textures that made me go weak in the knees. (We've already established that Im a little odd that way...put a shiney diamond ring in front of me and tell me its all mine...and Ill go "oh...its shiney...thats nice" or put me in front of a broken down cement mixer or an abandoned house and tell me its all mine for the next hour and Ill squeal and jump up and down for 10 minutes before running around snapping pictures...)

There were so many different colors, shapes, lines, texures...."things" to photograph in just a 12'x30' area that I probably could have spent a good 2 hours there with my camera but my tummy was rumbling at me for food and so I snapped a few pictures and got ready to head for home - then realized I had missed a few things and popped in my second memory card to get a few more shots.

I think the fellows down the road at Les Schwab thought I was either A) nuts B) going to bust out a spray paint can and start tagging things or C) nuts...because they kept standing around in groups of 3-4 watching me weaving in and out of the equipment laying about. I dont think they figured out I had a camera until after about 10 minutes of watching me croutching down, bending over and making hand motions. ;) (I get all excited when I find things like this and forget that people can actually see me pointing and squeeling at things)

There is just something about old pipes in a large pile that Im drawn to every time I see them. Im not really sure what it is - but its like "Jen Nip" (catnip) - I cant resist it...I may possibly even purr at times without realizing it... ;) so dont be alarmed if you ever find yourself in my company and we pass a construction site and I start making weird noises....its not the hunky shirtless men with muscles - its all those wonderful pipes laying around in the work zone!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I love rust!