Fountain Valley

In California we stayed at Kim and Ed's new House. It was elegant. Darrell is somewhat disappointed that I didn't take video of it. It didn't even cross my mind. The house has a basement (very unusual for California) and then two 15 foot(?) levels with a very ample attic. Besides the normal sized garage for Kim's car there is a gargantuan two bay 30 foot high (on one side) garage for Ed's stuff.

The main floor has two suites for guests. The upper floor also has two suites (Katy's and Shaun's) and the master bedroom. Ailsa and Jensen slept in the sewing room. Ed has a large office and Hoke Depot storage upstairs as well.

I understand that Ed has had this parcel of land for a while. He and his partner developed it with five homes. They each kept one and sold the remaining three for somewhere over $4 million.

Ed has a "farm" in the back as well as a "ranch" and a sort of BBQ pit that also doubles as a nifty wading/relaxing pool, easily filled in about 45 minutes and then drained when not in use.

Many people who live in the area are from Viet Nam. A couple who was considering buying the house across the cul de sac from Ed and Kim had their Feng Shui master look at it first. He did not recommend it because their view is dominated by the imposing Hoke house. They left the home for someone else to purchase.

California is an amazing place. There is so much affluence and wealth and people. The entrepreneurial spirit thrives. The Hoke's next door neighbor has an ethnic grocery store. Their delivery van is plastered with advertising for breast augmentation surgery. Thankfully, the "graphics" are not too racy.