As a child of hard working Danish parents, the many whimsical and adventurous tales of H.C. Andersen were an always present "lightbulb of brightness" during my childhood. They illuminating the dimness, the hopefulness, the caution, the seperation & patriotism experienced by immigrant parents and their extended families who lived during difficult times of war in a far away country. They lighted the imaginations of "a possible and beautiful future" during the epic, wonderful chaos of growing up with seven rambunctious siblings in a loving family in San Diego.
It was an amazing and awesome childhood, it still is :) In July of 2022, Julie and I had the beautiful experiance along with our son and daughter in law, Jake and Maddie, to visit and spend the day at the H.C. Andersen Museum in Odense Denmark. A chance for me to privately and internally say "Tusind Tak" to H.C. Andersen.
In 2005, Julie and I built our home in Carlsbad Ca.
As a "prequel to the H.C. Andersen-esque fairytale" of building our own home, Julie and I, as well as our good friend and great architect Bart Smith of DZN Partners, took several trips to experiance the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. We visited Falling Water, Taliesin, The Robie House, FLW's Oak Park home and studio, and other works of FLW. We knew that we wanted a Prairie style home in Carlsbad that espoused and was true to the ethos of FLW. A home where: 1. Spaces connect to each other, but are separate and special unto themselves.
2. A home that is part of the land and environment were it's built, not on top of or indifferent to the surrounding environment.
3. A home that is honest, simple and artistic with honest building materials expressed with imagination.
4. A home that is close to nature and that utilizes the gifts of nature that are present.
5. A home that embraces democracy for all its inhabitants and visitors, a home that strengthens the community in which it resides.
Herons' House, "Looking out the window of a realized fairy tale" We are so loving our trip in Coach Addy and our time with each other. Three months on the road and racking up the experiences and miles. Today we spent the day at FLW's Taliesin West on the outskirts of Scottsdale.
It's been 17 years since Julie and I built Herons' House together. Today was a sequel, a chance to privately and internally say a "Thousand Thanks" to Frank Lloyd Wright.
Our adventures in Coach Addy continue. We are super impressed with our 2021 Tiffin 34PA. So far zero issues with the coach and only a few issues with the driver :) Julie and I joke how we often blame Coach Addy for a minor issue only to find out that it was my or our fault. Yesterday we thought we had a plumbing leak under the kitchen when we found a puddle of water on the floor. What we had was an open roof vent in the kitchen during a rainstorm, Doh! Close the darn vent! Driver error :) And so it goes. Amazing adventures and discoveries await us as we continue our adventure on the Great Open Road across this great country of ours. Cheers
Peder
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