A house for $1,558,000 with 2 bedrooms and 1.75 baths sounds about right. In Seattle, that could describe a condo. In the San Juans it describes a 2,919 square foot house on about three-quarters of an acre with 263 feet of waterfront. Oh and a museum with art from 260 artists. The entire house and property should be considered a museum because nothing is normal, not even the mailbox, or the wine cellar, or the ruins. Sure, some homes have a wet bar and maybe a wine cellar. This one has two wet bars, a liquor cabinet that looks more like a small room, a wine cellar, and even a wine library. The floor and the door to the cellar are all done in corks, which suggests someone had a good time saving up the raw materials. Outside, there's a 71 ton "architectural folly" in the form of a Grecian temple purposely built to look like a ruin. Under that is a grotto with three underground rooms, for whatever purpose, with "Metaphor For The Cosmos" inscribed in dozens of languages. Oh yeah, and about the dragon. The mailbox is a metal sculpture, a few feet tall, of a multi-turreted castle. The mail is delivered by lowering the drawbridge which raises the portcullis. Then, as the drawbridge is closed again, a dragon emerges from the house side of the castle so the owner can tell that the mail is in. That's something you probably won't find in your condo's mail slot.
· Lambiel Museum [Lambiel]
· 668 Olga Rd, Orcas Island [Estately]
Written by Tom Trimbath