Sunday, March 7, 2010

East coast? West coast? Which is the best coast?

No, I'm not getting involved in some weird Mom version of a gang war. I've started a new book, and I'm trying to work out exactly where it happens.

Allow me to 'splain. This is a haunted house story, sort of. What I really want is a place with cliffs -- or at least bluffs -- on the coast, and where the Italianate influence with the cuppola and widow's walk is strong in the architecture. I know there are parts of the East coast where they have the cupploa and widow's walk on a lot of the houses, but I'm not sure if the coastline is the sort I'm looking for. Right now I'm kind of thinking maybe the Maine coastline somewhere, but I'm not sure. What do y'all think? Does anyone know if Maine has cliffs/bluffs on the coastline? What about the cuppola and widow's walk? If not Maine, then what about somewhere along the West coast? What about Oregon? How likely are you to find an old house with a cuppola and widow's walk on top of a cliff/bluff along the Oregon coast?

I could Google (and I expect I will, LOL) but nothing beats first hand knowledge, and I figure some of y'all might have that, so here I am asking :) Help a girl out? Pretty please? Many thanks in advance!

10 comments:

Chris said...

Hmm. Have you considered one of the Great Lakes? Lake Superior's got some good cliffs and old houses...

K.A. Mitchell said...

Maine is the first place I ever saw a widow's walk. And it's very rocky so I say go for the bluff. No one could say that such a house on a bluff is atypical for Maine. Set it anywhere on the coast you want as long as it's not at the very southern end (it's very built up there.)

K.A. Mitchell said...

Chris has a point. There are a lot of good Lake Superior shipwrecks andghost stories.

Amara Devonte said...

I'm from Oregon. Most haunted house type things seem to be set in Maine. I don't know about the widow's walk, but our coast is very often foggy...very foggy. We have many rock outcroppings and cliffs..more so than beaches mabye. I am a photographer, and I just put up an Oregon Coast gallery on my new erotica blog if you're interested in taking a look. http://amorasplace.blogspot.com or my photography from all over oregon at http://www.amlightphotography.com
Hope that may help!

Anonymous said...

Maine has the coastline you're looking for. ;)

Ally Blue said...

Y'all are awesome!! I knew you'd have some great ideas, thank you!! Amora, your photos are gorgeous :)

Amara Devonte said...

Thanks Ally. The Oregon coast is awesome. It gets a very "haunted" & "spooky" feel with all the thick fog high bluffs and crashing waves. A lot of little old coastal fishing towns, cape cod style homes, etc. Lots of character!

Teddy Pig said...

How about gold rush Victorian?

Probably one of the my favorite breath taking rides in a supped up sports car is this...

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=414+S+5th+St,+Wilmington,+New+Hanover,+North+Carolina+28401&ll=41.325264,-123.725281&spn=1.136475,3.013&t=h&z=9

It's highway 101 between Eureka and Crescent City where the coastal mountains and giant redwoods seem to be pushing the highway into the ocean and the narrow winding road seems to float on the ever present fog on the side of the cliffs.

Stacey said...

I agree with most of the above, I live in Oregon and my grandparents lived in Maine. Maine is much more cupola/widow's walk-y. Oregon is foggy and mysterious, but you are unlikely to find those kind of houses. Both have bluffs and cliff and outcroppings galore. If you changed the architecture a bit, Oregon would be a great locale for a change of pace (New England being the usual location for such). :) Let me know you have any specific questions, altho Amora's got a lot of em covered! ;)

Maia Strong said...

Have you thought about going Canadian? It's been years since I visited Nova Scotia and PEI, but I think the former has the sort of coast you're looking for. And, you know, a research trip out there might be fun. ;)

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