This weekend my wife and I journeyed afar. One of the places we visited was Ferndale, California. There is a cemetery located on a hill overlooking the city. My wife and I climbed all the way to the top of the hill, which must be one of the highest in town, and my wife took the photograph at the top of this post.

Ferndale was hit with an earthquake back on January 9th. Almost two months later we saw many signs of the quake including some minor damage in the cemetery. The quake was also referenced on flyers in several shop windows. We also saw many windows that were still boarded up. At one store I was tired of shopping and went to sit in front and wait. My threshold for browsing in quaint little shops had been reached and I had to get out. While waiting I happened to look up and noticed that directly over my head the front of the building was being held up by two pieces of lumber. I was supremely confident that the lumber met safety codes and had been properly installed and tested, but all the same, I opted to get up and wait somewhere else where I wouldn’t (presumably) suffice as a living crash test dummy.

Ferndale also served as a fictional town in the movie “The Majestic” starring Jim Carrey. Interestingly the local theatre wasn’t used in the film. Instead the set for the “Majestic” was built in a parking lot.

According to Wikipedia:

Ferndale is known for well-preserved Victorian buildings, which are also known as “Butterfat Palaces” due to their construction during an epoch wherein considerable wealth was generated in the dairy industry, especially during the 1880s. The entire town is an historical landmark (see California Historical Landmark No. 883).

Anyway, I really liked the picture above so I obtained the photographer’s written permission to include it on this blog. 🙂