McMansions and the Snow Has Melted

Not having anything planned for the day other than a workout at the gym, I decided to go for a drive in the Mustang. My first stop was to look at some model homes in the Stonebrige Estates. Even though I gave up on buying a new house, I'm still watching the housing market, plus I was interested in seeing how new homes are being decorated to get some ideas for my remodeling. I had driven by this neighborhood a few weeks ago and saw one home that I liked, a one story, which is hard to find these days. So I walked in to the sales office for the Calabria (built by Brookfield Homes - never heard of them) models and a lady handed my the brochure. I was shocked to see the one story, plan one, was priced between $1,048,000 to $1,105,000! I thought the prices of new homes were going down, with all the foreclosures and unsold inventory of new and existing houses. I guess I was wrong. This plan was 3,780 square feet design, with an open, outdoor courtyard in the center of the home. Too bad it was so expensive, I could see my self living in this house. There was abundant natural light, large rooms and open space. Way too much for one person, but who cares. Another reason not to buy is the Mello Roos, which would bring the taxes up to 1.7%, plus there was a $100+ homeowners fee. What's amazing is that these homes in Stonebridge are selling still. Last week I drove all the way to the end of the development, which stretches for miles into the back-country of Poway and San Diego. As of now, there is only one road in, and of course one road out. The houses are surrounded by canyons and hills covered in brush that would burn very quickly in a fire. I hope they add an escape route sometime in the future.

From there I braved the traffic of people driving up to the mountains to see the snow. I didn't plan to drive much past Ramona, and I ended up turning on highway 78 back towards Escondido. First, I was surprised that all the snow from last Thursday that I photographed on Friday was gone. The only snow I could see was small patches at the tops of the highest mountains. I didn't take any photos because I didn't feel like stopping. As I dove down 78, I saw where the fire burned last October and where the road was repaired from the flooding last week. I don't know how stable the road is. In some places the dirt was completely washed out beneath the road and they quickly packed dirt back in and added new guardrails. It will probably last until the next big storm. After a quick stop at my brother's house to see his new trailer, I headed back home, picking up some beer at the store. I have tomorrow off, and will probably go on an easy bike ride in the morning and then after that...?