LottaWadda, the movie??

A very dear friend of mine, after having read the LottaWadda history, wrote to me to tell me that the story made her think of two movies, Indian Summer (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107212/), from 1993

and Shag (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098300/), from 1989.

This got me to thinking about other movies that may (or may not) have had some subconscious influence on my writing of the story.  Some of these would be:

Daddy Day Camp (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462244/), from 2007;

Beach Blanket Bingo (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058953/), from 1965; 

Bait Shop (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176725/), from 2008;

Where the Boys Are (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054469/), from 1960

and the remake (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088395/), from 1984;

Meatballs III: Summer Job (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093516/), from 1987;

and One Crazy Summer (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091680/), from 1986 (love the car made into a boat scene!).

As I thought about this, it also brought to mind pictures I'd seen of the beaches in Crimea and Rio, something like these:

I'm really not planning on my beach being quite that crowded, but gee, it sure would be fun to make it that way.

Anyway, all this musing has me now thinking it's time for a quick visit to the video rental place to get a load of beach movies. I'm sure my husband will LOVE all the bikinis! I'll see you in a few days. Right now, I've got some movie watchin' to do!

Layout with Labels

Okay, I've finally got the layout all labeled. Here it is, with the explanations below.

A:  The three mansions, each very similar architerctually, but vastly different in furninshings and style. One will be rather old fashioned, with a kitchen and furnishings that haven't changed much since the 60s. The second will be much more up-to-date, but comfortable and child-friendly. The third will be very sleek and modern.

B:  The original Lodge  - the family lives in part of the lodge, the rest is open to the public.

C:  The nicest of the accomodations offered, three beach cottages, furnished with twin or bunk beds and a bath and stove and sink.

D:   The mid-range accomodations. These smaller "shacks" will offer a half bath with a makeshift shower. No cooking facilities are provided.

E:  The Marina - The marina will have several things for sell, mostly fishing equipment or accessories for beach play. There are also a couple of gas pumps for refueling of the boats tied up at the dock.

F:  The Diner - specializing in fresh caught seafood

G:  An outdoor public restroom, so sand is not tracked into the marina or diner buildings.

H:  The roads within the gated community are all beautiful cobblestone.

I:  The roads by the lodge are just your typical asphalt/concrete surface

J:  A roundabout (rotary, traffic circle, whatever they call it in your part of the world) to help keep the traffic at a moderate pace and to allow for the beautiful fountain (which, if all goes well, will actually be a working microminiature fountain)

K:  The fountain

L:  This small stone structure will house a guard/gatekeeper

M:  Beautiful white wrought-iron fencing surrounds the community

N:  The gates to the community - I've just found some very slow motors. I'm trying now to work out how to make the gates operational at the touch of a switch

O:  Garages. When the community was built in the 60s, these would have all been one-car garages. I haven't decided yet if one or more of them will be updated to larger multi-car garages.

P:  The Gazebo

Q:  The garden shed and greenhouse

R:  The vegetable garden - it will contain pumpkins, tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, carrots, corn, and a few other leafy type things (maybe some cauliflower)

S:  The beautiful line of peony bushes (may end up being roses - I'm not sure yet)

T:  The stone bluffs

U:  Access to the accomadations

V:  This gravel area will provide space for a couple of campers for folks who bring their accomodations with them.

W:  The parking area

X:  The public beach

Y:  The clothing optional beach

Z:  Pathways from the lodge to the diner, marina and beach

1:  Small vendor kiosks selling surfboards, towels, sunscreen, floaties, burgers, hot dogs and whatever else the vendor think might help them turn a buck

2:  The stairs cut into the stone bluffs to provide access to the beach for the residents of the houses

3:  The boat dock - sometimes a few folks can be seen fishing from the end of the dock - a few swimmers have been "hooked" over the years

4:  This area will be filled with surfers and swimmers

5:  Paved sidewalks and driveways

Updated Layout

As I research and gather components for this new project, I've come to realize that some changes in the layout are necessary.

Here's the new layout. The changes are outlined below. I'll soon be adding another version of this layout graphic with labels for each item so it's easier to envision what I'm trying to achieve.

I found a wonderful diner kit (complete with lighting and interior) that would fit in well with the lodge. I also realized that I should probably provide a parking area for those who've come to spend the day at the beach or eat at the diner. (Besides, I've got a bunch of fun cars just looking for a project to join.)

Adding this parking area meant that I'd have to move everything to the left a bit, to allow space. I've added sidewalks, paths, driveways and garages and stone steps leading down to the beach from two of the houses.

I've also included a vegetable garden, a row of peonies and a gazebo by the first house. The landscaping on this project is going to be fun.There will be lots of flowers, around the houses, lots of brush and weeds and trees (palm, deciduous and pine) around the bluff tops.

I've been looking at various ways to make the stone bluffs. At first I thought I'd use the molds and casting medium from Woodland Scenics, but I've now found a source for big hunks of cork that are in layers and easily cut to the shape and configuration I want. It would be very easy to cut the cork to fit the layout which is not possible with the Woodland Scenics molds. The cork could also be easily painted to look stone-like. Here are a couple of pictures of the cork I'll be using.

The first picture shows small chunks that could be used for small boulders or for smaller outcroppings of stone. The second shows the striations that could so easily be made to look like stone. I can get fairly large pieces (about 6x6 inches) for a very reasonable price. Six inches in this scale would be equivalent to 72 feet and I really don't plan on having the bluffs being that tall. I'm thinking the bluff will be at most about 3-4 inches tall (36-48 feet). That should be plenty!

Welcome to LottaWadda Beach

Right now, I'm working on the layout and design portion of the project. It will be constructed on foam board, layered to create the topography and give me room underneath for all the wiring and other stuff that gets hidden. There will be MANY lights in this project. Each room of each house will be lit as well as street lights and other external fixtures. So far, I've managed to make a graphic of the layout. I did this to make sure that I could get in all the elements that I wanted to include without it appearing too crowded. Here you can get a look at it. This graphic doesn't show any of the topography, but I'll add that later.

I've also been working on some of the other graphics that will be used in the construction. This is the arching sign over the gates to the estates:



I hope to be able to have this laser cut. I can't imagine trying to cut out all these details by hand. The sign below is the one that will hang, rather crookedly, over the entrance to the lodge. It's been there since the lodge opened in the 40's. It's rather weathered now. When I make the sign, I'll probably weather it just a bit more. As I begin the construction, I'll post pictures of the progress.