Thanks to murph2222 for this spectacular video of La Jolla Shores Lane!
The big white house is owned by Sheila Potiker. Her late-husband, Hughes Potiker (who died last year at the age of 80), founded Entertainment Publications, the coupon-book publisher.
One of those older houses to the south, probably the one with the above-ground rail going down to the beach house, has an subterranean elevator too – I’ve seen it!
Here’s his second video too, from the ultimate real estate paparazzi:
Paragliding at the La Jolla mansions on my old yellow glider
Which one is mitt Romney’s?
Cool view. That looks like fun. Maybe I should try it.
Mitt is down around the bend, on the other side of the cove (closer to Windansea). He can stick his toes in the sand.
Wow! First it was some video of me flying on the KUSI sportscast a couple weeks ago. Then I got a few seconds of airtime during the Golf tournament. And now the pinnacle of notoriety…..
My own video link on Jim’s infamous blog. I’ve finally made it!
Here’s another clip…. http://vimeo.com/9312694
Murf2222
It may or may not happen in my life time, but some of those structures are way too close to the cliff, and sooner or later they will be going down.
Seeing those homes makes me green with envy! Speaking of green, that lawn at 2:00 in the second video looks like Balboa freaking Park! Wow.
I’ve added his second clip to the main page.
Murf, have you ever had any close calls, either crash-landing, or flying into anything/anybody?
Murf,
Spectacular videos — looks like great fun! Curious… what’s the pros & cons of paragliding vs. hang-gliding?
The house at the very end of the second video is unbelievable. It’s the brown/modern one just to the right of the circular one. I’ve been in the circular one as well and while it’s very nice, its neighbor just is a couple steps above.
The brown one sits on two lots and has two bowling allies, a pool that you wouldn’t believe and a backyard that is, in my opinion, one of the most breathtaking in San Diego County. There are all these paths all around and even a walking bridge that suspends over the ground (the lot slopes gently downward) and the view of La Jolla and the ocean is amazing!
The house is great too. It’s huge, but surprisingly livable.
The next time you see an agent comment that the listed house has a “panoramic view”, refer them here for a true 360 degree panoramic view.
Great video.
Awesome video Murf. I’ve always wanted to try that, it looks like so much fun. For now I’ll stick to my little model gliders for when I crash it results in a month more of gluing 1000’s of little balsa wood pieces together.
Have I had any close calls while flying?….Ha Ha……funny you should ask Jim.
During my “formative” flying days (about 3 years ago) I had quite a reputation at the Torrey Pines Gliderport. Some of my hair-raising moments included……..
**I was losing lift and trying to make it back to the gliderport, but could not make it so I had to land at Black’s beach. This is rather routine as you just aim for a dry section of sand. Well, as I was rounding a bend and setting up for a final *flare* to land I realized that it was high tide and that particular section of beach did not exist anymore! I landed in 4 feet of water and began a mad panic to unclip my gear before the waves sucked me and my wing back out to sea.
Never have I been so happy to see a middle aged nude guy, as he raced into the surf and held onto my paraglider so I could extricate myself!
**Once while flying over the Torrey Pines Reserve area the wind got too strong and I landed traveling BACKWARDS on the north side of Torrey Pines Rd with my wing draped over a tree. The lifeguards showed up and left when I told them I was uninjured. 15 minutes later I started hearing lots of sirens. They started getting louder and before I knew it there were 4 emergency vehicles there. I told them I was okay so they all left….including a hook and ladder truck that COULD HAVE helped me get my wing out of the tree, but hey…I was alive AND unhurt so no worries here!
** My alternative landing stories also include one where I was trying to fly with the big-boys above Scripps aquarium. In my attempt to make it back to the lift-band along the cliffs I sunk-out and had to land right on La Jolla Shores Dr. Fortunately for me a construction truck not only yielded, but even gave me a ride back to the gliderport!
Luckily I have never hurt myself or anyone else. Torrey Pines is actually a very safe paragliding site……as long as you stay within your comfort zone and fly smart.
The more I fly the more conservative I get. My library of noteworthy “stories” has not expanded in the last couple years.
Murf2222
TJ……
The pro’s of paragliding are the portability of the gear. The paraglider itself folds up and you carry all of the gear (about 40 pounds total) on your back. For the occasions that we sink-out it is a lot easier to carry back up the trail from Black’s beach.
Hang gliders don’t break-down nearly as small and are therefore difficult to not only carry, but travel with.
As far as the flying goes, Paragliders and hang gliders fly in the same environments. At Torrey pines we both fly in the lifting band of air that hits the cliffs and is redirected upwards.
Mountain flying entails seeking out thermals to maintain lift and again, both paragliders and hang gliders fly at the same sites.
Hang gliders are much faster than paragliders and do not have to constantly worry about their wing folding-up on them like a taco. The smooth laminar air at Torrey Pines is a perfect match for paragliders. Mountain sites however are much more challenging for a paraglider because the air is so turbulent that the risk of the wing collapsing is always on your mind.
Paragliders are less expensive too. 4k-5k gets you set-up where-as I think hang gliders start at over 6K
For anyone that has ever dreamed of flying like a bird, paragliding/hang gliding is the closest thing you will ever get.
To put it into perspective…..I was supposed to watch the super-bowl with a cousin, but when I saw that the flying conditions were gonna be optimal at Torrey, I changed my plans and elected to record the game. I was mocked by my cousin for not watching the game live, but my position is…………
The WORST day of flying is STILL better than BEST football game…..(and this is coming from someone that is still in agony over the Charger’s collapse).
In fact, I think it was probably on Sunday that Jim got his footage of me flying.
Murf2222
In paragliding you start out with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of caution. The long term participants have emptied the first and filled the second.
The first home on the cliff in the second video the long modern one is listed for $28,500,000. Do we have any buyers? It was originally listed for $39,000,000 in May of 2008.
In paragliding you start out with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of caution. The long term participants have emptied the first and filled the second.
I love this quote. Of course its not quite true. Paragliding is a totally un-natural state of affairs and the mere ability to do it, implies you are lucky. Eleven years I’ve kept that luck, though like Murph222 I’ve got stories to tell.
Josh
PS Jim I only posted as its not RE related.
murf,
Thanks — very informative! Couldn’t ask for a better answer.
“constantly worry about their wing folding-up on them like a taco”
Does this imply what I am hearing?
If it folds up are you as good as dead?
Or does it just mean you are coming in for a landing “now”?
keith…….I was a little over-dramatic with that quote. The reality is that today’s paragliders are designed to be self-correcting for the vast majority of collapses that a pilot might have.
However, a collapse is definitely a BIG-DEAL that has to be corrected immediately or dire consequences are the by-product.
murf2222
Murf,
Thanks for sharing the videos! It looks like a fun sport, but based on what you’ve just said here, not something I’d care to take up. 😉
It does look like LOTS of fun, though!