The only thing missing from the stone tower resting up against a craggy cliff side along the southern California coast is a sixty-foot silken braid trailing from the top window slit to the rocky beach below.

Well, maybe the thick, lustrous plait isn’t the only thing absent from the colossal structure. A bare-chested dude decked in board shorts, cupping his hands around chapped lips, shouting, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel you smokin’ fox, let down your mane that I may climb your locks” would certainly complete the picture. 

It wouldn’t be completely out of the realm of possibility either to surmise from the thundering waves crashing near its base that the rest of the castle had been pummelled into grains of sand and washed out to sea, repossessed by an angry Poseidon for crimes committed against nature. The blight of the plastic straw alone is probably enough for the god of the sea to raise his trident and summon a tsunami to wash us all away for our bad behavior.

But I digress. Forgive me. I didn’t intend to step onto my soapbox. So, back to the tower.

La Tour, also known as the Pirate Tower, is just that. A stand-alone storybook tower built by an eccentric’s love for french architecture in the first quarter of the twentieth century to house a spiral staircase that leads from the private property on the bluff above down to the rugged beach below. For its history and where to find this peculiar gem, press HERE.

Now that I know exactly where it is, we can visit it together should our surfboards align when I’m in the area again. For now though, I’ll thank my friend Leah for scoping it out and sharing her photos with us.

Have you heard of or visited any odd, mysterious places lately?
You’ve got my ear. Please share your experience in the comments.