It's been far too long since we checked in with Foots and his Lost City of Atlantis project. Thankfully, this weekend, he emailed me some photos of the first child of Cayman's Lost City. If you're wondering why children need to be included in this project, bear in mind that no community can grow if it doesn't have children within it -- even if that community is made of molded concrete.

The "real-world" child honored as the first to take a place in Atlantis is Joseph Musumeci, III, the grandson of Joseph Musumeci, Sr. (pictured).

Joseph Musumeci, Sr. is a long-time resident of the Brac and the retired two time mayor of Swedesboro, New Jersey.

However, what I really want to know is: Why was this child honored as the first child of Atlantis? Does he have great grades? Is he especially polite? Was his room the cleanest? Foots, please help me out!

UPDATE FROM THE MOTHER OF THE FIRST CHILD OF ATLANTIS...SERIOUSLY:

Previously, we've gleefully reported on Foots' efforts at casting the Queen of Atlantis and installing her in her throne. While I have no doubt that the Queen could rule Atlantis effectively by herself, Foots has decided she should not rule alone. To that end, he has been busy casting a King to stand by her side. Although he's not quite finished creating the King, he has sent me some pretty cool, sneak-peak images of the process. Follow-up images to, um, follow.

Before checking out the exclusive photos, remember this: if you're interested in being named a Royal Guard of Atlantis -- and having your own image cast in concrete to forever guard the Royal Palace -- all you have to do is name the "earthly identities" of the King OR the Queen. Here's a hint: in "real life," the pair are married, and they own and operate a dive shop in the United States. I'll provide another clue tomorrow.

In the meantime, enjoy the photos!

Here's an image of the King in a state of mid-cast. Creepily, from this angle, it looks more like a corpse than a King, but I know Foots is a capable artist, so I'm sure it'll all come out beautifully.

And from another angle...

Here's a shot of Foots making some fine touches on the King.

I guess the other side needed touching-up, too.

And, finally, a close-up:

If you've gotten this far, and you have no idea who Foots is or what this project is all about, be sure to check out the rest of the photos of the Lost City of Atlantis. Additionally, listen to Divester's interview with Foots.

Yesterday, we revealed a few sneak-peak photos of the Queen of the Lost City of Atlantis. I thought those images were all I was going to receive, but Foots surprised me this morning and sent me several more.

In this batch, there are more photos of the finished product, as well as a few photos of the Queen-in-progress, which gives a sense of how he assembles the whole she-bang. Very cool. Check 'em out!

First, he cast the Queen's face. Then he cast the throne. Finally, Foots has to put all the pieces together and place her on her throne. Here she is, in situ, but unfinished.

And a wee bit closer. Talk about barrel-chested...

And from another angle. Note that the face, the hands, and the feet are pre-cast. The rest is just a blob.

After he fills in her torso and legs, he colors the finished product a dusky orange that shows up underwater (at least until the coral covers it).

And another view.

Here's a close-up of the Queen's feet. Maybe next week, he'll cast the cat.

A little more detail on the feet, sans the feline.

And here's a close-up of the Queen's folded hands.

Finally, here's a nice close-up of the Queen. Is she smiling? Is she speaking? Is she singing? What do you think?

Remember, Foots plans to announce the Queen's identity at DEMA next week. Who could she be?

If you've gotten this far, and you have no idea who Foots is or what this project is all about, be sure to check out the rest of the photos of the Lost City of Atlantis. Additionally, listen to Divester's interview with Foots.

First, he cast the Queen. Then he created her throne. Finally, Foots has placed the Queen on top of her throne. Weighing in excess of 7000 pounds, the Queen and her throne will be placed within the Lost City of Atlantis in the coming days. Of course, Foots will have to use a crane to lower her into the water, but compared to some of the work he's already accomplished, 7000 pounds is no problem.

So who IS the Queen? Well, Foots still hasn't revealed her identity -- that'll occur next week, at DEMA -- but if you can guess her name before he makes the announcement, you can become a part of the Lost City! Foots has promised that the first person to identify the Queen will win the honor of becoming the first world guard to the Palace of the King and Queen. Want to be enshrined in the Lost City? Guess her name!

All right...enough talk: let's see the pictures!

Here's a close-up of the Queen in her throne. It appears as if she's speaking. What do you think she's saying?

Here's the Queen, sitting in her throne.

And another view.

And another view.

I wonder if the cat will be the next creature to be cast? Doesn't Atlantis need some animals?

If you want to learn more about Foots and his project, check out the rest of the photos of the Lost City of Atlantis. Also, be sure to listen to Divester's interview with Foots.

A few days ago, we told you about Foots and his work casting the Queen of Atlantis. Since then, Foots has announced that the first person to identify the identity of the Queen will win the honor of becoming Atlantis' first world guard to the Palace of the King and Queen. There will only be 11 of these guards. Imagine: you can be forever enshrined in the Lost City of Atlantis and -- quite literally! -- dive into immortality. I don't know about you, but I think that would be totally cool!

Unfortunately, Foots told me the Queen's identity already, so I can't become a world guard. And although I can't tell you who the Queen is, I CAN tell you that I guessed her identity before he told me, because we've mentioned her on Divester in the past!

While you're mulling over the Queen's identity, check out these photos of Foots casting the Queen's throne. Already weighing over 6000 pounds, the throne will weigh an additional half-ton when the Queen sits within it.

First, let me say that Foots may have the world's best workshop...though it may get a little warm in the afternoon.

After he's cast the throne, Foots uses a small sander to smooth away the rough edges and make his throne appear more regal.

Whew...that's a lot of work. Take a break, Foots!

The throne, from the left.

From the right.

The view, head on.

Foots hasn't finished casting the Queen's body yet, so we don't have any pictures. However, he told me the Queen would be installed in her throne in the next few days, and when he has some photos, he'll send them my way. In the meantime, guess the identity of the Queen and become the Palace's first world guard! Leave your guesses in the comments.

If you want to learn more about Foots and his project, check out the rest of the photos of the Lost City of Atlantis. Also, be sure to listen to Divester's interview with Foots.

Foots is still at it, quietly plugging away, working hard to complete the Lost City of Atlantis off Cayman Brac. Recently, he's been busy making the Queen. Okay, so maybe "making the Queen" isn't entirely accurate. What Foots has been doing is "casting the Queen" -- in the sense that he's casting her form!

Yes, Foots has found the woman who will serve as the model for the Queen of Atlantis! Claiming he selected her based on what a good person she is, it sure is a huge compliment for the woman selected. I wish I could be the Queen of Atlantis. Er...well, you know what I mean.

So who IS this woman? Unfortunately, Foots isn't ready to reveal her identity -- we'll have to wait until DEMA (which is next month!) for that. In the meantime, however, Foots has provided Divester with some exclusive photos of the casting process. Let me apologize in advance for the "?" obscuring the Queen's face, but Foots made me promise not to reveal her alter-ego. Sorry, but I want to be allowed into Atlantis, too!

Becoming Queen takes time. First, Foots has to explain how the process works.

When they're both ready, Foots prepares the Queen for her casting...

...and then pours concrete over her face. Can you see the "breathing tubes" (i.e., straws) she's using? Man, Foots thinks of everything!

Soon, her entire face is covered with concrete. It looks like pancake batter.

Next, his model looks at her face. I gotta admit...it sure doesn't look like a face.

A-ha! When the concrete is finally dry, Foots has his mold. Kinda creepy, huh?

Foots hasn't finished making the body of the Queen yet, so we don't have any pictures. However, he did promise to share his photos of the Queen when she's complete. Gosh, I wonder who she is, and why he chose her...

If you want to learn more about Foots and his project, check out the rest of the photos of the Lost City of Atlantis. Also, be sure to listen to Divester's interview with Foots.

Recently, we posted some images of Foots and his friends installing some of the massive structures that compose the Lost City of Atlantis. However, Foots sent us a few short video clips of them putting the City together. If you're interested in seeing Foots and his friends build a city from scratch, check out the videos. (Viewing hint: if the videos don't appear in this post, click the links above the videos to see them on YouTube!)

Video 1: Sinking the Lost City of Atlantis

Video 2: Sinking the Lost City of Atlantis

Video 3: Sinking the Lost City of Atlantis

Video 4: Sinking the Lost City of Atlantis

As we mentioned, Foots casts all the sculptures at home and then has to transport them to the beach. He can't carry them on his bicycle; he uses a truck to haul them there.

Imagine seeing this go down the road.

Of course, once the trailer reaches the beach, the concrete sculptures must be offloaded.

You can't just throw dozens of life-sized concrete sculptures anywhere; you need to place them neatly, until you can move them to the water.

After a full day of trailering and offloading, Foots has nearly 20 sculptures ready to be placed underwater.

And when they're there, they're going to look so cool!

Yup, it's that time again. Foots has sent me some more photos (and even two short videos!) of his Lost City of Atlantis, and -- as always -- they're pretty cool. According to Foots, the photos depict him and some friends setting the archway of Atlantis, a 20-foot-long, 15,000-pound chunk of cast concrete, which had to be lifted exactly 13 feet high to be set in place.

Considering the archway weighs 15,000 pounds, it should be no surprise that the process involved a lot of rope.

I mean, a LOT of rope...

Some lift bags...

And a lot of coordination...

Some might argue that Foots worked the crew TOO hard (I guess this guy needed a break).

But most people refused to slack off!

Did I mention the crew needed a lot of rope?

If you're interested, Foots sent a 20-second video of the crew working with the lift bags, lowering the archway into place. He also sent me an even shorter video showing what their workspace looked like.

Once the work was complete, look how righteously cool the archway looks!

And a close-up. Foots does some nice work, huh?

Foots must be thrilled with the results. His hair is positively standing on end!

Upon finishing, the crew took a much-deserved rest.

As Foots has said before, marine life is alreday starting to move in to the Lost City!

Poor guys...they have no idea what they're getting into...

Foots sent me more photos recently. Evidently, a dive club visited The Lost City of Atlantis, and Foots took some pictures to commemorate the event. In his email to me, Foots indicated that one of his favorite parts of constructing the City is the fact that he gets to meet so many new and interesting people. Since we haven't met yet, I presume he means the divers in the pictures. Anyway, check out the pictures, and while you're looking at them, remember: Foots is building these sculptures all by himself!

Here are some of the divers gathered around the sundial.

When the divers saw Foots pull out his camera, they swam over:

And they waved over the rest of their friends:

Look how big that thing is. No, not that one diver...I mean the sundial itself. In the podcast interview with Foots, he told me it weighed 10,000 pounds and tells the time quite accuratley! Foots referred to it as "his baby."

The one diver in the lower right corner seems to be trying to send us a signal...

OK, so I couldn't enlarge the image very clearly, but I think he/she is trying to show which dive club they represent. I think the British flag is in the corner of the ID, so I'll guess they're from the UK.

After the excitement of the group shot, the divers decided to swim around Foots' installation. Here's a diver near an elder.

And some other divers among the pillars:

Some more divers...among some more pillars:

I think this diver was trying to get out of the way before Foots snapped the photo, but he couldn't. Oops.

I'm happy he didn't manage to escape, though, because the fact that he isn't diving with a wetsuit tells me something very, very important: the water must be warm. Boy, oh boy, I can't wait to get down there.

Here's a photo of one of the Sentinels that was taken 11 months ago:

And here's another photo, of the same Sentinel, taken last week:

See how much coral has grown to it in less than 1 year?

This is kind of an unusual angle:

It amazes me. Furthermore, remember the pillars?

They, too have attracted lots of coral and fish life:

Then, of course, the sundial seems to be just as popular:

In addition to the fish that are flocking to the Lost City of Atlantis...

...the place is also attracting some turtles:

If this kind of growth has occured in less than 1 year, just imagine what the place will look like in 10 years! If you were a doubter before, you've got to believe in Foots' vision now!

In the podcast interview with Foots, in which he discusses his Lost City of Atlantis, he mentioned that he would be creating a huge underwater pyramid, complete with swim-throughs, and featuring an area in the center of the pyramid where divers can relax; remove their regs and breathe; and talk to one another. So cool. Yesterday, Foots emailed me some photos of the mold for the Pyramid of Atlantis, which is under construction currently. And the pictures are friggin' sweet! According to Foots, the pyramid will be 18 feet tall and each base will be 22 feet long. When finished, the pyramid will weigh in excess of 40,000 pounds and feature 8 swim-throughs. Ultimately, he plans to construct two of them for his City.

If you want to see more photos of Atlantis, check out the detailed photos of the sculptures and the photos of Foots sinking the sundial and some of the pillars.

Here's the basic mold for the pyramid, which is clearly made of wood:

And here's a slightly closer view. His "studio" sure stinks, huh?:

Here's a fun picture to give you a sense of scale:

I guess Foots is proud of his work:

I told you recently that Phase I of Foots' Lost City of Atlantis is complete. Foots has been working on the next Phase of the City, and he's managed to cast a number of sculptures for it, which he'll be submerging in May. He recently emailed me photos of the sculptures. I think they look really amazing, and I want to share them with you. Head below the jump to see what Foots has in store for his City. What do you think?

Here's a view of several of the sculptures at once:

And here's another angle:

And another:

And a long view, to give you a sense of scale:

Here's a close-up of one of the faces:

And another:

And here's my favorite shot, a close-up of the hands:

Foots also sent me some pictures of him working on the sculptures. Here he is working on one of them:

Pretty nice "studio," huh? Anyway, here's another angle:

After he molds it, the sculpture looks like this:

Lastly, he weathers the sculpture, to make it look ancient:

I think it's so cool. I can't wait to head down there...

Time to check in with Foots and the Lost City of Atlantis again! He emailed me some photos recently and told me that he was finished with Phase I of his project on Cayman Brac. Of course, considering its scope, he's still got a long way to go. Click the jump and look at some of the underwater images he sent. They're all of him setting the sundial and various pillars on the sea floor. Pretty cool stuff!  

Previously:

Lost City of Atlantis: Photos Underwater  

Lost City of Atlantis: Photos Topside

And if you've got no stinking idea who the heck Foots is or what I'm talking about, listen to our podcast interview with Foots.

Here is an image of Foots setting the sundial:

And here is the dial after it's set:

Here's a shot of Foots setting a pillar:

And from another angle...

The pillar after Foots placed it:

To give you a sense of scale, check out this shot:

Imagine swimming through here:

Can't wait to get down there and see it for myself!

The main passenger airport in the Cayman Islands, Owen Roberts International Airport (GCM), is located on the largest of the Islands, Grand Cayman. It has a nice restaurant in it, and a viewing area from which you may watch planes arrive and depart. Please note that a passport is required to travel to the Cayman Islands. The following airlines provide non-stop service to Grand Cayman from gateway cities:

American Airlines offers flights from Miami.

British Airways provides service from London.

Cayman Airways, the national carrier of the Cayman Islands, has several flights each day from Miami and also offers service from Boston, Chicago, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa.

Continental Airlines provides service from Houston and Newark.

Delta Airlines offers flights from Atlanta.

Northwest Airlines offers code-share flights with its airline partners.

Spirit Airlines begins service February 2006 with flights connecting through Ft. Lauderdale.

US Airways provides service from Charlotte.

Reminder: Atlantis is located on Cayman Brac, and so getting to Grand Cayman is only part of the trip. To get to Cayman Brac, you should hop a flight with Cayman Airways. If you don't like the idea of changing planes on Grand Cayman, Cayman Airways offers direct flights to Cayman Brac from select American cities.