Yo Bro.!!!
I see you live in Oakland Ca. I live in Martinez Ca. If you need a woodworker I'd be more than happy to help you.
Hey, thanks for the offer, check PMs...

If I go the "foot boxes" way, how would the anchoring work? The 24" Skylan's have pretty long spikes that will hardly penetrate the wood... should I get smaller spikes or even remove them? And do I need spikes underneath the boxes too?

Just thinking out loud at the best sounding solution ...