Kathy and Calistoga

Heading north from the San Francisco area I planned a stop to see a friend from 50 years back--Kathy Donovan.



We had worked together in a tiny little ski area in Colorado that was barely open when Kathy, my friend Suzie, my husband Roger and I descended on the town. I understand this particular little village has become fairly well-known--it's called Vail.



After a few years the friends all scattered to other towns and adventures and lives.  Kathy settled in wine country. These two pictures above are her view from her front porch, up in the mountains outside of Santa Rosa.



I parked next to Kathy's house for two nights and we talked non-stop,  reliving some of the best times of our youth.

I love the fact that it is possible to sit across the table from an old friend,  in an excellent restaurant and reminisce for hours about a bygone era as though it were yesterday.  That we can still feel the connections though a lifetime of events have filled the 'in-between years'.
Once again I realize how special it is to travel this way and the opportunities I have along the way to renew friendships.

   

From Kathy's house I drove into the little town of Calistoga--where the bottled water comes from.  

  

 The town is quaint and touristy with lots of interesting artwork throughout.



I especially liked this ten foot plant.

 

Then, as I drove through downtown I espied this unusual tree followed by 4 more.
I had to know more so I pulled into a parking lot and got out to explore.  

Each flower box had a sign attached

'I WANT LESS.............'

and the notes on the trees were placed there by passers-by, each note expressing the writer's anonymous  thought.
(answers;  Taxes, BS, criticism, backaches, kids, mother in law....)

'I WANT MORE........

(answers: Love, sex, money, appreciation, Jason, silliness.....} 

  

'ONE THING I'M GRATEFUL FOR.......'

'I'M HAPPIEST WHEN.....'

(on this one I put, "When Sigh Me curls up next to me on a cold night and purrs)

  

When I first pulled into that parking lot next to the trees a man came running out from one of those buildings and started shouting at me to stop.  Since I had already stopped and was getting ready to leave the RV I thought I must have parked in the wrong place.  So I put the window down and the following conversation occurred,
 "I'll  move." I said.
He yelled, "Oh, God!  Just don't back up!"
I said, "I wasn't planning to. But I'll find another parking place."
He was clearly agitated, "Do whatever you want, JUST DON'T HIT MY CAR!"
I was confused.  "What car?"  Whereupon he pointed to that covered vehicle.
"I am sure I will not hit your car!" I said.  By now I was getting annoyed but he had to add,  "My car is very expensive.  Just be sure you keep that RV out of reverse" and he stormed away in a huff.
For a brief instant I contemplated what was under that tarp and how much it might cost me to back up and flatten it.

Bolinas

There is a town on the California coast that is so reclusive you will find no highway signs pointing the way.  Some years ago I read an article about the town that piqued my interest and made me want to go there even more than usual.  Bolinas is not on any main highway, secondary highway or even any throughway--it sits on a peninsula at the very end of a small, unmarked, unremarkable country road somewhere north of San Francisco and west of Sausalito.


If you study a map of the California coast with a magnifying glass you will find it--and if you didn't know better you would dismiss it as too small and not worth the time or trouble.

 
As I crossed Mt Tamalpais from Sausalito and headed down toward the ocean I encountered a major fog bank.  It gave the approach to the town an eerie, other-world feel--right out of a Stephen King novel.


What intrigued me about this town is that the residents have removed and destroyed so many signs leading to their town that the state finally agreed that no more signs would be put on the highways.  This is one town that does not want a bunch of tourists cluttering it up.  So naturally, I had to go there.

As the fog began to clear I could see the peninsula off in the distance.

At least Elizabeth, the GPS knew which way to turn--otherwise I am not sure I would have selected the right direction.


This was the only identification--already I was glad I had come. 

Darn!  The sign reads, 'Camping on Bolinas Beach is prohibited at all times'

  

But just as I was beginning to think the welcome might be a little strained I started meeting some really nice people, who had time to visit with me and tell me about their unusual community.

  

One shopkeeper offered her yard if I wanted to spend the night and I was tempted but I  declined the offer.

The homes were charming with lots of courtyards, patios,


and nice places to sit and visit with one's neighbors.




As I walked I began to notice that the small inlet from the bay was losing its water...

Boats were sitting high and dry.

All the houses on the bay side were on stilts with porches over the water.  One resident told me everyone there is especially mindful of the tides and have to time their fishing trips accordingly.


And then I found their little museum,

Here were the road signs that had been purloined over the years.

The museum was directly across the street from these houses sitting on the bay and I could look out the door and see this view.  When I read the following notice I realized I had traveled even further than originally thought:

YOU ARE NO LONGER ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT.

This is a landscape of remarkable geology.  Where you stand now, turn and look out the door at the hills. They are the edge of the North American tectonic plate.  You are now standing on the Pacific Tectonic plate.  We are on the Point Reyes Peninsula which is an island of land that has been moving northward for millions of years.  The lagoon is the San Andreas Fault, the actual division of two great tectonic plates.

I left the continent and didn't even need a passport.

 
This was a good rendering of the town and its bay.  It was a nice visit and I sure hope the word does not get out about this little town's great charm. McDonald's would just ruin it.

We miss you Charles Schulz...

It was a sad day when the following headline appeared in every newspaper in the country.
(All italics in the following posting is copied from material found throughout the museum.)


The nation's beloved cartoonist was no more--but he left a legacy that will endure for far longer than Charles Schulz had lived.

The Charles Shultz Museum in Santa Rosa was worth every minute of  my time.  I found myself smiling from the moment I walked up to the entrance where I encountered the ever-hopeful Charlie Brown pointing me the way to the ticket office.

The building is lovely, built by his widow in the very neighborhood where Charles Schulz worked. The gardens are beautiful...

And filled with old friends.

  
The charming little characters are everywhere inside...

each one a classic in his own way.


The walls of the two story building are covered with hundreds of Schulz's cartoons and I found myself wanting to read every one.

 But this cartoon best describes my present day frustration with all the cords related to the electronics that have taken over my life--computer, iPad, camera, chargers, speakers, grrr! No matter how hard I try to stay organized those cords will inevitably end up in a single snarled ball. I think Linus said it all.

"The comics entered my world early;  I was two days old when an uncle nicknamed me 'Sparky', short for Spark Plug, Barney Google's horse in a popular comic strip of the time.  And that name has stayed with me since." CMS


"Think about the content of Peanuts: frustration, loss and fear of loss, insecurity, aspiration of art and heroism, love lust, sibling rivalry, arrogance, kindness, friendship, disgrace, rebellion and the existential orneriness of everyday existence.  Realize that these grand themes have been expressed with charm and unfailing humor in drawings as simple and evocative as a fine haiku every day for almost 50 years. " 


I just spent 3 weeks with my two sisters so the above cartoon may be a little too close.  HMMM....

Lucy to the rescue.  

  But I love my sisters--just hope they love me back.

"Cartooning is still just drawing funny pictures." CMS


Look at this picture.  There are only seven small lines plus a squiggle for his hair yet he is universally recognized. And the dismay Charlie is feeling is clearly communicated. 

    
Now acknowledge--Charles Schulz is one of the century's greatest artists."

The San Francisco Bay Model

Where can you 'walk' around San Francisco Bay in an hour?
My son, Ron, told me about this museum located in Sausalito and it sounded just different enough to be  truly interesting.

I located this enormous, warehouse-type building tucked along a finger of the bay amidst working boats, marinas and boatyards..

  ....The San Francisco Bay/Delta Hydraulic Model is as big as two football fields and mimics water flows and tidal movement through precisely formed channels and bays.  

  

Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1956-57, the Bay Model helped planners and engineers test the impacts of man-made changes to the Bay's tidal flows, currents and salinity.
  

I have traveled around the Bay many many times in my life but never had a clear picture of its true size until I saw this.  (I also had to suppress a strong desire to float a little paper boat on it. This place could be a little boy's dream.)

 
The model reproduces the tides of San Francisco Bay.  Time is scaled to represent a full tidal cycle every fifteen minutes.  (If you look carefully at the water under one of the skylights you can see the ripples on the surface as the tide moves in and out.)

The model is huge and fills this three-acre building.

Today, the Bay Model is an educational tool for residents of the Bay-Delta region and for visitors from around the world.  The physical model continues to demonstrate the tidal conditions of the Bay and Delta.

And after I had circled the Bay I discovered a whole different section that maps the rivers of the Delta that feed into the Bay.


And lovely murals all along the way show the landscape around the Bay.

Suisun Bay

 

 Bay Bridge 

Coast Guard Island

 The following post shows artwork made from debris pulled from the surrounding waters.  All in all this is a great teaching tool for school children--and for me.  Thanks, Ron.