We left very early this morning on our trip to Seattle. Our goal was to get thru downtown LA and over the Grapevine before the traffic got bad. This was the scene that greeted us just as the sun broke thru the morning haze, and we were well on our way!
Going over one of the toll bridges in Oakland.
Our destination for the first day was Santa Rosa. We arrived in plenty of time to tour the Burbank home and gardens.
This horticulturalist introduced more than 800 new varieties of plants- including many fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and flowers. One of the many flowers he developed was the Shasta Daisy.
Kiwi fruit
Interesting fact: the Kiwi is actually a vine, not a tree. The vine on the right side is a female, the vine climbing on the left side of this trellis is a male. The guide told us that it takes 10 male vines to fertilize one female so they can get fruit!
The Burbank Carriage house (main house is behind it to the right)
Beautiful Daisies
Some of the gorgeous gardens on the property
Next we went to the Visitors center to find out info on this city. We were told that Santa Rosa was the place that Charles Schulz-the creator of the Peanuts comic strip- lived and worked for most of his life (even though he was born and raised in St Paul). Like St Paul, there are many of the characters' statues scattered all over the city.
So, off we went to explore the museum! (It was a deliciously cool place to be on this very hot day!)
Peanuts characters...
...and drawings everywhere!
There were several rooms of his comic strips. It was so fun to walk around and read them; also to look around the room at the smiles on the faces of people as they read the comics.
After his death, the office where he worked was moved into the museum.
This mural covered an entire wall...
Each ceramic tile was a comic strip that created the picture.
(close-up of the tiles)
They even had the tiles in the bathrooms!
Peanuts characters were all over the grounds
A hockey Charlie Brown-tribute to Schulz' Minnesota roots.
Just taking a break
In 1969, the Schulz family built a beautiful ice arena/event center for the community.
Both inside and out, the rink has a lovely Swiss chalet motif. The facility hosts many family events throughout the year.
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Look at the scoreboard, even that has a Snoopy character!
The "Peanuts" zamboni
close-up of the painted zamboni
Woodstock
We topped off the tour with a delicious chocolate-peanut butter ice cream cone (yum!) before heading to our hotel for the evening. It was an exhausting, but fun first day of the trip.
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