Scenes from Santa Cruz
Travel
Charles M. Schulz Museum & Research Center
If you’re ever in Santa Rosa, you’re in for a treat. Santa Rosa is where Charles Schulz (AKA Sparky) spent the last 30 years of his life. This is where he drew Peanuts, y’all! Over the years he became a part of the community there, and you can feel the love when you step into his museum.
But first, they lure you in with the promise of some vanity shots.
In another life …
So true.
I started out the museum tour the usual way. I ran to the bathroom first. I was not disappointed.
Charlies
Lucies
Comic tiles add character to the bathroom
This is one of the earliest Peanuts strips. Snoopy looked different back in the day, huh?
Snoopy was inspired by Schulz’s family dog Spike. Japanese artist Yoshiteru Otani’s wood sculpture Morphing Snoopy shows Snoopy’s different incarnations over the years (from Spike to the Red Baron, to modern Knotts Berry Farm Snoopy). Thankfully they left out Joe Cool. I hated that persona.
This was my favorite piece in the museum. It’s the same artist. A mural of a familiar scene 🙂
It’s made up of 10 years worth of comics strips. NUTS. Although maybe this is not that exciting now that they have programs that automatically set it up for you.
Can this be my living room?
There was an interesting exhibit on how Mid Century Modern design played into the comic strip. It’s honestly something that I’d never noticed before.
An exhibit on the history of the Peanuts tv holiday specials.
Schulz’s comic influences from the 20s and 30s
Sparky’s early work
Tools of the trade
An exhibit on creating Snoopy’s family tree
A mural that Schulz painted for his daughter Meredith’s nursery. They shipped in the actual wall.
This was one of the spookiest exhibits to me- the recreation of Schulz’s studio
ACK!!! It’s Cathy!
Right next door was the skating rink that Schulz had built for the town. He was really into ice hockey and loved to play in seniors games. Note the Midwestern influences.
Famous hockey and ice skating stars came out for games and performances. Check out the Kristi Yamaguchi!
The ice rink had a simple cafe called the Warm Puppy.
Pretty great views of the ice from the cafe
This is where Sparky had his lunch every day. This seat is reserved in his memory.
Kate Spade Saturday Weekender Bag: Itching for a Trip
After about a month of hemming and hawing, I finally took the plunge and bought some luggage. I’m sure it’s no surprise that I got the Saturday Weekender.
While I was doing “research”, I could barely find any real life (non sponsored) photos or reviews of this bag. Very curious. Did no bloggers buy this bag? So I thought I might as well do a review.
I was torn on which size to get as the dimensions had me stumped for a long time:
- Regular size: Height: 16″ Width: 19″ Depth: 8″
- Small size: Height: 14.75″ Width: 14.75″ Depth: 7″
The small looked rather wimpy in the online photos, so regular size it was. Shipping was fast, and I was really pleased with the packaging. Like previous Kate Spade bags I’ve bought everything was carefully packed and protected, from the zippers to the straps. I’m sure I pissed off my coworkers as I was doing my very loud and very lengthy unboxing. I couldn’t help it- the bag was just so well packaged!
It’s pretty big on me. Side note: I think the only time I see myself in a decent full size mirror these days is either shopping or in the work bathroom. This explains a lot.
When I took it home, I did a test packing run. WHOA NELLY. This thing holds a ton when fully loaded! And yep the straps really do stand up.
What I Fit in the Bag:
- 3 pairs of shoes (bottom zone)
- 2 pairs of jeans
- 8 shirts
- 3 dresses
- Underwear
- Toiletries
- Canvas jacket
- Swimsuit
- Water bottle
And there was still space for more. But to be fair, it was heavy as hell. Oh right, that’s why I don’t like duffles 🙂
Pros:
It’s a fairly lightweight bag.The bottom compartment is going to be awesome for storing my shoes and dirty laundry. The inside organizer is well thought out and detachable. The bag holds a TON. The zipper pulls are leather, which seemed strange to me at first, but then I realized that they don’t clink. Heaven. Minus points for the plastic zippers however.
Cons:
I knew this from reading the handful of reviews from the website, but it’s not completely obvious due to the dearth of photos- this is a floppy bag with NO structure whatsoever. It will never look like a cute half circle unless you stuff it to the heavens, and then it will probably be be too damn heavy.
While the bottom shoe/dirty laundry compartment was the seller for me, you have to have something in there or the bag collapses upon itself. UGH. Also, two of the side pockets are a bit too shallow to be useful. The only thing that I could think of to put in there is trash. I’m not so sure how comfortable this bag will be in handling real weight. This is probably nitpicky, but when I use the shoulder strap, the two handles hang very awkwardly upright since they are so stiff. I imagine this will lessen in time.
Looking back and knowing my personal packing patterns (minimalist), I should have gotten the smaller bag. Because no doubt that that bag could have held a ton too.
Verdict:
Despite all the cons I posted, I’m still smitten with the bag. Why? I have no clue. Love is strange like that. It’s just such an easy cheerful bag. Looking forward to taking it for a trip soon, perhaps this Saturday?
The Road to Taco Bell: My 7.84 Mile Drunken Hike to the Most Beautiful Taco Bell in the World
Friends who follow me on Instagram may have noticed a few pics from last weekend chronicling my treacherous hike on the Taco Bell Trail.
Hold on, let me explain myself.
About a month ago I was at a friend’s pool party reading the latest issue of Lucky Peach. The topic of the quarter was travel, and I was entranced by a great 4 page story about the author’s emotional attachment to Taco Bell. He was an artist, and loved Taco Bell so much that he created a Taco Bell drawing club. Yeah, it’s what it sounds like. The story ended with the author’s description of the best Taco Bell he’s ever been to. It’s in Pacifica, which is about 20 minutes from SF.
My ex-coworker and close friend* Cody loves Taco Bell as much as I do, and indeed moreso, so I sent him a snap of just the story headline. He thought it sounded awesome, and mentioned that he’s always wanted to write a similar story about the one in Pacifica… I knew then that a trip to this Taco Bell was in order.
(*This is a true statement, and I only mention it because you know, I’m not a weirdo that just texts everybody about Taco Bell.)
The timing was great because my friend Pravisti lives in Pacifica! I weaseled my way into her weekend with a few strategically placed texts, and then it was on.
Ryan and I hopped on the BART to Pacifica, and we spent the night doing Pacifica type things with our host, such as being cold and eating burgers while spotting important techie people at trendy family friendly restaurants. We drank some beers, and I bought some canned cocktails from the liquor store (“Manhattan” and “Long Island Iced Tea”) that… when push came to shove, I was honestly too terrified to drink. Then we watched Honey Boo Boo for about 4 hours. I’m not kidding.
The next day we went for a run in the morning (training for a 5k).
Then we hung out, watched some show about cat whisperers and had some more beer. Later in the afternoon it was game time for Taco Bell. That was when Pravi finally looked up the details and we saw that it was 3 and a half miles to Taco Bell. Walking there would take at least an hour. Getting back would take an hour. SHIT.
We thought about driving there, but you know, I had this dream in my mind of HIKING THE COAST to Taco Bell. After some conversation we said hell, let’s do it. Seven miles be damned.
We begin upon the road to Taco Bell with a dog that is 50 years old in dog years.
The hills kind of sucked.
But getting down was scarier. I am good at going up, but not going down. So I sat on my butt and slid down the other side of the hill. Ugh.
After several buttslides, and after passing several beaches where I just wanted to STOP and chillax, we still had to cross an annoying waterway. I was worried that our dog mascot might die while we tried to ford this little stream. He was very skittish. Also, there was a band filming a music video nearby on the beach, so things were complicated at this intersection.
Hey! Do you see the Taco Bell? No, me neither. But it’s there.
It is so beautiful! I’m so happy! Also, Taco Bell is hiring.
This Taco Bell is wonderful because it’s right on the beach. Right where surfers are surfing. When they are feeling tired of their surfer ways, they can sidle up to the walk up window and order without dragging sand across Taco Bell’s sacred floors. It is a beautiful thing.
Intense discussion about the Crunchwrap Supreme.
Victory. Eight variations on the same idea.
After 1000 calories, we hiked back. This time we took a longer and less rigorous route.
Success! 7.84 miles and 3 and a half hours later. This is living, people.
It goes without saying, but if you’re ever in Pacifica, check out this Taco Bell. Tell me how much you love it.
Luggage Lust Part II
Kate Spade vintage trunk suitcase / Filson Small Duffle / Ni Hao Luggage Tag / LL Bean Signature Medium Duffle / Kate Spade Saturday  Small Weekender Bag
Yeah, I’m still daydreaming about luggage. We all have to have hobbies. Clockwise, from the top.
- This Po Campo bag is a really great copycat version of the Kate Spade Saturday  Weekender that I wanted. The leather is unfortunately “vegan” (PFTT BULLSHIT ITS PVC JUST CALL IT THAT) but it’s only 95 bucks and looks like it would double quite nicely as a gym bag since it has elastic straps for a yoga mat. Here’s a lovely review of the bag from a cute blogger with 180 style from me :).
- Here’s the Kate Spade version for comparison. Love that green. 150$
- More Kate Spade. Vintage inspired trunk wheeled luggage. Since we’re dreaming here. In real life that is 700 bucks and that makes me sad. The little pink Ni Hao luggage tag is cheerful at only 6 bucks. Sold.
- A simple and sturdy duffle from LL Bean Signature. 60$
- So of course I’m not a convert for duffles, but the other day I saw my boss’s Filson bag.  I guess duffle bags aren’t so bad if they look like that. Unfortunately Filson bags, like most beautiful things are PRICEY- 250+++. That’s not right!
If I get the Kate Spade Weekender, which I might, I’m going to write a review because there are basically no non-sponsored reviews/photos of the bag online. Did anybody anywhere ever buy this bag? What the heck. It’s infuriating.
