The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center is a museum dedicated to the works of Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip. The museum opened on August 17, 2002, and is located in Santa Rosa, California.

The museum is home to many of the original Peanuts strips, as well as other artwork by Schulz. Two works by Japanese artist Yoshiteru Otani dominate the Great Hall: a 3.5 ton wood sculpture depicting the evolution of Snoopy and a 22 ft (6.7 m). high ceramic mural comprised of 3,588 Peanuts strips which combine to form the image of Lucy van Pelt holding the football for Charlie Brown to kick it.Among the museum's permanent exhibits is a work by Christo which depicts Snoopy's doghouse wrapped, Schulz's personal studio, tributes to Schulz from other artists and several others.

Charles Monroe Schulz (November 26, 1922 �" February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist best known worldwide for his Peanuts comic strip.

Life and career

Charles Monroe Schulz was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up in Saint Paul. He was the only child of Carl Schulz, who was German, and Dena, who was Norwegian. His uncle nicknamed him "Sparky" after the horse Spark Plug in the Barney Google comic strip.

Schulz loved drawing and sometimes drew his dog, Spike. Spike ate unusual things, like pins and tacks. Schulz drew a picture of Spike and sent it to Ripley's Believe It or Not! Then, his drawing appeared in the comic published by Robert Ripley with the caption "A dog that eats pins, tacks, and razor blades is owned by Charles F. Schulz of St. Paul, Minn. Drawn by 'Sparky'" His middle initial was mistaken in the caption.

Schulz attended St. Paul's Richard Gordon Elementary School, where he skipped two half-grades. He became a shy timid teenager, perhaps as a result of being the youngest in his class at Central High School.

After his mother died in February 1943, he was drafted into the United States Army and was sent to Fort Campbell in Kentucky. He was shipped to Europe two years later to fight in World War II with the U.S. 20th Armored Division. Schulz attained the rank of Staff Sergeant and was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.

After leaving the army in 1945, he returned to Minneapolis where he took a job as an art teacher at Art Instruction, Inc. �" he had taken correspondence courses before he was drafted. Schulz, before having his comics published, began doing lettering work for a Catholic comic magazine titled Timeless Topix, where he would rush back and forth from dropping off his lettering work and teaching at Art Instruction Schools, Inc.

Schulz first made money for his comics when he sent in a drawing to The Saturday Evening Post. Schulz received $40 for the first drawing, and was asked to send more. Schulz sent in more comics similar to the first one. He received $40 for each of those. After sending a total of 13 cartoons in, Schulz ended his partnership with SEP.

Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to the Saturday Evening Post; the first of seventeen single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped in January, 1950.

Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957 �" 1959), but abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he also contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God (Anderson).

Charlie Brown, the principal character for Peanuts, was named after a co-worker at the Art Instruction Schools; he drew much of his inspiration, however, from his own life:

    * Like Charlie Brown, Schulz's father was a barber and his mother a housewife.

    * Schulz had a dog when he was a boy. Unlike Snoopy the beagle, it was a pointer. Eventually, it was revealed that Snoopy had a desert-dwelling brother named Spike.

    * Spike's residence, outside of Needles, California, was likely influenced by the few years (1928 �" 1930) that the Schulz family lived there; they had moved to Needles to join other family members who had relocated from Minnesota to tend to an ill cousin.

    * Schulz was also shy and withdrawn.

    * Schulz's "Little Red-Haired Girl" was Donna Johnson, an Art Instruction Schools accountant with whom he fell in love. Schulz was planning to propose to her, but before he got an opportunity to do so, she agreed to marry another man.

    * Linus and Shermy were both named for good friends of his (Linus Maurer and Sherman Plepler, respectively).

    * Lucy was inspired by Joyce Halverson, his first wife.

    * Peppermint Patty was inspired by Patricia Swanson, one of his cousins on his mother's side.

Schulz moved briefly to Colorado Springs, Colorado. He painted a wall in that home for his daughter Meredith, featuring Patty, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. The wall was removed in 2001 and donated to the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California. The restored artwork by Schulz is printed in the paperback edition of Chip Kidd's book Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz.

Schulz's family returned to Minneapolis and stayed until 1958. They then moved to Sebastopol, California, where Schulz built his first studio. It was here that Schulz was interviewed for the unaired television documentary A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Some of the footage was eventually used in a later documentary titled Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz. The original documentary is available on DVD from The Charles M. Schulz Museum.

Schulz's father died while visiting him in 1966, the same year his Sebastopol studio burned down. By 1969, Schulz had moved to Santa Rosa, California, where he lived and worked for more than 30 years.

Schulz had a long association with ice sports, as both figure skating and ice hockey featured prominently in his cartoons. In Santa Rosa, he was the owner of the Redwood Empire Ice Arena, which opened in 1969. Schulz's daughter Amy served as a model for the figure skating in the 1980 television special She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown. Schulz also was very active in Senior Ice Hockey tournaments; in 1975, he formed Snoopy's Senior World Hockey Tournament at his Redwood Empire Ice Arena, and in 1981, Schulz was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding service to the sport of hockey in the United States. In 1998, he hosted the 1st ever Over 75 Hockey Tournament (although goalies could be younger - 60). In 2001, Saint Paul renamed The Highland Park Ice Arena the "Charles Schulz Arena" in his honor.

Although Schulz authorized a biography, Rheta Grimsley Johnson's Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz during his lifetime, the first full-scale biography since his death, Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography, by David Michaelis, was released in October 2007. The book has been heavily criticized by the Schulz family, with son Monte stating it has "a number of factual errors throughout... [including] factual errors of interpretation" while Michaelis maintains that there is "no question" his work is accurate. Although artist Bill Watterson (creator of Calvin & Hobbes) feels that the biography does justice to Schulz's legacy, while giving insight into the emotional impetus of the creation of the strips, cartoonist and critic R.C. Harvey regards the book as falling short in both describing Schulz as a cartoonist and in fulfilling Michaelis' stated aim of "understanding how Charles Schulz knew the world", feeling the biography bends the facts to a thesis rather than evoking a thesis from the facts.

In light of David Michaelis' biography and the controversy surrounding his interpretation of the personality that was Charles Schulz, responses from his family reveal some intimate knowledge about the Schulz's persona beyond that of mere artist.

Death

Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years without interruption and appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999. This was difficult for Schulz, and he was quoted as saying to Al Roker on The Today Show, "I never dreamed that this would happen to me. I always had the feeling that I would stay with the strip until I was in my early eighties, or something like that. But all of sudden it's gone. I did not take it away. This has been taken away from me."

Schulz died in Santa Rosa of complications from colon cancer at 9:45 p.m. on February 12, 2000. He was interred in Pleasant Hills Cemetery in Sebastopol.

The last original strip ran the day after his death. In it, a statement was included from Schulz that his family wished for the strip to end when he was no longer able to produce it. Schulz had previously predicted that the strip would outlive him, with his reason being that comic strips are usually drawn weeks before their publication. As part of his will, Schulz had requested that the Peanuts characters remain as authentic as possible and that no new comic strips based on them be drawn. United Features has legal ownership of the strip, but his wishes have been honored, although reruns of the strip are still being syndicated to newspapers. New television specials have also been produced since Schulz's death, but the stories are based on previous strips.

Schulz had been asked if, for his final Peanuts strip, Charlie Brown would finally get to kick that football after so many decades. His response: "Oh, no! Definitely not! I couldn't have Charlie Brown kick that football; that would be a terrible disservice to him after nearly half a century."

He was honored on May 27, 2000, by cartoonists of 42 comic strips paying homage to him and Peanuts.

Awards

Schulz received the National Cartoonist Society Humor Comic Strip Award in 1962 for Peanuts, the Society's Elzie Segar Award in 1980, their Reuben Award for 1955 and 1964, and their Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. He was also a hockey fan; in 1981, Schulz was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding contributions to the sport of hockey in the United States, and he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993. On June 28, 1996, Schulz was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, adjacent to Walt Disney's. A replica of this star appears outside his former studio in Santa Rosa. Schulz is a recipient of the Silver Buffalo Award, the highest adult award given by the Boy Scouts of America, for his service to American youth.

On June 20, 2000 the United States Congress posthumously awarded Schulz the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor the US legislature can award. Schulz's widow, Jean, accepted the award on behalf of her late husband.

Schulz was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2007.

Legacy

In 2000, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors rechristened the Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport in his honor. The airport's logo features Snoopy in goggles and scarf, taking to the skies on top of his red doghouse.

The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa opened on August 17, 2002, two blocks away from his former studio and celebrates his life's work and art of cartooning. A bronze statue of Charlie Brown and Snoopy stands in Depot Park in downtown Santa Rosa.

The Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center at Sonoma State University is one of the largest libraries in the CSU system and the state of California with a 400,000 volume general collection and with a 750,000 volume automated retrieval system capacity. The $41.5 million building was named after Schulz and his wife donated a large sum of the money, $5 million, needed to build and furnish the structure. The library opened in 2000 and now stands as one of the largest buildings in the university.

Peanuts on Parade has been Saint Paul, Minnesota’s tribute to its favorite native cartoonist. It began in 2000 with the placing of 101 five-foot tall statues of Snoopy throughout the city of Saint Paul. Every summer for the next 4 years statues of a different Peanuts character were placed on the sidewalks of Saint Paul. In 2001 there was Charlie Brown Around Town, 2002 brought Looking for Lucy, then in 2003 along came Linus Blankets Saint Paul, ending in 2004 with Snoopy lying on his doghouse. The statues were auctioned off at the end of each summer, so some remain around the city but others have been relocated. Permanent, bronze statues of the Peanuts character are also found in Landmark Plaza in downtown Saint Paul.

For the past five years, Forbes Magazine has rated Schulz the second "highest paid deceased person" in America (after Elvis Presley), with his estate continuing to garner income totaling more than $32 million since his passing. According to the book "Where Are They Buried?" (as well as other sources), Charles M. Schulz's income during his lifetime totaled more than $1.1 billion.

Religion

Schulz touched on religious themes in his work, including the classic television cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which features the character Linus van Pelt quoting the King James Version of the Bible Luke 2:8-14 to explain "what Christmas is all about." In personal interviews Schulz mentioned that Linus represented his spiritual side.

Schulz, reared in the Lutheran faith, had been active in the Church of God (Anderson) as a young adult and then later taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. But, he remained a member of the Church of God (Anderson) until his death.

In an interview in the late 1980s, Schulz stated that his philosophical views had changed over the years:

    I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.

In the 1960s, Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations in Peanuts as being consistent with parts of Christian theology, and used them as illustrations during his lectures about the gospel, and as source material for several books, as he explained in his bestselling paperback book, The Gospel According to Peanuts.

JULZ(MZJULZ85) ROCKS!!!! you get a cupcake and then some. she is our GPS to find a FOR YO spot in santa rosa. we have been in Sonoma county all day. there is got to be a frozen yogurt place. it was a small place we got in in time. it was about close. there was a bad ass coffee co. next to it. we could get some tea and coffee before hitting the road. they had 2 sugar free flavors, vanilla and strawberry. i made my normal concoction , peanuts, oreo cookies, and a pinch of graham crackers. we hung out until they closed. it will be a long drive to SACTO. it had a limited amount of fruit. however, it looked like it came from the freezer. the flavor of my sugar free vanilla was yummy. i put some much toppings that i can't tell how the vanilla tastes. erin and i briefly talked to the owner, erin has his name. he is a young guy made me look old just looking at him HAHAHA. i know where to go if i am in the area next time.

This was named after Guy's co-partner's son and of course added the garlic for the majority of the menu has garlic. i was surprisingly a small restaurant. we when during lunch time on a sunday. strangely it was a slow day. no matter i enjoyed my sloppy joe sliders. i was perfectly seasoned. it did not give me heart burn. I ORDERED: Guy's Sloppy Joe Sliders Guy’s signature sloppy joe recipe served over three buttered potato rolls, topped with crispy Maui onions. ERIN ORDERED: Guy's Morgan’s Veggie Burger Vegetarian! Fresh hand made veggie burger, made with chic peas, black beans, white beans, oats, red bell peppers, jalapenos, garlic, artichoke hearts, red onions, olives and spices. Served on grilled panini with green leaf lettuce, roma tomatoes, red onions, avocado and a cilantro lime aioli sauce. i would like to go back to try a list of yummy items: Sashimi Won Tons Diced ahi tuna combined with jicama, scallions, red onion, and cucumber in a soy sauce, served in wonton cups. Johnny’s "Dip" Our smoked beef thinly sliced and marinated with jalapeno jack, sour cream horseradish and some dynamite au jus on a sourdough baguette. Meatball Sandwich Our house made meatballs, smothered in tomato sauce, covered in mozzarella cheese served on a toasted sourdough baguette. Killer Garlic Fries French fries cooked golden brown and tossed with fresh garlic, salt & pepper, parsley and parmesan cheese.

When I watched the Next Food Network Star and Guy Fieri's start, I saw he owned a restaurant in the Northern California area and thought if I ever get out here, I want to go. Little did I know I was going to moving back to CA shortly thereafter! With Melanie visiting for the weekend, it was finally time to go try it with someone who would truly appreciate being in Guy's actual restaurant! There are two locations - one in Santa Rosa and then another one in Windsor. Johnny Garlic's was started by Guy and his partner Steve and has grown to include catering operations that can handle weddings and other mobile functions. The name Johnny Garlic's is Johnny for Steve's first son and garlic being a staple in the foodie community. You will find Hunter's Selections on the menu which is for Guy's son that he used to talk about a lot when he was performing on the show. While everything looked good on the menu, Melanie and I opted to eat on the lighter side since we were going to be trying other Guy Fieri stops throughout the day! Both Melanie and I decided to try Guy signature items: Guy's Sloppy Sliders, $9.50 - Signature sloppy joe recipe served over three buttered potato rolls, topped with crispy Maui onions. Guy's Morgan's Veggie Burger, $8.95 - Fresh hand made veggie burger, made with chick peas, black beans, white beans, oats, red bell peppers, jalapenos, garlic, artichoke hearts, red onions, olives, and spices. Served on grilled panini with green leaf lettuce, roma tomatoes, red onions, avocado and a cilantro lime aioli sauce. Mel's sloppy joe sliders looked amazing and my veggie burger was absolutely delicious. Both sandwiches were served with their homemade garlic potato chips. They have a lunch menu available during the week until 4pm and they let us order the sandwiches even though it was a Sunday. I can't wait to come back and try some of their dinner entrees and the garlic soup! Yummy! I can't believe I was finally standing in the restaurant Guy Fieri created - it was an amazing moment and I hope one day I might get lucky enough to run into him in there! LOL.

Home at last!

I stayed at this property about 4 years ago and vowed never to return. I decided to give it one more try just last week and was wowed! This hotel is now gorgeous and very comfortable! It has obviously been recently renovated and is now worthy of the Hilton name. The hotel is very large and sprawled out into separate building wings with cute wine-themed names like "Burgundy" and "Chablis." Parking is ample and convenient at each building. The hotel itself is nestled in the foothills and has a real chalet style feel to it. The rooms are huge with large bay windows. Since the hotel is on a hill, you get great views all around. The decor is pleasant and very wine country-esque with the perfect combination of both space and storage. The bathrooms only have one sink, but the counters are granite-topped. The carpet is plush and soft as are the linens and bedding. There is ample room to move around -- this is one of more spacious rooms I've ever stayed in! I was also pleased to find an individually controlled thermostat in the room which was TRULY guest controlled -- no program timers or buttons that would shut off the a/c (this is a huge pet peeve of mine, but I am pleased to report that I could keep the room as cool as I wanted). The hotel is in a very safe area and as a woman traveller, I would not hesitate to stay here by myself. I felt very safe and secure. There are lots of suburban malls nearby for an inexpensive chain restaurant dinner or a quick stop to pick up forgotten items during your travels. The major downside of this property is that it really is far away from the main wineries. While it is right off the 101 (literally), to get to Napa it takes about an hour. There are some wineries that are close; Korbel and Kendall Jackson are about a 25 minute drive away. Healdsburg, the Russian River Valley and Sonoma are also quite a drive. This is more of a relaxing hotel, not a place you'd want to stay if you are planning a bunch of sightseeing (unless you want to drive and drive and drive some more). I think a first-time visitor to the California wine country would be extremely disappointed in the location of this Hilton.

Our daughter, Tara and her fiance' Robert suggested going to Kendall-Jackson Winery for a wine and food pairing. I had never been to one, but had heard about them from Tara. Tara, Robert, Morgan June (our middle daughter) and I drove over. Robert is a pastry chef at the winery. The winery was located in the middle of a peaceful & orderly vineyard. It was so funny getting there as we turned off of crowded, busy, noisy Highway 101 onto Fulton road. 5 minutes later we were at a wonderful, tranquil, green and quiet oasis with beautiful gardens and lush rows of grape vines. The walk way was lined with beautiful and unusual plants, roses and statuary. There was a center piece three tiered fountain that set the gardens off perfectly. We met a gentleman, Bruce Willis (the actor is actually named after him) who asked us where we wanted to sit for the tasting/pairing. I asked him where he suggested. He said, definetly the front. We went back out the front door and sat at a table in the garden setting. We had gotten white wine to stroll the gardens with. The waiters came out they combined two tables as we needed to have two persons to a table. When they brought out the wine we saw why. We each got five glasses of wine. The chef explained the qualities, taste and growing region of each wine. It was facinating to hear of the complexity of the growing conditions that make each type of wine. The first was 2007 Grand Reserve Rose'. It had just been completed and released the day before (05/29/2008). It was a soft rose pink color. The second was a Highland Estates Camelot Chardonnay 2006. (I love that name). It was a soft golden wine. The third was a Monterey County Pinot Noir 2005. It was a light ruby color....quite beautiful in the glass. The fourth was Highland Estates Hawkeye Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. It was a bold red garnet color with enough clarity to be gleaming in a glass. We also had Late Harvest Chardonnay Monterey 2006. It was a dessert wine that was liquid gold in the glass. Chef Matthew Lowe explained the area the grapes were grown and why the grapes and wine had the qualities it did. It was complex and fascinating. We sat and swirled the different glasses and smelled the wine in the glasses. It was amazing that each really did have a completely different and unique smell. A plate of foods were brought that were perfectly coordinated with the wines. The presentation of the foods was outstanding. It also included a chocolate truffle that Robert had made. (the desciption was: Cabernet and cream are infused with chocolate then the ganache mixture is rolled into truffle shapes and duted with cocoa powder... ) We had small cards that described (in detail) all of the foods and wines we were sampling. ~The Rose' was paired with sturgeon cured in sumac with radishes and pickled rhubarb. When eating the food with the wine it was amazing that we could taste the rhubarb flavor in the wine. Brilliant pairing in our opinion. ~The Chardonnay was paired with a chilled soup of potato and fennel Vichyssoise with shrimp poached in chardonnay. The shrimp was wonderful and the soup was so refreshing and different. The chardonnay was dry and crisp tasting and the soup brought it out perfectly. ~The Highand estates Pinot Noir was paired with thinly sliced smoked duck with mustard made from strawberries and radishes grown on site. A delightful looking and tasting treat. ~The Highland Estates Hawkeye Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon was paired with my absolute favorite food dish. It was tender, melt in your mouth lamb with Chimichurri... Wonderful and perfect blends of taste....paired with the full bodied Cabernet it was robust and fruity. The cabernet was almost a desert wine paired with the the chocolate truffles. We also had the Carmel corn paired with Late Harvest Chardonnay Monterey 2006. The grapes are left on the vine until they are almost raisins then picked and processed into an amazing dessert wine. The label (I bought two) perfectly describes it: "Our winemakers call this "liquid gold" aromas of honey, apricot and honeysuckle meld together for a lush, robust and lingering mouthfeel" I felt very privileged to meet and chat with three of the chefs: Executive Chef Justin Wangler, Chef Matthew Lowe and Chef Ryan Pillnow. (Robert knows them as he works there) All very personable, knowledgeble, and enthused about the wine process, growing of grapes and pairing of the wines and foods. I learned a great deal. Recipes are listed on the website. It is: www.kj.com look under wine and food then recipes. I wanted to share one recipe that is easy yet unusual. This is directly cut and pasted from their site... Hope I am not breaking any laws posting it. "Prosciutto Parmesan and Pine Nut Bruschetta Serve with Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay Servings: Makes 36 slices Ingredients: 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup diced prosciutto 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese ground black pepper to taste 2 French baguettes, cut into 1/2 inch slices 1 cup toasted pine nuts Preparation: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, cream the butter. Blend in prosciutto, Parmesan cheese and ground black pepper. Place baguettes on a medium baking sheet. Heat in the preheated oven until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. Spread baguette slices with the butter mixture. Arrange on a large serving platter. Sprinkle with pine nuts." (From Kendall-Jackson site) If you are in the area this is a unique and interesting experience. We were too late to visit the outdoor gardens but they are amazing from the pictures I saw. The setting was pretty and peaceful. The wine and food were amazingly good. The three Chefs we met were knowledgeable, fun and friendly. The price is really reasonable for the quality of food and information you receive. I am looking forward to going back again. David was not able to come as he was remodeling the top of our barn.... And he NEEDS to try this... he'll love it....

Kevin had all last week to look at places to stay in Madrid and Lisbon.  He found some good choices and he booked them.  I am so excited about our trip.  We leave Chicago in 21 days which means my trip will start a few days before that.  I am so excited to see what happens.  We have left a ton of the trip up in the air for more flexibility.  This week I am going to try to find some places for us in Austria.  Well I will write more when we decide some more stuff.

Hank's was recently featured by Guy Fieri on Food Network's Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives which is one of my favorite shows! Since my parents were visiting for the weekend and we were going to Santa Rosa to see the Charles Schulz museum, thought it would be great to have breakfast here beforehand. They are known for their pancakes which come a variety of ways and looked absolutely yummy on the show. When looking for directions, I found that they are known for extremely long waits on the weekends. I know better and should've told Mom to be ready two hours before I actually wanted to leave so we could keep on schedule! LOL. It's about a two hour drive from the Sacramento area so by the time we arrived, it was almost lunch time! LOL. This is truly a hole in the wall type place - if you miss the entrance, you are screwed! The city of Santa Rosa apparently has a thing against u-turns and after 15 minutes of getting back around to the right street, I managed to find parking in the plaza next door in front of what looked like some mid-evil flower shop! There were quite a few people outside and she said the wait for 4 was about 35 minutes which I didn't think was bad for a Saturday. I am guessing the wait was less since it was almost noon by this point! Once we were inside I understand how the wait could be so long - I only saw about 15 tables or so. It's very tiny but very cozy. I got the House Special of eggs, meat, and 2 buttermilk chocolate chip pancakes! Mom had the Strawberry ones with the most unbelieve fresh whipped cream I've ever tasted. Dad tried the biscuits and gravy which he said were good. Their pancakes are definitely the best I've tried - they are lighter and fluffier than any I've tried before. Still couldn't eat both of them but gave it my best try!!! Between near starvation :-) and being preoccupied watching this family take about 300 pics of each other outside the restaurant (they seriously put us TB'rs to shame with the number of pics they took!!) I forgot to take pics of our food!!! (Sorry Mel!!) In my defense, pictures of bacon and eggs aren't the most exciting anyways! :-) Overall it was pretty reasonable - with tip, the bill ended up around $40. I'd definitely come back if I am in the area again....want to see try their seasonal fruit pancakes and more of that fresh whipped cream! Definitely no Redi-Whip out of a can! LOL.

Since it's Mother's Day weekend and my folks are in town, I wanted to take my Mom up to Santa Rosa to see the Charles M. Schulz museum.  My parents have had a bit of a rough week between a bit of unsettling health related news and then news of a long time family friend passing away as they were driving here Friday evening.  I thought taking them out for a day of sightseeing might help get their minds off everything and be an opportunity for us to all see something new! 

I grew up on Peanuts and Snoopy has a lot to do with how my parents met so I thought this would definitely an awesome way to spend the day.  And I also remembered from my mini Food Network addiction, hottie Guy Fieri's show (Diners, Drive In's, and Dives), there were a couple places featured near Santa Rosa that I've been wanting to try.  Mapped everything out and figured out we could hit a featured restaurant for breakfast, do the museum, also drive up to Healdsburg (about 15 miles north of Santa Rosa) to see the winery one of my attorneys owns, and then head back home through Napa and stop for dinner at the other featured restaurant!

As with the best laid plans, they never quite work out just like you plan! LOL.  Getting Mom up and ready for my planned 8am departure proved to be futile just like I figured.  Santa Rosa isn't that far (almost 2 hours) but given the amount I was trying to pack in a day, I wanted to get up and out early so we'd have time to fit everything in!  We got on the road at 9:45am and we got to our first destination, Hanks Creekside Restaurant in Santa Rosa featured on episode "House Specials" - they are known for their awesome pancakes.  The wait time often exceeds an hour on the weekends.  After missing the parking lot turn (very small place) and the 15 minute adventure getting turned back around and in the place - we only waited 20 minutes!  The food was excellent (review to follow) and we were off and running. 

Passing back through downtown, we saw several buildings and street corners that had bit Peanuts characters statues on display which was neat.  We were in the railroad square area and there was train conductor Charlies Brown and across the street was Woodstock with his train operator's uniform. Of course, had to stop and take a few photos of them! LOL.   We later learned that all these sculptures throughout the city and at the museum were donated by sponsors and artists created unique designs which were later auctioned off. Some ended up in private homes but a majority of them were kept on display in the greater Santa Rosa area.  There's even one of Charlie Brown in his SF Giants uniform on display at the AT&T Park in San Francisco (JillianJ - I have to get a pic of that when we go to the game in August!!). 

Because Holdredge Winery closed at 4:30 and the museum at 5pm, I reversed the order and we went up to Healdsburg first to see the winery and then back down to the museum.  Finally getting to try John's award winning wines was quite the treat!  He is a partner in one of the defense firms we primarily use in that region which isn't my regular territory so I don't get to deal with their office much.  I was told he has one of the best Pinot Noir's in the world (which now has been rated one of the 30 best in the world by Food and Wine Magazine) so I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.  Ended up loving all their wines (did a review already - linked with my wine country blog though).  I will definitely be driving up regularly now to get wine..wow were they awesome! 

After leaving there, we drove around a bit and tried to follow the signs to the new Coppola vineyard which moved from Napa and after be lead on a dead end venture, we turned around and headed to our primary destination which was the museum.   We arrived a little before 3pm so we had plenty of time to peruse everything. 

Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center

The museum was founded in 2002, across the street to the ice rink that Schulz owned and built.  Although originally from Minnesota, Schulz spent the last 30 years of his life in Santa Rosa and was a big influence and icon in the region.  It seemed logical to have the museum built next to the ice rink which was an important part of his daily life, and near the studio where the Peanuts characters came to life.

Unfortunately, you are not able to take pictures in any of the exhibits in the museum, except for the hallways and outdoor courtyard.  The museum features regular, permanent exhibits but also have rotating ones in the lower gallery.  The museum was really interesting and had the Peanuts tie in everywhere (including the bathroom which had some of the comic strips incorporated in the tiles).  There is a recreation of his studio and a wall from the house he once lived at in Colorado that features a nursery room painting he did for his daughter. The new owners of the house helped restore it and the museum paid to have it cut and transported to be a permanent part of the museum's display.  Some of the other highlights of the tour were:

Morphing Snoopy

Spike was Schulz's childhood pet and what inspired the iconic Snoopy we love today.  Artis Yoshiteru Otaini was comissioned to create soem pieces for the museum and this was one of them.  The bas relief sculpture emphasizes Snoopy's evolution from the 1950's to 1990's.  This piece was originally a three-dimensional design rendered in layers of cut paper, has now come to life in a 7,000 lb sculpture that took over two years to complete.  Fabricated by Academy Studios, it was constructed with 43 layers of deep maple veneer and is 26 feet long, 9.5 feet high, and 10.5 inches deep. 

Christo Wrapped Doghouse

I've been a huge fan of Christo and his rather odd approach to art and even went and saw the umbrellas he did many years ago in Southern California. I was excited to see a connection at the museum.  I couldn't get a pic from the front as it's in the exhibit gallery but you can see the back of it from the main hallways so I at least got that.  Christo had done a Running Fence piece back in Santa Rosa in the mid 1970's that Schulz was not initially a fan of but ended up flying over the piece with his son and it made quite an impression.  In 1978, Schulz did a strip about Christo wherein Snoopy discussed his past projects and what he might do next.  The end shows Snoopy standing by his doghouse which has been wrapped.  Coming full circle, Christo presented a wrapped Snoopy house to Schulz's wife and the museum in 2003 which is part of the permanent gallery. 

Courtyard Sculptures

The outdoor courtyard features several Peanuts sculpture, a granite bench dedicated to the memory of Charles Schulz and then the best is the baseball cap with Woodstock's birthbath underneath.  If you don't go all the way out there and actually under the baseball cap, you will miss the coolest thing!  From a distance, it just looks like a normal birdbath but each panel has a holographic image that is projected onto the birdbath from the lighting in the hat.  Various hocky scenes are visible around the whole bath - we tried to take pics of all of them but a couple were hard to see because of the sunlight. 

Snoopy's Home Ice - The Redwood Ice Arena and the Warm Puppy Cafe

Across the street from the museum is the ice arena that Charles Schulz built and placed hockey in.  It's a full rink with a variety of skating activities available.  Outside are more large Peanuts sculptures and a bench where you can sit with Snoopy and it's a webcam that's updated every 30 seconds.  There's a sign that give the website and tells you to call your family and friends to have them log on so they can see you sitting with Snoopy.  We couldn't figure out who to call that might actually be home on a Saturday evening so we just took pictures with Snoopy instead! LOL.  One of the cool things around the ice arena is the cement stones which have famous ice skaters' autographs in them.  Some very recognizable names including Dorothy Hamil, Peggy Fleming (who was the star for the Gala Opening in 1968), and more recent names like Kriti Yamaguchi. 

Inside, the ice rink is very different than ones I used to frequent when I was into hocky.  It is made to look like you are actually outdoors and has scenery like building windows and lights that give it a unique ambiance. The scoreboard has a Snoopy on it and Charles' Schulz retired jersey number hangs at one end of the rink.  The rink even has a Peanuts themed Zamboni but we did not get to see it run while we were there. 

In conjunction with the Ice Rink is the Warm Puppy Cafe. This was where Charles Schulz at his breakfast and lunch everyday up until he died.  He had a reserved table right by the window that he sat at each day.  Apparently his studio was a short walk nearby which is why he came to the Warm Puppy and to watch the ice rink activity.  Not surprising that they kept his reserved table there as a tribute to the memory of such an icon. 

Snoopy's Gallery and Gift Shop

Across the parking lot from the ice rink if you continue to wander along the street is the Gallery and Gift Shop. It's almost like another museum in itself! Apart from the unique and cool Peanuts collectibles, the second floor has various Snoopy memoribilia and more personal items from Schulz' own collection.  Most large Peanuts sculptures fill the corners and there is a huge Red Baron hanging from the ceiling that is the center of the entire store and gallery. 

On the ramp upstairs is custom handwoven carpets that line the hallways with Peanuts scenes and as you near the top, the most gorgeous Snoopy themed stained glass window and the best is the original barber shop pole from Schulz's dad's store back in Minnesota. It is still fully functional and hanging on the wall for visitors to enjoy.  Posters and merchandise from various around the world openings and shows decorate the exhibit cases there.  Snoopy from around the world dolls which was a big exhibit a number of years back.  More hockey jerseys from Schulz's ice rink.  This was almost as good as the museum itself! LOL

Once we finished at the gallery and store, we were ready to head back to Sacramento.  I had planned to take a detour through Napa to stop at the other foodie place I saw featured on Food Network that I've been wanting to try.  They are known for their Ahi Burger which is sushi grade ahi flown in every day! YUM!  After getting lost and stopping in a super upscale Santa Rosa neighborhood to check out some new houses for sale (took some pics as these were some gorgeous homes - cheapest was reduced to 1.9 Million), we finally made it to St. Helena and the home of Taylor's Refresher.  After all that and windy turns for miles, I am ready for my Ahi Burger.  We get up to order and the guy informs me they are OUT of Ahi!!! WHAT?!!?!?!  Ok, so it was an hour or so before closing but WHAT?!?!  He said oh, I just missed it by about 10 minutes.  Grrrrrr.  Needless to say, everyone made fun of me the rest of the night if I hadn't just made that last wrong turn I would've had my Ahi Burger instead of a Blue Cheese one!  Oh well, it was an experience....one that almost caused me to keel over right then and there.  I thought this would be a cool alternative to a restauarant because being a drive in type place, you'd expect it to be fairly reasonable pricewise.  $70 for 4 of us - burgers, fries/onion rings and drinks.  When he told me the total I tried not to yelp and he proceeds to read the order back but all I can hear is $70 in my head for burgers!!! LOL  Don't get me wrong they were worth every penny but I was just not expecting that total! LOL. 

All in all it was a fun day and I am looking forward to getting back up to that Santa Rosa wine country area to check things out some more!  Fun times!  

Ok, so I've hung out quite a bit in Napa but never hopped over the hills to Sonoma!  I had to go to a mediation today in Santa Rosa and this was going to be my first time through there...unfortunately, no way to stop for any wine tasting before work!  Not that I could've anyways since I was running late like always!  I had the best intentions of trying to stop at various scenic stops and try a couple wineries on the way back home.....no such luck either since my mediation ran way past winery closing times and I am lucky there was even any daylight left when I got done!!!  Over 3 hours to get back to Sacramento but I did get to see the most amazing sunset (in my rear view mirror though!). 

Pictures of a four hour walk in this beautiful park close to the city...

During a hike in Anadel State Park you can clearly see different types of forests, i found a great variety of it... unfortunately i don´t know any names of the species of plants, but you can notice this interesting mixture while you see the diverse kinds of landscapes where you´ll pass through, the different tones of colors and shades of the grass and the fields in the mountains in the surroundings. There were terrains with lots of trees and other areas where there was just grass and smaller species of plants or seemed a bit dry.

There are a few paths to follow and at the begining and kind in the middle of the whole path we did we found 2 wooden maps of the Park on case you are getting lost or if you want to change directions, etc.

We passed by a lake too. I was told that in the Park there are snakes, deers and birds, however i didn´t see any. We did have a very beautiful sunset though.

New sign warning about Rattle Snakes in the Park have been placed according to my friend living in the area, so be careful when you go "behind the bushes".

Charles M. Schulz original from Minnesota moved and lived in Santa Rosa, California.

He had his studio at home in this city where he lived for about the 30 last years of his life.

Charles was a firm supporter of sports this is why he built a skating house near his place, he loved to play golf and tennis too and he loved to give children the opportunity to play these games.

For lunch he used to go to the local cafe near his house where he sat everyday on the same chair at the same table, he was quite man and people tried not to disturb him. I actually met a lady who knew him and she told me this.

He was the creator of the famous comic Peanuts and in the Schulz museum we will see his first works and also his first drawings of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and Co. He got the inspiration by other comic creators. There are also the real gifts that other cartoon creators gave to him and a replic of his studio with the original furniture. Also you will see a painting he did himself for his daughter´s room walls.

You will also find here the many trophees that he won in tennis and in golf, Charles M. Schulz organized a couple of tennis tournements himself where he invited to participate players from other countries.

The entrance to the museum is $9 for adults, if you get a brochure at the touristm info there you have a $2 off coupon. Students pay $5 and you are not allowed to take pictures in most of the areas. It´s open from 12 a.m till 5 p.m.

There´s a nice souvenir shop at the museum and the prices are affordable in comparison to the other shops that are near by and i found them much more expensive.

By the way, i got a snoopy :)

Downtown Santa Rosa there´s the home and gardens of Luther Burbank who was a great scientific of the late XIX century and who developed about 800 new species of plants and fruits.

The ideal season to go there for a visit is on the spring or summer because when i went everything was kind of gray, brown and pale, most of the trees didn´t have leaves and the roses where just in sticks, so... there weren´t much flowers, eventhough it was very interesting and educational to learn about this important person of the USA because i never heard about him before.

There are nice cactus and a lot of home garden plants of the begining of XX century, home gardens usually had some plants of legumes, vegetables and medicinal herbs.

A cute young cat joined me in my journey i don´t know where he came from but was very friendly and he let me cuddle him.

During winter you can not go inside the house of Luther Burbank, which looks very nice from the outside. So, the tours seem to be much more interesting during summer but as I stayed in Santa Rosa the visit was worthed.

The entrance fee was $0 but for the summer i think you will have to pay.

Now that the bags are unpacked and laundry done, I'm finally getting around to the long overdue summary of my adventures. But, since rants and rambling from the road is infinitely more interesting than any attempt at quasi-philisophical musings on the state of international society I could dredge up, let's just say it was good times and leave it at that.

Thanks to everyone who helped me prepare for this trip, who befriended me on the road, and who welcomed me home.

Thanks to everyone who kept up with my adventures on this site, especially those of you I don't actually know. It makes me feel so witty and entertaining. Or at least more so than your current jobs/school/cnn.com.

And for those of you who haven't heard, potential even more excellent adventure on deck...see me for details.

In closing...if anyone is hiring, please also see me for details.  haha.

Happy travels!