Hippie Artifacts

"Good Grief!"

We went away this weekend to Santa Rosa. Which is where Charles Schulz spent the last years of his life. Charles Schulz is known for his "Peanuts" characters including Charlie Brown and Snoopy. When he died in 2000, they decided to build a museum in the city for his honor.

This wall is a photo-mosaic

made of strips of comics.

Our last night in Santa Rosa, we decided to grab some sushi to eat in town. We passed up this one place called Tex Wasabi's. It looked like a just your typical bar. We didn't want sushi from someplace that also served food such as barbecue sandwiches. It just didn't seem right. So we continued walking until we found every place was closed (even non-sushi). Our only choice was Tex Wasabi's. They stamped our hand when we walked in the door as if we were going clubbin'. Dave and sighed at our disappointment. We just wanted a quiet dinner.

Inside we sat down and looked at the menu, which consisted of things like sushi rolls called Dark Side of the Moon and Carburetor. I ate something called a Jackass Roll which had avocado, BBQ pork, and french fries, all wrapped up in Tapioca rice paper with sushi rice. Dave ate a vegetarian roll and ordered Vegas Fries tossed with buffalo hot sauce and blue cheese wasabi. Yum!! Tex-Wasabi's was not what we expected but a very fun place to eat, despite the anti-Zen atmosphere. Check 'em out ... www.TexWasabis.com

Wine-O Weekend

Dave and I rented a car and drove to Napa Valley this weekend. Napa Valley is north of San Francisco. We decided to do a loop and go over the East bridge on Saturday, then come home on Sunday through the Golden Gate Bridge. The city of Napa itself was kind of touristy and yuppie and unless you were there to drink all day...meh. So we decided to go north after being yuppies ourselves for a couple of hours eating at a trendy cafe (mmmm.....ahi tuna sandwich) and drinking lattes. Travel a little north and you find what would normally be a quiet little town called Yountville. Today it was not so quiet. We hit the perfect day at Yountville, when they were having a wine tasting festival to raise money for a charity. I do not remember what charity it was for, but they got a lot of our money. Basically we bought souvenir wine glasses and tickets stubs, giving one or two tickets for each sample of wine. They did give us more than samples, though! Dave and I were pretty giddy.

We were disappointed when the festivities ended, but then we walked into an art gallery owned by a very nice couple and spent hours in there. Dave bought a "Buddha Board" (www.buddhaboard.com ) and I bought a pair of earrings and a bookmark inlaid with several varieties wood. Leaving the store, Dave and I decided that we wanted to own an art gallery like that one day just so we could sell whatever we wanted or thought to be interesting. The couple had something to say about everything that we touched and most importantly didn't mind us touching (especially knowing we probably had a carafe of wine inside each of us).

Overall, Yountville was quite a surprisingly fun little town. Next we drove to Calistoga. I specifically wanted to go to this place called the Ca'Toga Galleria D' Arte (www.catoga.com). It was unfortunately closed so we ventured around this little town too.

On Sunday, we traveled through marshlands and mountains to Sausalito and enjoyed the rest of the day there. There we had late breakfast and explored the area. We ended our weekend with a picturesque view under the Golden Gate Bridge.

With Flowers in Our Hair

Here we are now in San Francisco, California. Below are a few photos of places and scenery around the "City of Love". Yes, Dave and I are trying to keep this blog going while we are here.

and this is where we live.........the one with the take-out menu.

Koala Sanctuary

Looks like an abandoned zoo,
but don't let it fool you...

Brief Pet

On a walk home from Bondi one day, I noticed a woman crouching over trying to get a bird. I asked her if it was hers and she said no. Catching it easily, I did not really think what I was going to do with it when I had it. So he came home with me....

The following day Dave and I posted "Found" signs and waited patiently for someone to call. Being careful who we handed this rare albino cockatiel back to, we asked the caller if they could describe the bird to us. We eventually found the real owner. I met and gave Egal his bird back, and in exchange we received much gratitude and a fine bottle of Penfold's Koonunga Hill Chardonnay. Karma comes in many packages. Some you can drink.

However in the meantime, which was only about three days, Dave and I got a little attached. We did not give him a name, because we were afraid to get more attached. The bird would eat seeds right out of our fingers and was very dependent. Whenever we would go to the bathroom even, the bird would fly to find us. It remained fairly meek the first day, but when it started feeling comfortable it became more vocal.

As fun as it was having a pet in Australia, birds are really not my thing.

We miss kitty.

Cafe Bookstore

This is my favorite cafe bookstore located in Bondi Beach. It is called Gertrude and Alice. They have tons upon tons of used books at discounted prices. It is usually so busy that you can not find anywhere to sit except of course the stacks of books on the floor. It has been in Sydney a long time. There is even black and white photos on the wall of the two founding women. The floor is faded from the worn path of people scuffing their way around the tall shelving units, searching or browsing for a book.

Cameo Crawl

These are not glamour shots, people.

Click the picture.

Good Music

http://www.angusandjuliastone.com/v106alpha.htm

Taco Night is Ours

Every Thursday night is "Taco Night" here at the Meriton Cameo. Each person brings an item to contribute and then we feast. Courtesy of Becky and Tom, we also had Sangria. As well as Empanadas via chef Ross. As we rotate rooms each week, it was now our turn to host.

"La Premiere"

The Hoyts Theater inside the Fox Studios Lot has a great little package deal for movie tickets called "La Premiere". All you can eat popcorn and drinks. They serve alcoholic beverages upon request, as well as coffee. The seats are extra large and made especially for couples.

Tonight's viewing is "Jindabyne". It is an Australian movie about a town in New South Wales. It has a few big-name actors. Dave and Brette's Cinema Review gave it a big 5 Thumbs Up.

Watch the trailer at http://www.april.com.au/home.html

Also on a previous night we saw Ten Canoes
www.tencanoes.com.au

Hail Mary!

One day while I was enjoying a cup of coffee, it started raining out of nowhere.
Grabbing the cup, I found a seat under the awning just in time.
Hail bombed down minutes after.
It lasted for 10 minutes and then produced a rainbow.
Too bad that highrise was in the shot.

Art After Hours

Our second attempt at completing the Gallery of New South Wales.

This is an installation piece consisting of flourescent lights.
We will let you know who the artist when we can remember or find the name.

Dave loved this one especially.

http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/current/adventures_form_space
and
http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/life-is-full-of-wonder-133-but-balls-are-essential/2006/08/03/1154198269294.html

More at www.artafterhours.com.au

....and we still did not finish.

Outback Centre

The expression 'Dreamtime' is most often used to refer to the 'time before time', or 'the time of the creation of all things', while 'Dreaming' is often used to refer to an individual's or group's set of beliefs or spirituality.

For instance, an Indigenous Australian might say that they have Kangaroo Dreaming, or Shark Dreaming, or Honey Ant Dreaming, or any combination of Dreamings pertinent to their 'country'. However, many Indigenous Australians also refer to the creation time as 'The Dreaming'.

What is certain is that 'Ancestor Spirits' came to Earth in human and other forms and the land, the plants and animals were given their form as we know them today.

These Spirits also established relationships between groups and individuals, (whether people or animals) and where they traveled across the land, or came to a halt, they created rivers, hills, etc., and there are often stories attached to these places.

Once their work was done, the Ancestor Spirits changed again; into animals or stars or hills or other objects. For Indigenous Australians, the past is still alive and vital today and will remain so into the future. The Ancestor Spirits and their powers have not gone, they are present in the forms into which they changed at the end of the 'Dreamtime' or 'Dreaming', as the stories tell.

The stories have been handed down through the ages and are an integral part of an Indigenous person's 'Dreaming'.

Read more related stories at www.dreamtime.net.au

The photograph above was taken at the Outback Centre (www.outbackcentre.com.au) in Darling Harbour where you can experience a free live performance of an aboriginal demonstrating the sounds of a didgeridoo. Speaking of which, you may find this article about the oldest musical instrument interesting.

http://www.eniar.org/news/didge.html

The Rocks Market with Dave

Getting closer to finding that one perfect piece of art, we sit under the terrace of a nearby cafe and enjoy a bite to eat. A very common menu item in Oz is chips (or potato wedges for us), with a side dip of sour cream and chili. Typically there is not mold in the sour cream.