northbound

Ahoy,

This was our first day of adventure in the Bay and I was dying to get out and do things and not do the obligatory family things anymore, which was mostly sitting at a table for a long time.

We packed the car and loaded up on snacks to head up to Santa Rosa to check out the Charles Schulz Museum. He spent most of his adult life in Santa Rosa and became a big part of the community. There's a Snoopy ice skating arena that was the first to have some official ice hockey league for 70+ and he played on it! The cartoons were cute and funny. And K is totally like Charlie Brown.

We went a little farther from town to check out Armstrong State Park. We got in on just the last hours of daylight. A had a cup of coffee and I was carrying hummus and bread. Clearly, we had decided this would not be a serious hike. It's only after we are in the woods that we think we should be more prepared. We stepped out of the woods just as daylight was closing in on us. It was a lot of fun nonetheless, and we don't regret it because we wanted to be able to see the Museum without the pressure of closing time.

Our final stop in Santa Rosa was dinner and drinks with the Russian River Brewing Company. A is a fanatic. He bought 2 cases of beer from them because he could, but mostly because we would never have the trunk space to spare again. I don't care much for hops so the glory of the brew is totally lost on me. However, the beers on tap there are super cheap and strong, and food was decent/typical bar food. Apparently, the beer is in such high demand that they have to limit how many customers can get in stores, and they don't mark the trucks because folks will follow and buy out every store. What a phenomenon! He might be rationing his beers until the next time he can go.

mossily informed,
jt