Happy People and Box Shows

We were lucky to be able to get out of town over the long weekend, and visit another town about the same size as Alameda, but much closer to the ocean and wine country: Petaluma! A charming town: river-front walks, great restaurants, large open space near river for migratory birds. If you like cheese, Petaluma is the home of Cowgirl Creamery and former egg basket of the USA. Surprisingly, our cheap hotel had a large, heated pool which we had all to ourselves one afternoon - even more surprising. The highlight for me, however, besides the peaceful scenic drive (happy cows, happy cheese, happy people), was our hike: Pomo Trail along the Sonoma Coast.

We started at Shell Beach (seals, cormorants), hiked up Pomo Trail (garter snake, turkey vultures), which thankfully wove through a small oak and redwood grove, to the top of Red Hill (kestrels, crows, stunning view), then back down (wildflowers). One of the many reasons I love living in California is the year-round hiking.

The other highlight was a spontaneous visit to Gallery Route One in the town of Pt. Reyes Station on Highway 1. GRO is home of the famous Box Show, which was just at the end of its exhibit/auction. Artists volunteer to create an art piece using a box, which is then auctioned off to support their community art programs. This is their 11th year, and the boxes were just amazing - much more than I can even describe here. The best part is that I was able to entry the lottery next year's show (demand to create a box exceeds their space, so a lottery is held). I'm feeling lucky, but still keeping my fingers crossed that I am chosen to make a box. If you know me, you know that my ideas far exceed what I have time to create. I can't help imagining what my box would look like, if chosen, or even if not chosen, so I am leaning towards making an art box just for fun anyway.