Six New to Me Little Free Libraries in Santa Rosa, California! Plus, Valentine's Day Weekend Fun!!

 My husband and I took a long, four day vacation weekend to celebrate both Valentine's Day and President's Day. 

We decided to stay at an Airbnb in Santa Rosa, California as a way to have a fun, romantic time spent together.

We started our long weekend by visiting the Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts comic creator) Museum and Research Center on Friday, February 13th. 

We'd been wanting to visit this particular museum for probably a decade now. I'm happy we finally made the visit. 

This two story museum is charming! It's small, but still packs a punch in terms of current exhibits, interactive displays, and beautiful outdoor grounds to walk through. We enjoyed reading the various comic strips on display, learning the history of the Peanuts comic strip (last year the Peanuts turned 75 years old!), and more about the life of Charles M. Schulz (like how he got the nickname, Sparky). 

I think I enjoyed the mock up of Charles M. Schulz's office on display within the museum, the Baccarat Snoopy also on display, the architecture of the museum itself, and the outdoor grounds the most during my visit.

Me Outside the entrance for the Charles M. Schulz Museum

Me standing next to the Charlie Brown statue outside of the Museum.

On Valentine's Day, my husband and I found six Little Free Libraries near our Airbnb! In fact, one of the LFLs was a tenth of a mile away from where we stayed in Santa Rosa, which was super cool! We loved finding all six of the LFLs in Santa Rosa. Below are the photos of the LFLs we found. 

We probably would have found more Little Free Libraries on Valentine's Day if the rain hadn't started coming down fairly hard. So, we headed back to our Airbnb and chilled out until dinner time.

This is the LFL closest to where we stayed in Santa Rosa, California.

Our 2nd LFL discovery.

Our 3rd LFL discovery!!

Our 4th LFL Discovery in Santa Rosa!

This was the largest and cutest LFL we discovered in Santa Rosa!!

This was the last LFl find in Santa Rosa!!

On Sunday, February 15th, my husband and I visited Safari West in Santa Rosa, California! Safari West is another place my husband and I've had on our bucket list for a very long time. We LOVED our two hour visit at Safari West and look forward to coming back for a different in person experience next time.

Safari West is a 400 acre "immersive (animal) preserve where people could encounter wildlife, connect with nature, and learn through experience." They offer an onsite glamping experience, dining options, gift shop, safari tours where visitors can view "giraffes, rhinos, zebras, cape buffalo, and wildebeest on an unforgettable open-air adventure.", and several behind the scenes experiences.

My husband and I participated in the Animal Care Enrichment Experience Tour with animal keeper, Kelsey (I hope this is how she spells her name???), at Safari West. While we were there, we made enrichment toys filled with food for the DeBrazza's Monkeys. We learned so much about the Debrazza's Monkeys during our time spent with Kelsey. Kelsey was so engaging, knowledgeable, sweet, and answered our plethora of questions about the monkeys and Safari West. 

After putting together the enrichment toys for the DeBrazza's Monkeys, we were taken over to their enclosure where we were able to see both Meeka (17 year old female DeBrazza's Monkey) and Mojo (18 year old male DeBrazza's Monkey) interact with the enrichment toys we made for them. What fun this was!!

See the following four photos I took during the enrichment experience of Meeka and Mojo.

Meeka

Mojo

Mojo

Mojo

I hope you had a marvelous Valentine's Day/President's Day weekend!!

Secret Library Inside a Bed & Breakfast Inn!!

A friend of mine sent me a link to this online article titled, There’s a Secret Library That Opens Up When You Pull a Special Book in This Hotel Room by Sara Barnes. In the article, Ms. Barnes wrote:

If you visit the “100 Years of Hollywood” room at the Bella Vista Bed and Breakfast in Coloma Lotus, California, you’ll find that there’s something extra as part of your stay. The homey accommodation is equipped with a hidden quarter that you can only access by opening a special book on the bookshelf and pulling it open from there. Marc Bächtold, a content creator for tourism and hospitality, revealed the room’s secret while staying there as a guest. His video makes it look every bit as charming as it sounds.

This well-appointed accommodation is comfortable sans the secret room, but its addition adds cozy whimsy to a getaway. While the main room is inspired by old Hollywood, the extra space has a different vibe. “The hidden room is a two-story library with a winged back chair, large picture window, and art gallery wall,” Bächtold explains to My Modern Met. Together, the rooms offer striking views of the South Fork American River and the hotel grounds, which feature ponds, streams, waterfalls, and more.

Click on the above link to watch a video and see a pictures of “100 Years of Hollywood” room at the Bella Vista Bed and Breakfast in Coloma Lotus, California. I would love to visit this place in the future with my husband.

Graveyards To Visit During Your Literary Travels

Alright, I must admit that visiting cemeteries has never been a tourist destination/attraction for me... But I'm beginning to rethink the idea after reading an article posted on Bustle titled 10 Bookish Graveyards To Visit During Your Literary Travels by Alex Weiss. In the article, Weiss writes:

When you're traveling abroad or within your very own state, there's plenty to explore on your vacation. While art museums, top-notch restaurants, and unique shopping spots take over the top of your travel to-do list, I'd bet cemeteries hardly ever make the cut. You're probably thinking — Well, yeah, why would they? I get it, cemeteries are creepy and it's not like you want to spend your limited time in a new place among the dead, but I have the feeling that idea might just change.

Graveyards are quiet, for one, and they're historic. You can learn a lot aboutthe history of a town by its main graveyard. As the book nerd and writer that I am, I'm sort of fascinated by them. Sure, they can be spooky, but they're also filled with neat facts, gorgeous gardens, and famous dead authors. If you love books more than the average person, then you probably got a little excited about that last point, too.

Wherever you travel to next, make sure to scope out the best places to eat and things to see, but don't forget about looking up the graveyards, too. You might just find out that you're within a walking distance to Oscar Wilde's kissed gravestone, or Shakespeare's unique burial site.

Click on the top link to see the ten graveyards to visit that were mentioned in Alex Weiss's article.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Take A Vacation, Become A Bookseller!!

Lol, have you ever wanted to become a bookseller?? Well now you can take a vacation to Scotland and become a bookseller for a week through AirBnB! Check out Alex Heimbach's article on Bustle titled Best AirBnB Listing Ever Lets You Become A Bookseller For A Week. In her article, Alex Heimbach writes:

There's a new vacation option for bibliophiles that may replace Jane Austen tours and the Harry Potter theme park in your holiday fantasies. You can now live for a week above a bookshop — and run the place yourself. Located in Wigtown, Scotland's national book town, The Open Book welcomes travelers who want to spend a week selling books, provides training from local booksellers, and offers the chance to inject your own personal style with book displays and special events. Each resident is also invited to write about their experiences on the Open Book's blog.

Though newly listed on AirBnB, The Book Shop holiday has been up and running for almost a year under the guardianship of the Wigtown Book Festival, which leases the store from a local family. "It can be a hard life, selling books in a small town, so it’s not a holiday for everybody," says Adrian Turpin, director of the book festival. But so far, the guests, who've ranged from retired American booksellers to English artists to the Bookshop Band, have raved about their experiences.

This sounds like an awesome experience!! Sign me up!!