On our last weekend in California, Pete and I found ourselves at Big Bounce America, the world’s largest bounce house (aka jumping castle). We were, without doubt, the oldest people in there…
After an hour of vigorous exercise (for some, Pete and I mostly sat and watched the kids break out their dance moves), we grabbed a quick bite of lunch at Bibi’s Burgers in Santa Rosa. I had the chili, which was served with Saltine crackers…
Then we headed off to visit the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center.
For this lifelong fan, happiness was…spending an afternoon exploring all things Peanuts…
We began at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena…
Built and owned by Schulz and his then wife Joyce in 1969, it’s a scene straight out of the Snoopy and Peppermint Patty strips…
Charlie Brown stands outside the entrance…
A newly created “Abbey Road” features provides a fun photo opportunity…
The museum is a short walk from the ice rink…
The space is a loving, elegant, and beautifully curated tribute to the life and work of Charles “Sparky” Schulz (1922 – 2000)…
There are scores of original strips on rotating display…
This huge seven metre high mural was created by Japanese artist Yoshiteru Otani. It’s impossible to see from the photo below, but the 3,588 ceramic tile creation of Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown contains ten years’ worth of carefully selected comic strips…
Here’s a close-up…
Sparky’s work area from his studio at One Snoopy Place, Santa Rosa has been lovingly recreated on the second floor. It includes his original desk and drawing board…
Aside from cartooning, ice hockey was his other great passion…
A fan of the art of Christo and Jean-Claude, Schulz paid tribute to them in one of his strips in the late 1970s…
Twenty-five years later, Christo created and gifted his Wrapped Snoopy House to the museum…
One of our favourite items was this bedroom wall painted by Schulz for his daughter Meredith in 1951. After their house in Colorado Springs was sold the following year, the wall was painted over at least four times until it was purchased by Polly and Stanley Travnicek. Over the course of three months, Polly carefully stripped back the top layers of paint, revealing the original artwork underneath. In 2001, the Travniceks donated the entire wall to the museum…
On our way back to the car, we stopped at the Warm Puppy Cafe for a cold drink…
Situated inside the Ice Arena, Sparky Schulz’s table is permanently reserved. He ate there most days…
I toyed with the idea of bringing these lemonade cups home, but decided it wasn’t wise to pack sticky paper in our luggage…
A final photo before heading back to San Francisco – I couldn’t resist the opportunity to be Lucy! ♥
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I visited here years ago & LOVED it!! Thanks for sharing!
Remembering simpler, more innocent days . . . so many of us grew up with Snoopy and you do make the most charming Lucy! Abbey Road perchance is a wee bit of a ‘cheat’ . . . at the same time read only a few days back that in London it still is an everyday ‘photo opportunity’ . . . thanks for the memories on a beautiful Sunday morning in the Sydney Basin . . .
You given me another place to add to my list of places to go.
Omg heaven! When I was in primary school my local library had a pretty large collection of hardcover Peanuts comics which I devoured. I wonder what happened to them as I have not seen them again anywhere. Great memories.
What a trip, my friend lives near there……MUST encourage her to GO! Love the Doctor is IN piece :)
what a fun museum to visit. Thank you for sharing, Celia
What a wonderful trip down my childhood Memory Lane – The Peanuts comic strip was our family’s favourite.
The Shultz museum is wonderful! Thanks for the tour. <3
I have a copy of Peanuts Lunchtime cook book somewhere…..What a lovely place to visit Celia
Thanks for sharing. It’s on my must see list. You did the Peanuts gang proud with your wonderful pictures and sensitive write-up. This may be one of my favorite blog posts.
Thank you for this post! I’m a life long Peanuts fan and my 11 year old son is too! I am adding this place to my list :)
What a delightful imagination he had and how lovely to be able to immerse yourselves in that, if only for a short time. My name for Peter is Charlie Brown, because he’s a good man, and so he calls me Lucy:) What a thrill to uncover and preserve his daughter’s bedroom wall. …. and you make such a fun Lucy!
wow!!! awesome trip. they bring back my childhood memories. Thanks for posting the post :)
Your joy at being there really shines through. So glad you ate AFTER the bouncy castle and not before (bad memories of a milkshake/trampoline experience as a child, against the advice of my wise grandmother!)
Don’t know if you get this news in Oz, but the wild fires in Santa Rosa have burned Charles Schultz’s home–his widow had to flee the flames. Museum is still safe. http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/12/peanuts-creator-charles-schulzs-widow-flees-santa-rosa-fire-home-destroyed/
I was so sorry to read that – the fires in Santa Rosa have been brutal. I’m glad the museum is safe, but only just – it was right at the edge of the evacuation zone. I hope that beautiful city recovers soon.
Yes. Tragedy all the way around.
Sad that the Schultz home has burned down but SO relieved that the museum and its wonderful artifacts and memories of Charles Schultz appears – so far- to be spared. We loved visiting the museum with our grandchildren. They loved the skating rink more !!!
That looks like an amazing place to visit. (And I’m certain you would give marvellous advice 😉)