Really The End, But The Artsy Part

I thought I was done with the road trip, but alas, I am not.  I have a few odds and ends to tell you and show you that loosely comes under the heading of art or maybe not. Absolutely the best part of the trip for both of us was spending time with family  Usually when we go to CA we only stay a few days and there is just time to spend one day with each family unit and that is usually over a meal.  This time we got to see everyone in John's family several times mostly because of the wedding. On our last day in CA, John went golfing with his old buddies and I took a train from LA to Santa Barbara with John's sister. SB is a two hour train ride from the sweet little Spanish style Glendale train station.

Over the beautiful carved oak doors was a wonderful iron and glass window.

In Santa Barbara, as we walked out onto the pier for lunch overlooking the ocean (sigh), we sw this cool sand sculpture.

We also spent a day laughing (and eating) with my brothers and wives.  Sister-in-law Sheri prepared a huge Chinese feast with a great centerpiece.  She always makes great flower arrangements.

In another room was this tube with flowers in it sitting on a glass top table.

One day John and I went to visit Tamara and her store Zinnia. She has just moved a few doors down from her old store.  We were there on her 2nd day and although she wasn't completely moved in, the store promises to be just as full of character and goodies as her old store. If you are in S Cal, give her a visit.  

Tamara has great Halloween stuff.

The next photo has nothing to do with art, but it just amazes me.

What is so amazing about the Burbank Historical Society building? When I was 5-9 years old we lived in an old, old (for CA old) house that was probably built about 1900 and it sat on the very spot where the building above was built.  It is surrounded by the same less old (maybe circa 1930-1950) houses that surrounded our old house.  Does this make me special or just old?  Careful how you answer that!

Have you ever been to Grand Junction CO?  We arrived there early one evening to our downtown hotel to find a nice street fair going on right on the same street.  Grand Junction is lovely and obviously has a strong art community.  Every street corner had art sculptures on them, sometimes on all four corners of an intersection.  

This a sculpture of author Dalton Trumbeau who evidently wrote in the bathtub.  I am sure that had nothing to do with him being blacklisted in the McCarthy era.

I leave you with these words found on a window of a lovely little shop in Grand Junction:

Living with love and laughter is living rich and well.

Comments

[alsmouse]

The takeout box centerpiece is super. Please let SIL know it was inspiring for my next party.
Too bad you didn't get a chance to get to the Pasadena train station too. I love the Greene Hotel in Pasadena, it used to have it's own departure area for the train but has be 'renovated' to death so you can hardly see it.
Thanks for the photos of the new Zinnia. The old shop was such fun & the new place looks like it has gone over the top for neat goodies. I agree with you, if you are in the area it is a can't miss stop for neat things. I'm so addicted now that I call her & ask for a Zinna fix. Between Small Studio, block96 & Zinnia, I'm in goodie heaven.
Thank you for the roadtrip. I want to hit the road. ~C8>

[TACE]

Good golly that Zinnia shop looks cool. I am so glad you upload such giant pictures cause I love clicking on them so I can look closer and *nose through the shop* vicariously via photo. Maybe when I was staring hard at the awesome newsprint covered stands/tables in the Halloween display photo a customer was looking at the same time and I gave them psychic goosebumps. :D
Also an author who wrote in the tub!!!!!! That's my kind if author, I swear I'd write in the tub if I could, well actually I have (in the sharing too much information category) I've written poems and jotted down craft ideas and bits of stories from the tub before. hahaha
Your sister-in-law's flowers are really cool also, brilliant idea for a Chinese food feast!
Oh and in answer to your question, SPECIAL of course, :D

[Seth]

Love the shot of the shadowed iron window. And that shop looks pretty incredible.