Well as luck would have it, thirteen years later, we planned a family vacation to the west coast, and luckily there were TWO Peanuts fans on this trip, who insisted on taking the day trip to Santa Rosa. I have to tell you, for me it was like coming home. The first stop along the way was a quick visit to downtown Santa Rosa, where a bronze statue of Charlie Brown and Snoopy stands in Railway Square. It was nice to see this little gem again. Scattered throughout the downtown area are several fiberglass statues of more peanuts characters, painted by artists as part of a local project. We made sure to take advantage of these photo op's while we could. You can read more about the statues here: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/24523.
The Museum itself is loaded with goodies for any fan of Snoopy, Linus, Lucy, and the artist behind these famous characters. One of the most fascinating components of the permanent exhibit is a recreation of Schultz's studio, including his original drawing table, his desk, and his books. Also on display in a nearby room is the legendary Nursery Wall, a section of wall from Schultz's former home in Colorado Springs, containing original artwork from his early career. The museum also features rotating exhibits throughout the year. When we visited in the summer of 2015, the theme was Ice Hockey, and the many references to skating and hockey in Schultz's work.
One of the more fascinating items to see at the museum was this unusual structure called a Peek-a-Boo Box. From a distance, it appeared to be a tower-ish wall with peek-holes in it. Burried inside the wall, and viewable only through the holes, were these beautiful 3-dimensional shadow-boxes of Peanuts characters made from cardstock. I held my camera up to every peek-hole and captured them. If you walked by this structure without taking the time to look inside, you missed all this magic.
As of the date I'm writing this, just two days ago was the 16th anniversary of Schulz's passing. I cannot imagine what my life would have been like without his influence, his creativity, and his inspiration. May he continue to inspire young cartoonists everywhere.
For more photos from this visit, please view my online album here.
