Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Post Labor Day Post Apocalypse Scenario


Our fourth outing in the Sweet Lime was a super success.
This time we ventured north to Napa, not for wine tasting but to visit the DiRosa
Art....museum, gallery, nature preserve. 
We had seen a documentary about Rene Di Rosa years ago and it
stuck to one of the walls in my brain, like Angkor Wat, one of those places I really 
needed to see.






Rene di Rosa was an amazing man
who collected art just for me. Or so it seems. I loved and responded to
every single piece of art I saw. Art LIVES in that place. At first I wasn't thrilled
about having to go on a tour but it was so beautifully done, that in
the end, I was glad it was done that way. The guides were low key, funny and
had stories to share about the artists and their work that made me look a little
closer and we were invited to touch and go into and play with the art!
I am still vibrating with the energy of it.


comfy shoes recommended for the Art Meadow tour.




 Current Show in the Gatehouse Gallery...



Zombie Proof House is a meditation on anxiety and hope in a troubled time. This major group exhibition, organized by di Rosa curator Robert Wuilfe, explores recent history and potential futures as they relate to collapse, political upheaval and shared responsibility. Taking its tongue-in-cheek title from the recent predominance of zombies in language and pop culture, [...]










One of two David Best cars. This one created from Rene Di Rosa's mother's car. Allene, this one's for you!!








One of our favorites out in the meadow....
can you tell what it is from the crappy photo? 
No?
File cabinets.










another David Best car and the back of my cute little head.







We were pretty much left to our own devices once in the gallery because of an overlap
in tours. Unfortunately only a few of the works were labeled with the artist's names so my apologies for not being able to credit the following pieces.



except for this one...







Just a couple more random pieces...


Push pin portrait...
















This was taken with my new Vignette phone app that I didn't realize
took tiny pics unsuitable for anything other than viewing on my phone.
Still, I love this one...




and the camping?
It was awesome! It's always a little scary picking places at random even though I read
reviews etc. You just never know what you're getting into and this place I picked, the Skyline Wilderness Park has the worst website imaginable and when I called to reserve the lady didn't take any information from me, just said "no problem, I've penciled you in" and then I forgot to call a day ahead to confirm so I was more than a little nervous driving up to the place. Especially driving through the shiftless looking neighborhood and the State hospital right next door.
It was all for naught, the place was perfect. 

The day we arrived though, was HOT. 
Lu had to have an ice pack on her belly and I took a cold shower! 

Note to self:
Scope the place out before doing anything so rash. This place has showers.












The next day was divine and Lu spent the day lounging in the Sweet Lime...












and sometimes on HIGH ALERT...








My favorite thing about this camp site was the Martha Walker Native Habitat Garden carved out of the State Hospital's old dump site.
It's a magical garden with meandering paths under redwoods and oaks.

and a random orange chair...



































So...
Fantastic, can't wait to go back to the di Rosa and Napa....
not so much. We're not big wine drinkers. Anymore.
and Napa looks very much like home. We did take a short drive up to the town of St Helena 
and had lunch. It is a beautiful little town with charming little tree lined streets and old 
well tended houses and gardens. We did see the Napa Wine Train and thought
that might be fun for next time.

Camping in our little Sweet Lime has turned out to be one of the most enjoyable
things imaginable. Go figure.