CREATIVITY

LA MEETS SAN FRANCISCO IN PASO ROBLES

A few of our merry band gathered last night for a

moon lit drive over the mountain to Paso Robles for an evening of art and dinning.

Vale Fine Art, a modern gallery, presented
"A Little Nightmare before Christmas"
featuring the remarkable works of Edward Walton Wilcox and Lee Harvey Roswell.  Wilcox, originally from Florida and more recently from LA and Roswell, from San Francisco,
combined to make an inspired show.
Owner and curator Madeline Vale has created an
engaging and dynamic new contribution to
Paso's growing sophistication.
Cypher Winery provided the "liquid art."
It was indeed a bit of LA and bit of San Francisco
mixed nicely with the Central Coast.
More about Madeline Vale and her Gallery here.

By quirk of fate the PierceModern gallery is next door
and the Il Cortile restaurant is across the street.
Our dinner was also a work of art.
We then cruised  Vine street, past the Victorian style homes and others festooned with Christmas lights.
As we drove back over the mountain the bright moon
and sparkling lights of Cayucos and Morro Bay below us on the coast added their creative illumination to the 
Christmas lights we saw dotted on mountain side
ranches and wine villas. Our own quiet village
beckoned through the December dark as hillside
lights twinkled into view. A nice evening out.
If you are in the area, we recommend both the Vale Fine Art, PeirceModern gallery and certainly a meal at Il Cortile.
DAY BOOK

HOME MADE INGENUITY

 Daughter Katherine gathered local material

and created a couple of center pieces.

Nothing artificial here at all.

See you down the trail.

ON THE ROAD-NEVADA CITY

A LEGACY OF GOLD

(Nevada City)The Pennsylvania Engine House number 2 went into operation in Nevada City 1861 and has been in continuous operation since.  It is an icon in a Gold Rush town full of visual wealth.

The National Hotel, completed in 1857 claims to be the oldest continuously operating hotel in the west.

Nevada City is home to 3,100. In 1856 the population was 10,000, at the time the third largest city in California.  After a series of fires, the fire companies were organized and buildings were constructed of brick and many with iron doors.

The gold and silver rush moved to other areas and the population declined.

Today Nevada City is laid back, relaxed, but the beautiful Victorian style homes remain on the old miner's trails that are today winding and hill sloped roads and streets.

Enjoy one of California's most beautiful towns.

 Nevada City is a town of picket fences

Also a town of balconies and sloping streets

Out of the norm juxtapositions and building shapes

Probably won't find this combination elsewhere

It is also a town of walls

and an early fire hydrant

Just up Highway 49 Grass Valley offers a unique tower of its own

This part of the Mother Lode Highway shows that one legacy of the Gold Rush era is homes with charm.

See you down the trail.