The Eugene Friend Carousel

Besides being a world-class zoo, the San Francisco Zoo also boosts one of the 140 classic carousels in the country to ride-The Eugene Friend Carousel. The Friend Carousel was built in by Dentzel/Illions Carousel 1921 and has been at the S.F. Zoo since 1925, it was restored in 2000:

The classic carousels in my view are a nice bit of Americana to enjoy.

Laugh at the Cartoon Art Museum

I went over and spent some time at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. It has more than 6,000 pieces of original animated art, the Cartoon Art Museum is the only one of its kind in the country. It has been open since 1984 and its current location for the last 14 years. Sadly, it will be closing at its current location at the end of June, a victim of the crazy real estate market in San Francisco. The buildings owner is asking for a rent increase of more than double what the Museum is paying now. As they look for another permanent location, take a gander at some of their treasures:

Original Cell from "He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968)

The next two cells are from the Secret of Kells (2009):

All of the remaining strips (except for Dimples) is the original panels and art:

Dimples-Grace Dayton (1913)

Little Orphan Annie-Harold Gray (1945)

Gordo- Gus Arriola (1956)

Peanuts -Charles Schultz (1987)

One of my favs: Calvin and Hobbes-Bill Watterson (1996)

Family Circus-Bill Keane-(1986)
 

I saw two legendary Bay Area cartoonists who I had met more than once:

Wee Pals (1978) was created by the African-American cartoonist Morrie Turner and was the first syndicated strip with an integrated cast of characters



Travels with Fairley (1989)- Phil Frank. Frank gave my son some lessons about two years before he passed

The Cartoon Art Museum is a true gem and hopefully they find a home soon.

Music Monday: The Mom Songs

Continuing to celebrate Mom's and Mother's Day songs on this Music Monday:

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and mother-figures out there.

Public Statues, Art and Random Things

Saw this on a building in San Francisco

I have seen some interesting stuff lately and here is it for you to see:

Start off with some public statues:

Statue honoring mechanics on Market St in San Francisco

President Lincoln outside City Hall in San Francisco

"Ursus Redivius"-Honoring the extinct California Grizzly Bear that lived in Bay Area-Downtown Berkeley

Some art:

Sea Dragon - San Diego

Found another of the large "Heroes and Hearts" inside the Cartoon Museum in San Francisco

At Jack London Square in Oakland

Random Stuff:

At the Hayward Farmer's Market

Love this old movie camera

They were a good sounding combo

Special parking at Cal

Have a great weekend.

Alley Cat Books

I was in the Mission District in San Francisco and bumped into a used bookstore I had never heard of, Alley Cat Books. It is a cool place that besides having books it hosts other events also:

And they have interesting books:

And they have this cool thing outside:

My haul was small:

I am pretty happy that I bumped into Alley Cat Books.

Welcome to Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park

I took at walk at Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park on the border of Hayward and Union City near my house. It has an interesting history. Edith, Mildred, and Jeanette Meyers, three sisters of Alameda who were very involved in local charities and fundraisers during the early and mid 1900s. The sisters also owned the 1,200-acre Dry Creek Ranch, which was donated to the Park District in 1979 and later opened as Dry Creek Regional Park.  I did forget that it was a cow grazing area:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dry Creek Pioneer Regional Park is a hidden gem of our regional park systems.

 

Music Monday: Inspirational Songs from Playing for Change

Playing for Change is one of my favorite organizations. I first heard of them about seven years ago while watching PBS. They are trying to connect the world through music. It is a movement created to inspire us connect us and bring peace to the world through music. They take inspirational songs and cover them with different musicians from around the world. One song that I will not show is "Stand By Me" as I featured their version last week. Sit back and enjoy:

The more we connect, the more peace there will be and the more we learn that we are all the same.