Time to get moving

Field trips have been taking a back seat to other considerations around here for a while, but there are some temporary exhibits at museums around the Bay Area that demand some attention.


Joan Miró - The Nightingale's Song at Midnight and the Morning Rain


1. San Jose Museum of Art -- JOAN MIRÓ: FANTASTIC UNIVERSE

It seems to me that Miro's art is ubiquitous these days. I doubt there's anyone who hasn't seen one of his images, in some medium or other, somewhere. I don't know a lot about him (I guess I'll learn more if we make it to this exhibit) but I do know that many of his paintings are bright and colorful and interesting to look at. He's a major artist of the twentieth century, so it's pretty cool that this exhibit is right in our back yard.


at the entrance to the Petit Trianon



2. San Francisco Palace of the Legion of Honor -- Marie Antoinette and the Petit Trianon at Versailles

This one is for me. I'm definitely interested in Marie Antoinette. The elegance and beauty of her life before the Revolution, though, is fascinating in its own right, and I love to look at beautiful furniture, fabrics, and china settings. I'm thinking this exhibit is going to be wonderful.

Elephant Seals!

I think it was two years ago that I took Ziad and Maya to Año Nuevo. It was pretty well after the major season was over, and a lot of animals had left already, and maybe that was even a good thing. Those seals are pretty big, and Maya was pretty small at the time. Even though the humans never get too close, I prefer to stay safe.

It was a great experience. The beach is very carefully cared for. There is no garbage at all. There are no buildings. Even though it is only a few miles from Highway 1, it feels very wild, and you can imagine a world with no people in it at all. We saw a dead baby, and a dead mama, and that's part of the picture, too. Nature isn't all cuddly little bunnies with cute twitchy noses.

As a total non-sequiteur, this was the trip where we first learned about the Park Ranger whose name is Ziad, although we didn't actually meet him until almost a year later. As you might guess, our guide heard me calling to my Ziad (all over the place, as usual) and was surprised to meet another person with this unusual (for America) name.

And all this is to say, that, as this article from the San Mateo Daily Journal points out, if you want to see the seals this year, now is a good time to make a reservation. I'm thinking of going early in January.

An excerpt from the article gives the relevant information:

“The tours will be two and a half hours long and all participants will be required to walk approximately three miles. They will be led by a trained volunteer docent naturalist, who will take tourists to the elephant seal area and educate them about these wonderful creatures as well as the history of the Año Nuevo State Reserve,” said Kiser.

He stressed that those interested should make reservations beforehand either by calling 1-800-444-4445, going online to www.parks.ca.gov, or by going to the reserve ahead of time and buying tickets. The tours will cost five dollars per person, and children three years old and under are free. Parking is $6. There will be 25 scheduled tours a day, starting every 15 minutes from 8 a.m. to sunset, depending on the number of volunteers Año Nuevo will have that day.

“You’re taking a big chance [showing up without making a reservation] because we won’t have many open spots,” Kiser warned.