52
FEBRUARY2016
AMERICANWAY
Peanuts
comicstripandhadsomehowdiscovered
thatCharlesM.Schulz lived inSantaRosa, about50
milesnorthof theGoldenGateBridge.Toget tohis
house,we leftRoute101attheclosestexitandstarted
askingpeoplewhereCharlesSchulz lived. In that
more innocenttime, theysimplypointedtheway.
SoonwewereonSchulz’sestate, gawkingat
thehockeyrink thathe (anativeMinnesotan)had
built.Agirlwith frecklesandstrawberry-blondhair
wanderedby—not just thecartoonist’sdaughter,
wesurmised,butperhaps the inspiration forhis
characterPeppermintPatty.We tookasnapshotof
herandKenposingalongastreetsign forCharlie
BrownLane.Thenwedroveback toSanFrancisco,
equippedwithastorywe’d tell fora lifetime.
Severaldays later,we flew toHonoluluand
checked into theOutriggerhotelonWaikikiBeach.
Sweatyand impatient from the trip,wechildren
headedstraight for thepool.Toourdelight,we found
that ithadanunderwaterwindow that looked into
abarcalledDavyJones’Locker.Mybrother,more
conversantwithpopmusic thanpirates,wondered
Thewaveswereprobably
3or4 feethigh.Thiswasn’t
exactly
EndlessSummer
territory, but itwas turbulent
enough tosendmehurtling
offmyboard.
