Wine & Tattoos...

For our last full day with Chuck and Hazel, I planned a diverse afternoon here in Temecula.

My choice for our lunch was at The Restaurant at Ponte, an award-winning al fresco restaurant surrounded by stunning vineyards and manicured gardens (on non rainy days).

Wine Country begins just 1 mile from our front door. Our selection was vast but we all agreed, I chose well.

For those of us who carry purses, the loan of a protective basket, while dining, was a very nice touch.

Our outing concluded at the Temecula Valley Museum for the current exhibit, TATTOOED and TENACIOUS: Inked Women in California's History.

Today, more women than men have tattoos. Almost a quarter of American women have permanent ink, compared to just 19% of men. Younger people are even more likely to be tattooed, as more than a third of Americans between the ages of 18 and 40 have skin art.

But, what about the first women to get tattooed? Who were they, and why did they get inked?

They came from across the U.S. and crossed class lines. From the upper-class woman who followed a trend, to the working-class woman who worked in a sideshow, American women have always had an intimate and fascinating relationship with tattoos - and in California, it was no different.

So popular were tattoos that you could get your photos developed while getting your skin art! Wild.

Here we were introduced to Artoria Gibbons, an American tattooed lady. She worked at carnival sideshows and at circuses for more than 35 years. She was the first tattooed lady to perform in her tattoo artist husband's local carnival sideshow. Her tattoos, which covered 80% of her body, imitated paintings by Raphael and Michelangelo. She was one of the highest-paid tattooed ladies of her time and continued to perform until her death in 1985. Wow.

The biggest difference between then and now was this dress. Society women easily covered tattoos with fashionable dresses.

Today's tattoos are on display proudly.

It wasn't just inked women we met. Interestingly, this tattooed fellow, Captain Costentenus, a self-identified Greek Albanian, was the first fully tattooed man to become a national celebrity.

In a striking combination of blue and red, the Greek's tattoos “consisted of 388 symmetrically arranged and closely interwoven images which covered his entire body, including his face, eyelids, ears and (genitals). According to Alexandrinos, he received his tattoos in Chinese Tartary (the general location of present day Burma) as punishment for his part in “unspeakable crimes” during a rebellion against the king. It seems that Burmese lettering also constituted his tattooing in the interstices between his fingers. When asked what the writing said, his stock answer was that it branded him “the greatest rascal and thief in the world.” Wild stuff here in Temecula. What an interesting exhibit!