I can't believe I hadn't been to the Sherman Library & Gardens my entire life and now I returned in a little more than two weeks from my initial visit. Yay!

In 1944, Arthur Millier, a famed Los Angeles art critic, described Dike's love of Newport Beach as follows: "One of Dike's favorite painting rounds is Newport Bay, alive with sails. In his pictures one often glimpses its breezy activity through the window of some seaside cottage where holidaymakers relax in the beach air. He has the happy faculty of combining effects of light on sea and shore, which are both beautiful and dramatic, with humorous observations which give life and lightness to his pictures."

Every wall held a painting encouraging a thorough explore of the Library.

As we meandered we found ourselves amongst the shelves laden with an extensive collection of historical city and street address directories. This framed one is from Newport Beach in 1903. There were only 50 residents listed. Wild.

I found myself in the 1960s and San Diego. Not only are there addresses but vintage ads adorn the pages, too. By the way, the city directory collection is open to the public and there is no charge for personal research.

I found our home from 1963. How very, very cool.

This framed document on the wall, Chain of Title from the King of Spain was of great interest because our next stop was to learn about The Irvine Company. It identifies who possessed which rancho and who deeded what to whom. It is complicated but so very interesting.

This box held loaner pencils. Velveeta was certainly a food item in our kitchen but I don't recall it ever coming in a wood box. Wild.

A brief return to the gardens rounded out our visit.

A return to the Sculpture Exhibition in Civic Center Park was next on our tour.  An integral feature of the Newport Beach Civic Center, the Park was once half a million square feet of undeveloped land. The City Arts Commission determined that a rotating exhibition, in which pieces are loaned for a 2-year period, was an optimal approach to bringing sculpture to the City in a cost-efficient manner. We returned because it has been two years and we wanted to see what was new.

Where Have All the Birds Gone? by Marguerite Elliot "Crows warn us of danger - the 3 crows Marguerite Elliot placed on top of this 15-foot tower call out about the 3 billion birds we've lost in the past 50 years due to manmade causes...and they also cry out for hope."

Prey by Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson was pretty incredible. "This awe-inspiring eagle has flown to us all the way from Burning Man on wings made of real coins, giving us the chance to gaze into the powerful eyes of a predator about to strike."

I can't even imagine how long it took to place all the coins. It is really something to look at up close.

Steve could have left me here on A Novel Idea where "the pleasures of a good book on a sunny day are celebrated in this inviting granite bench" by Key West artist, Craig Gray. But, as you will see in the next post, this was a really full day.