Recently, I met with a few friends at the Apple Box café in downtown Petaluma, CA for some sketching, coffee, and light conversation. For the last several years, Petaluma has been regentrifying the downtown area along the river, with many new outdoor cafes and walkways. The place looks great but thankfully, there are still a few industrial buildings left to make it eclectic and interesting. I brought my landscape Moleskine watercolor sketchbook in hopes of finding a good place to draw. I chose the foot bridge crossing the Petaluma river as my subject. While I was painting, a small dog tried to crawl through the metal fence I was leaning on and stuck it’s self half way through. Its owner pushed and pulled trying to loosen the dog but eventually had to climb over the fence and pull the poor dog through. People sitting at the cafe laughed and cheered as they watched the event unfold.

Last night I discovered the First Annual Rivertown Revival in Petaluma got underway not long after we left. There were apparently swarms of people boating and dressed up in vintage costumes. Had I’d know beforehand, I’d have stuck around for the opportunity to draw the event.