Evacuation 2025

Here is the story of our evacuation during the Vista Grande Fire on June 2, 2025 and here is the layout. 

Evacuation 2025 (affiliate link)

I can't believe this was only 9 months ago. It feels like so much more time has passed. Our hills are no longer black, but instead a lush green. Our roads and houses aren't pink, although it's not difficult to find pink if you look for it, especially on the stucco. The smell of smoke, indoors and out, is long gone. I'm so grateful for the hardworking firefighters who kept us and our homes safe. 

Results: US Today Readers' Choice 10 Best - Art

US Today has announced the results of the Readers' Choice 10 Best in the Art categories. Let's see if my favorites did any better than in the Museum categories!

Best Art Museum

After much debate, I picked the Joslyn as the best art museum. It placed 6th. Top honors go to the Toledo Museum of Art. I'm happy with that result - we absolutely loved our visit to TMA. 

Best City for Street Art

I voted for Denver as the best city for Street Art and it ended up ranking at #7. The winner is Philadelphia. It's not street art, but don't miss Philadelphia's Magic Gardens the next time you're there. (Fun fact: We'll be visiting two of the cities on the 10Best List next month! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of street art.)

Best Sculpture Park

My pick for Best Sculpture Park is Grounds for Sculpture in New Jersey. It is ranked at #7. The top vote getter is Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park. We missed it during our trip to North Carolina; I'm adding it the list for the next time we visit the Tar Heel State. 

Best Small Town Arts Scene

Healdsburg was my pick for Best Small Town Arts Scene, but it did not place in the Top 10, despite being home to the largest moss wall in the US (which really should count for something). Top honors went to Vermillion in southeastern South Dakota, a stone's throw from Nebraska. 

 

I enjoyed seeing how the rankings came out in each of the art categories, but more importantly, I've added some destinations to my must-visit list!