Disneyland
June 9,1961 - June 30, 1961
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Billy and Barby were already in Odessa. They went out last week with Dick and Dot, as I was in the Valley with mother.
We ate our supper, talked up a storm, and watched for jack rabbits, and arrived at Dick and Dot's at eleven. The children were still up as they had all gone to Rick's dance recital. We talked a minute, shooed them to bed, and finally got to bed ourselves about 12:30. All slept like logs.
June 10, 1961
Saturday
Up and around about seven. We didn't get the early start we might have
today, but we didn't have to. We ate a leisurely breakfast -- talked
some
more and then headed west.
The drive today was rather unscenic and hot. We went through El Paso about noon, and it was sizzling!
We got to Bowie about 4:30 and had to decide whether to stay there and swim, have supper, and then go out to the Faraway Ranch in the Chericahuas, or go out right away and eat there. Since Bowie had a pool, we stayed and swam. It was fun.
Then we drove on out to the Chiricahua National Monument. We had reservations at the Faraway Ranch. 'Twas a beautiful, quiet place. However, there had been a forest fire in the Monument that day, and all the hiking trails were closed 1 We had planned to hike the next day. We were all in bed by nine -- and ready for sleep, too.
June 11, 1961
Sunday
The 30 or 40 degree weather we were expecting didn't materialize last
night. In fact, it was hot most of the night. While Bill and the
children
ate breakfast this morning, I drove up to the park headquarters to see
if by any chance some of the hiking trails were open. They weren't.
Sooo
we had to decide whether to stay there and try to ride horses and see
things
a bit, or to move on, see Colossal
Cave and a few things around Tucson,
and try for another good night's sleep before hitting Anaheim and
Disneyland.
I was for going on. Needless to say, Barbara was for riding. However,
we
talked to the owner of the ranch and found that her horses were all out
fighting the fires, too.
Sooo there was nothing to do but, "hit the road".
We had planned to stop and see Old Tucson and a desert museum, but it got so hot we decided not to. Actually, in the car it wasn't so bad. When we got to Gila Bend, our proposed stopping place, it was 106 and more. This dry heat doesn't seem to hurt so, but we were pushing on to Yuma, had a good swim, a fine supper, and a wonderful sleep.
June 12, 1961
Monday
About the fourth time I felt Bill turn over and check the clock, I
ask him what time it was. It was four in the morning, and Bill was
ready
to push on; so was I. After we had dressed and had most of the packing
done, I roused the kiddos and dressed them. What good little travelers
they are! Even tho yesterday was pretty warm, they played nicely and
were
fun to be with.
We were into California in a jump and through their "customs"; then the children went back to sleep for a while. Seeing the desert in the early morning was great. The big sand dunes and their purple shadows were most attractive, and it wasn't long before the sun came peeking over our right shoulder.
We breakfasted in a small California town and were in Anaheim by eleven. We found a comfortable motel for our two nights here for $28 -- for three double beds and a heated pool. That was a good rate for the Disneyland area, and we were pleased.
Bill used maps and directed me and we drove to Long Beach and went to Marineland of the Pacific. This was an "extra" because we couldn't ride or hike in the Chiricahuas, and it was a delightful extra -- a memorable one!
Marineland was right on the Pacific Ocean. It had a tremendous oval tank all around and there were three levels of observation windows. You could stay on any of the levels and see all sorts of sea creatures. While we were there, we watched the diver feed the fish. We also saw sea lions and porpoise perform, but the best performance of all was the big whale performance. It was amazing what those huge animals could do! They cavorted and jumped and really seemed to understand their trainers. It was a wonderful show -- well worth the time and money.
We went right from Marineland to Knott's Berry Farm. This, too, was worth the trip. The Knott's Ghost Town was most interesting. The children were amazed that old Sad-Eyed Joe in jail knew them and talked to them. They rode the mining train through a mine, we saw the livery stable, little red school house, boot hill, the barber shop, the swinging door saloon -- we saw "the works". Then we ate a sumptuous stew and loads of boysenberry jam. We got a bit of that, too, to take to the folks back home.
We came back to the motel and were in bed by nine. We knew tomorrow was to be probably our most exciting day of the whole trip; so we wanted to get to sleep right away.
June 13, 1961
Tuesday
We slept later this morning than we had planned -- it was eight before
anyone woke up. However, we very quickly dressed and were in Disneyland
by 9 when it opened.
Disneyland ? How can I possibly tell of it all ? It was a pretty fabulous place. We lucked out all day, too, and seemed to do the right thing at the right time. (Bill's reading and "pre-planning" paid off again) however, we didn't run into just terrific crowds anywhere. I supposed the longest wait we had was fifteen or twenty minutes.
When we got there, we had to decide whether to take a conducted tour or just buy some books of tickets and go on our own. We decided on the latter, and we were right. The place, tho big, wasn't so big that you couldn't orient yourself and find your way around nicely.
As we hadn't had breakfast, we went first to Frontierland and ate Aunt Jemina's pancakes. Then we went next door to Adventureland and took the jungle cruise. This was amazing, beautiful, startling, exciting -- all. these jungle animals were all around -- on bank and in the water. They roared, growled, charged, and yawned at us. Native head hunters attacked us, waterfalls sprayed us. Such a trip!
Then we took a pack mule trip into the Living Desert and through beautifully landscaped mountains with rippling streams in them. We saw muskrat, beaver, badgers, Indians, moose, elk, deer, and bear -- and all were quite life-like and animated.
Then we took Huck Finn's raft over to Tom Sawyer Island where we explored the island. This was most fun! We went in Tom's Cave, went over suspension and pontoon bridges, played on balance and merry-go-round rocks, explored pirates' caves and an old fort with a secret exit to the river. The children also climbed into Tom's Tree House where they had a good view of the pirate ship and the huge Mississippi steamboat. These two sister ships we didn't ride. Rather, we took a canoe ride, guided by an Indian, around Tom Sawyer Island.
After doing these things, we rode the Santa Fe all around the park, seeing the Grand Canyon diorama. After that, as we were leaving the train, we saw a gold shipment guarded by a shotgun sheriff board the train. We also saw two gunmen getting their bandannas in place to rob the train. We were sorry we weren't aboard when this little action took place.
From the train we went to Tomorrowland and visited the plastic home of tomorrow, saw how plastics were made and used, saw the Bell Telephone Exhibit, and then we took a thrilling ride through space to the moon and back.
We ate hamburgers in Tomorrowland and then went, via bucket seats, through the Matterhorn, to Fantasyland. Here the first thing the children wanted to do was ride the Teacups. Bill and I were perfectly willing by this time to sit this one out and let the children do a few things by themselves; however, the Teacups required the children under six to have an adult along. I went. I was sorry!
In Fantasyland we did a lot of minor rides -- Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Sleeping Beauty's Castle. The most charming of these rides was the canal boat ride through the whale's mouth and into the miniature story book land. After a couple of hours of this, we were about bushed. Bobby, incidentally, rode the Midget Autos twice. He loved these. The two older children rode the rapids in a motor boat. This they liked, too.
Then we went back to Tomorrowland and let the two older children and Bill ride the Astrojets and we took the Monorail all around the park as a finale -- on the way back to the main gate, we rode the surrey down main street and went to the car.
There were two rides I have not mentioned until now -- the first because it was so gruesome; the second because it was so memorable. The gruesome one was the ride down the Matterhorn. It was a glorified roller coaster with no slowing down on upward slopes. Boy -- it was quite a ride! I had Barbara with me, Bill had Bob with him, and poor Billy was alone! It was a terrifying ride.
As we came into the park at nine that morning, we saw a notice that the 20,000 Leagues exhibit was closed. We thought this was the submarine ride but, it turned out, it wasn't. Bob was the one who especially wanted the submarine ride, and it was, indeed, one of the best rides of all. You very definitely had the feeling (just as in the trip to the moon of ascending and descending) of going down to great depths in the ocean. And how beautiful it was! Quite a show!
Now, have I left anything out ? I believe I'll stop here and read this to the children and finish it with their help.
That seems to be all. As to overall impressions -- when we saw the immense parking lot, we felt it would be terribly crowded, but, actually, it wasn't. We got around nicely. There were many attractions -- just to walk around the grounds was fun. One thing we liked was the cleanliness of the whole place. There were many young boys dressed all in white who cleaned up any papers with brooms and dust catchers on sticks. They really kept things looking nice. The next thing was that it wasn't as expensive as we were lead to believe. Of course, five dollars each was too much to spend every day, but for a one time visit, it wasn't so bad, and, exclusive of the food, we spent $26.00 for the five of us.
Billy all through the morning, kept saying, "This just doesn't seem like Disneyland" until we rode the skyway through the Matterhorn and got over Fantasyland. Then, when he saw these more flamboyant displays, he said, "Now, THIS is Disneyland!". The Teacups and the Astrojet - the wild things, were more his style. Barby, sticking with her love of horses, liked the Mule Train through Nature's Wonderland, and Bob liked the Submarine ride best. In fact, the whole family voted the Jungle Cruise and the Submarine as their top favorites.
It was a wonderful day; I wonder if the rest of the vacation will be anticlimactic ?
We left Disneyland at seven, ten hours after we had come in. Oh, one more thing -- the landscaping was beautiful all over. It was plain to see that money was not spared in fixing the place up -- from the Mickey Mouse head at the entrance to Disneyland to the tiny trees imported from Japan in the Storybookland.
We ate in Anaheim and fell into bed. Bob passed out on the way home.
June 14, 1961
Wednesday
We were up and away by five-thirty this morning. The drive up the
Valley
to Sacramento was quite hot.
It was fun to see the grapes, figs
peaches,
and citrus growing. But the heat and the general feeling of tiredness
kept
us from enjoying it too much.
We had a good lunch in a California valley town. It was hot.
We got to Sacramento and, with Tom's excellent directions, we got to Repazo's and found our home for the next two weeks. It was a beautiful little silver and green Coastliner trailer.
We made our beds and (literally) dumped our stuff in the trailer and parked the trailer in a park and went to Tom's apartment. It was air-conditioned!
I put an explanation point after that statement because Sacramento was the hottest place we have been so far. The thermometer soared to 113 degrees!
We had a fine meal at Tom's. He had salads and iced tea. Perfect.
Then we went back to the trailer and spent the worst night we ever have! It was hot first of all, ad our trailer park was noisy -- trains came by about every thirty minutes, airplanes flew low, people talked, walked, and rode around all night -- and, to top it off, Billy woke up at 11:30 with a terrible nightmare. He seemed so hot that I checked, and his temperature was 102.5!
June 15, 1961
Thursday
There were many things to do today: breakfast, service the car, wash
clothes, shop for the trailer, and get Billy to the doctor. We got all
done by noon, but it was a struggle. We called Tom about a doctor, but
he knew of none, Sooo we called the downtown Methodist Church and had
the
minister recommend one to us. He was Dr. Charles Wallace, and he was
real
nice. Billy had tonsillitis. He got a shot of penicillin and some
pills,
and $15.50 (ouch) later, we were on our way.
This is another scorcher. After leaving Sacramento, I tried to shake down the thermometer again to take Billy's temperature, and I couldn't get it below 108!
It remained hot all afternoon, but after we got parked in the Standish-Hickery California State Park in the Redwoods, it was wonderful and cool. We had a good supper -- cooked in the trailer. However, we were having trouble with mosquitoes before we were finished eating. We "bombed" the trailer, tho, before bed time, and it was really good sleeping. These California parks are well equipped. We had hot showers before bed.
June 16, 1961
Friday
Up and breakfasted in the trailer. It was delightfully cool under the
redwoods. The trees are majestic and beautiful. They go up, up, up.
We've
seen houses and rooms in living trees and tunnels through them. We've
fairly
"dawdled" along this morning just viewing the redwoods. It's
fascinating
country.
All day today we drove slowly along the redwood highway. We made only about forty miles all day, but we didn't care.
We took a nature hike at Frontier Tree (listed as the tallest tree in the world at one time). The day was cool all day -- by the time we got to Lucio's (where we had planned to eat a sea food dinner, but we didn't) it was quite chilly.
We wanted to stay at Edwards Point State Park, but when we got there, the last trailer space was taken. Sooo, we went on to the Prairie Campground and slept among the elks. It was cool and wonderful.
June 17, 1961
Saturday
This morning, after a nine o'clock breakfast, we unhitched the trailer
and went back to Edwards Point
so that we could go down on agate beach
and hunt for agates. It was such fun. We filled all our pockets with
pretty
stones and driftwood.
Then we returned to our camp site for lunch. At the beach, Bobby and Bill got caught by a breaker and got pretty wet feet and pants legs. It was funny. Everything this morning was funny. The hike down to agate beach went on a path that looked almost jungle-like. In places the path was a completely covered trail -- with huge trees over-head and beautiful ferns shoulder high on each side of the path -- and still we could hear the ocean waves breaking below us! To my Boca-Chica-bred anatomy, this was hard to adjust to.
When we got back to the trailer and had lunch, we took a hike in the redwood forest again. We went on trails that wound deeper and deeper into the almost jungle-like forest. It was breath-takingly beautiful.
It was after three before we hitched the trailer and took off for the Oregon coast where we were to spend the night.
June 18, 1961
Sunday
And a Happy Father's Day! We had a wonderful night's sleep at Harris
Beach State Park in Oregon. We have had nice parks all along,
but this
was the nicest of all! We hooked up to running water and electricity
and
we had hot showers before bed time. Oh, that's the way I like to "rough
it"! After breakfast, while I cleaned up and wrote some letters, Bill
and the children hiked along the beach and hunted for treasures. They
brought
back more agates, and stories of seeing red star fish in the water.
Then we drove, slowly, on up the Oregon coast. At one place, a lighthouse, we drove out on a point -- the furthest point west one can drive in the continental United States. We went up in the lighthouse with a coast guardsman and saw the big light.
We have driven and stopped every few miles all day -- just viewing the rugged, rocky, seacoast and beautiful, lush, greenery. 'Twas a good day.
We arrived at Sunset Beach State Park in plenty of time to go down to the beach and hike along the water. (I didn't; I sat with my back against a log and looked). The children gathered more treasures.
We suppered on pork chops, buttered potatoes, green beans, fruit, and cookies.
I read more of Heidi and Tony Gay to the Children and so to bed.
June 19, 1961 Monday
Up and to a leisurely breakfast. It was ten-thirty before we were
cleaned
up and ready to talk of today's actions.
We decided to drive up 101 a few miles to another state park that used to be an estate. It had a good garden, a lovely sand beach in a cove, and a fine lookout over the Pacific. We hiked around a while then returned to the trailer, hitched up and drove up another forty miles or so to Honeyman State Park.
We picnicked by a beautiful blue lake on the way.
Oregon has outdone itself on these state parks. We have had simply wonderful accommodation all along the coast. The rangers are nice, and everything is so clean, green, and lovely.
We arrived at Honeyman State Park in plenty of time to hike to the sand dunes and exhaust ourselves climbing ONE before supper.
We supped on fried chicken, peas, fruit, cottage cheese, salad and later, after hot showers and pajamas all around, we had the dessert -- fresh strawberry short cake, Mmmmm.
June 20, 1961 Tuesday
This morning, after our usual "early" rising of eight, we packed a
picnic lunch, unhooked the trailer, and went on up the coast about
sixty
miles. We stopped at one state park and hiked on the beach. We climbed
over some coral covered rocks and saw sea anemones. star fish, and all
sorts of queer sea creatures. Then, in the very same park and well
within
walking distance, we picnicked in tall pine trees. I just can't get
used
to that!
Then we went on up the coast to a good agate beach for one more look around. Again, we filed our pockets.
Home to Honeyman and the trailer for a super of veal cutlets, fried potatoes, asparagus, lettuce wedges.
How we sleep! It is nippy cold at night, and sleeping is good!
The children have enjoyed this camp perhaps more than any other. They've had "hideouts", coves, and all sorts of special games. Barbara has enjoyed the two little girls and the black and white kitten across the street.
Today we went as far up the Oregon coast as we intend to go on this trip, and starting tomorrow we are, actually, heading toward home -- though we will be seeing new country and new things.
Oh, yes, ever since we've been on the west coast, there has been a gas war, and gas prices have been from 23 to 25 cents. It has certainly helped on the auto costs on this trip.
We have been quite lucky!
June 21, 1961 Wednesday
Even though we were in bed by 9:15 (actually, before it was dark),
we didn't get up until eight. After a substantial breakfast of bacon,
eggs,
potatoes, bread, jam, and milk (Bob had his usual cereal), we battened
down the hatches and started inland away from the ocean and toward the
mountains.
Our main objectives today were to grocery shop, get boy and man hair cuts, and wash clothes. Quite an order!
We got to Eugene at noon and started right in -- washing, shopping, the boys got their hair cut -- oh, we were fairy zipping along -- until we locked the car keys in the car! Fortunately, the trailer was open; so we ate ,lunch and waited there while the Chevrolet man used his burglar tools and let us back into the car!
We drove on until we came to our night's camp. The scenery was beautiful. We're away from the beach now, but the mountains are lovely -- the higher ones in the distance are snow capped.
We spent the night at the Odell Lake Camp. It was a beautiful camp -- rustic and full of mosquitoes. They kept us inside most of the time.
June 22, 1961 Thursday
We were up this morning to a cold camp. However, we dressed,
breakfasted
and were away from camp by eight. We saw plenty of snow on the
mountains.
It made us quite cool! It also made us wonder what we would find at
Crater
Lake when we got there!
When we entered the Crater Lake Park, we began noticing patches of snow on either side of the road. By the time we were up on the rim of the drive, the snow was all around and several feet deep. In some places the snow was piled higher than the car and trailer!
We went to the Park Headquarters and found that the rim drive wasn't yet open all the way around the lake and probably wouldn't be until after July 1. however, a trailer park was open down some thousand feet below; so, after viewing the lake a while longer and hearing a ranger tell a bit about it, we went to the camp. It was beautiful! Patches of snow were still everywhere, and the park was clean and beautiful. We lost no time in finding a space and fixing lunch.
We ate outside under the beautiful blue sky. Although there were snow patches within a few feet of us, we were quite comfortable in sleeveless shirts (in the sun, that is). The chipmunks were quite little beggars and came out to see what we had to offer.
After eating, I got all the children down for a while and read them some of Toni Gay and Heidi. They all passed out and while I caught up with my writing and the children slept, Bill was reading out under a tall pine.
Later we moved the trailer to a better spot and set up camp. We played in the snow for a couple of hours and then fixed supper in foil (bacon, potatoes, carrots, onions, wieners). Mmm good.
After that we went to a campfire program and then to bed. 'Twas cold tonight!
June 23, 1961
Friday
We were up and ready for a substantial breakfast. Then we drove to
the lake again and hiked around part of the rim, taking pictures and
playing
in the snow. It was noon before we got back to the little rim grocery
store
for bread and milk.
We have another beautiful, clear day. It was warm, yet there are huge mounds of snow all over to play in. We still haven't seen much in the way of animal life. We have birds that will swoop down and take bread scraps right off the table and there are some very saucy little ground squirrels around. I have seen some folks feeding them from their fingers.
We went home and had lunch; then we rested. when the big kids got up, a big doe came into camp, and we fed her bread and crackers. I believe she would have eaten out of our hands, but WE didn't have nerve enough.
We got fishing equipment ready and the kids got to wet their line. That's about all it amounted to -- except that old fisherman, billy, caught a little four inch trout. We turned it loose.
Then we returned home and had another foil supper. And so to bed.
June 24, 1961
Saturday
This morning, after breakfast, we broke camp and bid a wonderful Crater
Lake good-bye. While driving along, we asked the children what
they
liked
at Crater Lake. The snow
seemed to be the biggest attraction --
followed
by the lake and its beauty. They also liked the ranger talk, the deer,
and the evidence of bear visits (though we never saw the bears).
We stopped and did some grocery shopping along the way and got to Lava Beds National Monument right at lunch time. We drove to the camp and parked the trailer in the little shade that we found and ate a quick lunch. Then we went to park headquarters and got there just in time to go down into the Mushpot Cave to see some very beautiful slides and hear the ranger talk about the lava beds.
After that, the fun began. We checked out a Coleman gasoline lantern and started on a tour of the cave. You drive to the particular cave or tube you want to visit, fire up your lantern, and go on a self conducted tour of the cave. The caves are all delightfully cool, but outside all is desert like and hot. Such an interesting contrast! We visited nine of the caves -- Lava Brook, Thunderbolt, Golden Dome, Hopkins Chocolate, Catacombs, Lower and Upper Sentinel (went in one and out the other), Merrill Ice Cave, and Skull Cave. In Thunderbolt there was one place where you had to wiggle through on your tummy. I waited in the dark until the rest came back from that excursion. It was funny, though, to watch Bill do it!
The last two caves, Merrill and Skull, were ice caves where there is ice the year round. They were most interesting. At Skull Cave the lantern ran out of gas, and I was glad, as I was out of gas, too!
Back to the trailer for supper, baths (in the trailer, from a pan, that is), and bed. No one had to be rocked to sleep!
June 25, 1961
Sunday
Last night, while I caught up in my journal and wrote the Valley folks,
the kids spent their time catching lizards. They had a wonderful time,
but they were a mess at bed time -- baths were a must!
We were up, breakfasted, and away by 8:30. We got to Lassen at noon; so we went out to Reflection Lake and had a picnic lunch. Then we checked the ranger station and heard the ranger interview an old Indian from the Hat Creek tribe here n the park. It was most interesting! She talked about her tribe, what they made and ate and how they lived.
Then we went to the Summit Campground and found us a site. This was the most crowded park we have been in, and we didn't like it much. However, we went swimming in the cold lake, had supper, and played around the camp.
About 8:30 Barb and I hiked halfway around the lake to the campfire and heard a ranger talk about Lassen. Then we came home and went to bed.
June 26, 1961
Monday
This morning we woke up to a mountain thunderstorm. It made us grateful
that we were in a trailer and not in a tent. We just snuggled down in
the
covers and slept till it was over.
At breakfast we had a family "council" meeting to make a decision. Dad told us what we had to decide, and then we voted. Here was our problem -- we have the trailer for three more days if we wanted. So we could, 1) go immediately to Sacramento, turn in the trailer and go home. 2) go to Yosemite Park and spend a couple of days. or 3) go to San Francisco and see the city -- parks, museums, and the like.
We polled the group. Billy and I voted to go home, Barbara voted to go to San Francisco, and Bobby voted to go back to Disneyland. We explained to him that this wasn't one of his choices, so he voted for the city. Then it was up to Bill to break the tie -- he said we'd go to San Francisco.
So we were off and rolling at about nine. As we climbed on toward the summit, we saw more and more snow. Since we were out of ice, we decided to stop and put some snow in the ice box. What fun this was! We stopped by a steep slope; so we took the dish pan and took turns sliding down the slope. even Bill and I did it. It was much fun! Billy took one tumble that rolled him head over heals, and Barbara fell out of the pan and continued to slide on the seat of her them very wet pants!
After we filled the box, we continued passed the thermal action of Lassen without stopping (we had seen the big thermal area last year at Yellowstone) and rolled on toward San Francisco!
We arrived about six on the outskirts, but it was 8:30 before we found a trailer court in a little town south of Oakland. Went to bed tired and a bit discouraged!
June 27, 1961
Tuesday
(Bill's birthday)
This morning we got up and started making plans for San Francisco.
About nine we went out, loaded in the car, and it wouldn't start!
I took the children back in the trailer and started reading to them while Bill got a garage man and was unceremoniously pulled away. Low blow!
However, this turned out to be another day that started off poorly and ended beautifully. Bill was back in less than twenty minutes with a sweet running automobile. A little valve that should have been oiled the last time the car was serviced was sticking. It was fixed easily -- and we were off for our much anticipated trip to San Francisco.
First thrill was driving across the Oakland -- San Francisco Bay Bridge. We saw Alcatraz, some big ships and the San Francisco buildings.
We drove immediately to the San Francisco Park and Museum. We enjoyed the North American Hall, the Africa Hall, the Planetarium, and the Aquarium. Then we drove around the park and went to eat.
We ate at Foster's Cafeteria. Then I decided to look up Jack Hislap at the California State Chamber of Commerce. After a bit of maneuvering, we got there, I met Jack, and he turned out to be a delightful fellow!
Then we went for a ride in a famed cable car up to Nob Hill and by Chinatown. O the way back we stopped and looked over Chinatown a little. Then we went to Fisherman's Warf.
On the warf we took a ride around the bay. We got a good look at Alcatraz, went under the Oakland bridge, saw the Golden Gate Bridge, and saw ships from Japan, Holland, Norway, Sweden, and Great Britain. It was fun!
Then we went off to see the Hislops a minute (an hour), ate at the Kaiser Building Cafeteria in Oakland, and went home to bed -- exhausted.
June 28, 1961
Wednesday
Today was really the heading home day! While still at the trailer
court in San Francisco, we
cleaned the trailer, packed the car,
serviced
the car, and headed back for Sacramento
about 9:30.
At 12:30 we got to Sacramento, turned in our trailer, and went out to the college to see Tom. He went with us while we ate shakes and burgers, told us he would see us in about two weeks, and off we headed for HOME!
The drive in the afternoon was hot and, except for a stop for 10 lb.. of apricots for $1.00, uninteresting. We drove on and on -- over some mountain passes -- and in the Bridgeport, California, a high resort town, we had supper. It was delicious, but it took us 1 hr and 20 minutes to get it!
Then we drove on all night. Just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, we saw a terrific forest fire off to the right. It was an immense affair seeming to cover thirty miles or so.
We were in Las Vegas about five and things were wide open and going.
We drove "The Strip" and saw that Sammye Kay, the McGuire Sisters, Jerry Colenna, Joey Bishop, and Harry James were among those present this week at Las Vegas. Big Deal. I had a quarter and a fifty cent piece I wanted to drop in a one-armed-bandit, but I didn't have the chance -- at least, I didn't.
Bill and I were feeling fine.
June 29, 1961
Thursday
And on we drove. We breakfasted in Kingman,
Arizona. I was quite cool
all night, though at Las Vegas it was registering 80 degrees already.
As
we drove on, probably the hottest place was Hoover Dam. After that it
began
to cool down.
Bill and I drove along today simply "playing it by ear". We had no special plan nor stopping place, we just drove till we felt like stopping.
By noon we were at Holbrook, Arizona, and it was hot and we were tired; so we ate lunch and got us an air conditioned motel and spent the afternoon bathing, watching TV, reading, and sleeping. It was wonderful!
About 6:30 we revived enough to go eat an excellent supper (I had Chinese food). Then we went back to our motel read, watched TV, and slept some more. We had a delightfully lazy day.
June 30, 1961
Friday
We were delightfully rested this morning and ready to make the last
1,000 miles to HOME! We started out with a good breakfast at Holbrook.
Then off we went, through the rest of Arizona, into New Mexico --
[Ed.
note]
One Year later --
We
drove all night; got home about eight A.M. Friday. 'Twas as good
to get home as it was to leave!
Nona Brooks
Books Read:
Miscellaneous Notes:
| 1961 Trip Budget: | |
| 1. Car Expense: | $200.00 |
| 2. Lodging: | |
|
Trailer:
|
$ 90.00 |
|
Motel:
|
$ 70.00 |
| 3. Food: | $160.00 |
| 4. Misc.: | $ 80.00 |
| 5. Reserve: | $ 80.00 |
|
|
|
| Total: | $680.00 |
| 1961 |
California,
Disneyland |
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Bill Jr, & Bob And a couple of vixens Disneyland |
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|
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Redwoods |
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The Magic Kingdom: Disneyland |
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The Magic Kingdom: Disneyland |
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Marine World of the Pacific |
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