Last week I told you about my Girl Scout road trip when I
was 13. Fast forward a few years and I am now 16 doing nearly the same thing,
but this time with my family, and this time we’re not stopping in Wyoming.
Destination: SAN FRANCISCO OR BUST!
For those who don’t know my family, I have an uncle who
lives near San Francisco on the other side of the bay in Walnut Creek. Until
1986 none of us had ever been out to see him, though he certainly flew across
the country to visit us every Christmas (and still does).
When I asked my mom why she wanted us to take a family road
trip she said, “I think it was that we both had always wanted to go out west
and dad finally had enough vacation time (4 weeks). Also the thought of taking
a motorhome to do it sounded like a lot of fun and it was. We were not
ready to come home when the month was over. It's a great way to see the
backroads of America like they say.”
I have to give my mom credit because she did virtually all
the planning on her own as I don’t seem to recall most of us being too bothered
to give her many suggestions. I might have contributed the itinerary my GS
troop used three summers prior, which we did follow to some extent.
Here’s what I wrote in my journal for our second day on the
road:
July 27, 1986
Stopped 3 times, ran into a storm – Minnesota, saw Rainbows,
got police escort, stopped for ice cream.
Wait, got police escort??? Obviously it must have been no
big deal because I certainly didn’t elaborate other than just to note that it
happened.
I checked the journal that my mom kept and she wrote, “Ate
ice cream while electrical short in lights was being repaired.” Mystery solved!
July 28, 1986
Today was a bit of dejavu for me as we visited the Corn
Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. It’s one of those cheesy attractions that
would have been quite popular had it been on Route 66. It’s an arena whose
outside is covered with murals made entirely out of corn, and they change each
year. For example, in 1983 the theme was South Dakota animals and when we visited
in 1986 it was First Americans.
My mom wrote, “Arrived Mt. Rushmore KOA camp about 7:30(pm),
went to Mt. Rushmore lighting ceremony (had a wild woman bus driver). Saw George
Washington’s face (side view) going back to camp.”
I remember the Park Ranger, or whoever was in charge of
making announcements telling people to turn off the flash on their camera since
it would be ineffective due to the far off distance of the monument. Of course
a minute later a million flashbulbs went off as people began snapping away. We
have no photos because it was dark and our 110 cameras definitely weren’t up to
the challenge.
On July 30, 1986 I reported, “pretty boring day. Saw
Continental Divide, Yellowstone River, Hot Springs…” I had been to the Hot
Springs (at Yellowstone Park) on my previous trip as well and scrawled on the
back of one of the photos, “smells like rotten eggs from sulphur.” Yes, the hot
springs are smelly, but certainly an oddity of nature that is worth seeing and
probably fascinates most children (though as a teenager I’m not sure I was that
impressed).
We also saw Old Faithful, which definitely lives up to its
name as it goes off every 45 minutes like clockwork.
By August things
were starting to pick up a little in the excitement department for both the
kids and the adults as we entered Nevada the day after my parent’s anniversary.
We stayed in Winnemucca and I wrote that “we went out for breakfast, gambled,
saw 2 movies, small town – but exciting.” I remember the two movies were
“Howard the Duck” and “Top Gun” and I remember it being just us kids (me, 16,
my 15 year old brother and my 13 year old sister) because my parents were in
one of the casinos.
My mom wrote, “Went to Winners Casino that night and John
(my dad) won $85.50. He had $128.50 in quarters at the end of the evening. I
lost between $8 - $10. We were picked up by a taxi from the casino.”
(meanwhile, we kids had to rough it and walk back to our campground).
August 4, 1986
Another entry from my mom’s journal - “Entered CA line at
9:50am. Stopped at noon at S. Lake Tahoe with mechanical problems (new
alternator was needed). Left garage at about 6:00 to go to our campground.”
(poor dad spent the entire day with the mechanic while we wandered Lake Tahoe
and did some souvenir shopping).
“Went to Harrah’s Casino and lost again ($8). Had dinner at
Harrah’s also. Saw some big gamblers spend $1500-$2000 a game on Black Jack.
We eventually arrived at our intended destination, my
uncle’s house, on August 5, 1986. I wrote, “arrived at 1:30pm – UR not home,
saw Palm Trees, nice house, small yard, pretty good day.” When I asked my
family what their memories were of the trip, my mom said, “I remember finally
getting to Uncle Russ' house and finding a note on the door saying he'd be home
soon.” Poor Russ, no one is going to let him live that down. LOL!
Here’s where I need to interject how much I was looking
forward to going to California. Growing up in a small town in the Midwest, I
dreamed of what life was like in California picturing the entire state to look
just like Los Angeles with tons of palm trees, sand, and beaches. Actually,
California does have an entire coast line of beaches, most of which aren’t
frequented nearly as much as the ones in Southern CA due to the cooler climate
as you head north (like the one at Point Reyes we visited on a chilly
afternoon).
Anyway, as we crossed the state line (following an
inspection by the border patrol who confiscated our apples because they were
bought out of state and could be carrying pests that might infect the entire
agricultural system of CA we learned), I remember being not at all impressed as
this (entry point) looked nothing like the CA I expected. Fast forward to
almost a decade later and I felt the same way upon arriving in England.
Truthfully, most places hardly elicit a Wow response, at least until you see a
landscape that is truly different than your own (like all the canals in Venice,
for example).
We all thoroughly enjoyed our stay with Russ and he was a
fabulous and very patient tour guide (sometimes having to put up with waiting
for us girls to finish our souvenir shopping).
One of our first stops was Golden Gate Park where my sister
and I remember having tea in the Japanese Garden. I particularly remember the
sesame-seed coated crackers that were served with the tea. Still not a fan of
tea or those crackers, but it was interesting, and the only time I’ve ever done
that on my multiple visits to the city since then.
No trip to CA would be complete without a visit to the giant
Redwoods in Muir Woods.
We got our first experience with public transportation when
we rode BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and our first Cable Car. In the city (SF)
we saw the Golden Gate Bridge (once the fog dissipated)
I noted that we went shopping at Pier 39, which I seem to
recall as the best place to get souvenirs, and I think that’s its main claim to
fame (which probably explains why I’ve never returned there as an adult).
Those who know me know how much I like to eat, so I
definitely enjoyed all the fast food we were treated to while staying with
Russ. I noted Jack in the Box on Aug 8, and Nut Tree Restaurant on Aug 9th.
I also remember having my first ever KFC one night while watching classic
Laurel and Hardy movies on VHS. My sister remembers having lunch at the Hungry
Hippo restaurant (long since closed, according to my uncle) and we both bought
souvenir posters after. My mom notes that we ate at Pinky’s Pizza Place (&
Pub) the first night we were at Russ’ house.
As California is a big state which we’d hardly yet explored,
we were soon ready to head south to see a bit more of the state of my dreams
and expectations.
More on that next time…
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