Riding The Train

Some of our most pleasant memories are from when we rode the train. When my sisters and I were young we rode the train between San Diego and Los Angeles a number of times. It is a favorite memory for me. I can still picture details of what the passenger cars of the train looked like.

After our daughter Kathy and her husband and first baby moved to Washington state we enjoyed several train trips on The Coast Starlight train to see them. I had already gone to Washington on the bus at least once when Laura and I decided on going north by train. We had a great experience on that trip. The scenery included the coast and the mountains as well as cities and farmland. We only spent one night on the train and slept in our seats. We did not spend the extra money for a sleeping car or fancy dining car experience. There was a cafe car to purchase sandwiches or other snacks.

In those days, in the eighties, smoking was allowed on some parts of the train. The problem was that smoke travels to other areas so it was difficult to get away from it. Now days there is no smoking allowed and that is more pleasant. That is how things have been on buses too, as well as other public places such as restaurants. When I was young smoking did not bother me as I grew up around cigarette smoke. But smoke is unpleasant for me now as it has always been for my children. Thankfully "no smoking" laws are in effect on trains and buses now.

After Laura's and my happy train experience Paul and I decided to travel to Washington by train a few times. Two of the trips were to see Kathy and family on Whidbey Island as Laura and I had done. The train goes to Seattle and then we get a ride with family to the island. Later, after Kathy's family had moved from Washington, Paul and I took the train to Seattle to spend time with his cousin. Since then we have taken trips by train to visit Paul's brother Charlie and his wife in central California.

The last time we went to Whidbey Island to see Kathy, John, Becky, Melissa and Michael they were getting ready to move back to California. We enjoyed Thanksgiving with them if I remember correctly. We helped them as they were preparing for their move south. They would have a car full with their family and three kitties. Paul and I brought five year old Becky back to San Diego with us on the train. She had never been away from her family, but she was close to me so she did fine. It was a fun experience traveling with our little granddaughter. That is a way to see the sights with new eyes.

Each time we traveled on the train we managed to add other visits to the itinerary. On some trips we got off in Sacramento to spend time with Charlie and Edye. On some trips we stopped for an overnight stay in Los Angeles to see my sister Donna and her husband Fred. We did our Los Angeles stop when we had Becky with us. This way we enjoyed the last segment of the trip in the morning or early afternoon. I have a cute picture of Becky wearing the conductor's hat on that part of the train ride.

The last time I took the train to Los Angeles was in the fall of 2007. I spent a good part of a week with Donna and Fred on that trip. I was there for Donna's "three times twenty three" birthday. That is how she referred to that birthday. Donna and Fred were coming to San Diego so they brought me home. The fires of 2007 started in our mountains that weekend. Not too many weeks later Donna and I lost our sister Betty, near Thanksgiving.

On one of our train trips in the early '90s Paul, Laura and I traveled together to Sacramento to a wedding. That was an enjoyable family time with Charlie, Edye and their family. We traveled on a different train in the valley that time On that schedule you take the train from San Diego to L.A. Then take a bus to Bakersfield in the valley. Then the train and then another bus. Paul got off earlier when he met Charlie to go to Yosemite as Charlie was on a work related trip in that area. They were in Sacramento on time for Eric's wedding that weekend.

On one of our train trips to see Charlie and Edye in Pacific Grove our destination was another wedding in their family. We traveled by car with Charlie and Edye from Pacific Grove to San Francisco to Deron and Laurie's wedding. We stayed in a hotel in S.F. that night. That was a never to be forgotten experience. We have missed going to other family weddings, but have been happy to be able to go to the ones we did go to.

I would like to go by train to Colorado at least once. I have been by car and bus and plane. On one of my Colorado trips Kathy, John and Melissa and I went on the Pike's Peak Cog Train. This train takes you to the very top of the mountain. At the high altitude of 14,110 feet I could hardly walk or breathe when we got off the cog train. It is a short visit, just enough time for pictures and buying souvenirs. I would recommend this cog train ride to any that did not have heart problems. The scenery is beautiful. The view from the summit of Pikes Peak is said to have inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write "America the Beautiful" in 1893.

We do indeed have a beautiful country and we should appreciate it from whatever vantage point we have available to us. For us in San Diego we have access to the beaches and mountains as well as the desert. We also have beautiful parks and the zoo within easy reach. We have trolleys and buses to get to many destinations. Of course most people have access to a car. By train or plane we can get to more distant destinations with other beautiful scenery to enjoy.

"O beautiful for Spacious skies,                       America! America!
For amber waves of grain,                               God shed His grace on thee
For purple mountain majesties                         And crown thy good with brotherhood 
Above the fruited plain !                                  From sea to shining sea !"

America The Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893


image credit: jpmueller99; TreyDanger

A Trip To Remember

In 1986 Paul and I planned our trip to remember. We had not done much traveling while all of our children were at home. This would be the first trip for Paul and me together to Montana and Washington. I had been to Montana twice with some of my children. I had also been to Washington, but not with Paul.

We carefully planned this vacation to see family. We purchased the car Paul had his heart set on, a preowned Cadillac. Paul's friend that knew cars, and especially liked Cadillacs, recommended this car. It was a comfortable vehicle and had enough room for all we needed to pack. I planned to take things to family in Montana and Washington. Some of Elizabeth's things were still at our house. She had lived with us from 1980 to 1985. So I needed to take them to her in Billings.

My photo album begins with saying "bye" to Poosey Gato and Laura on Tuesday September 2, 1986. The next pictures are in Nevada and Utah as we headed north. Paul and I had been to these states on earlier trips. We used to have a friend to visit in Utah, which we did at least two times in the early '80s. The kids and I headed north through Utah to Montana the first time in 1979. This is a very scenic area with mountains, lakes, rivers and farmland, as well as beautiful parks.

We continued north through Idaho with more beautiful scenery. We had several nights in motels as we headed north on the way to Montana. On Friday we were driving through Montana, almost to my sister's in Billings. We saw some of Yellowstone but did not stop as we would go there later with family. When we got to the highway heading east all was well until a little fox ran alongside the car. "Foxy don't do that." Next thing you know he ran in front of the car. Oh no, poor thing. We were on a freeway and could not stop. Not a happy moment for Paul as he never hits animals on the road.

We arrived at Betty and Sam's and parked Dagna Deville next to her twin. We both had Cadillacs that were almost identical, just different colors. We would be doing some traveling in their car while in Montana. We unpacked a lot of things for my niece so our car was a lot lighter now.

While with my sister and brother-in-law we went to Yellowstone. Elizabeth was with us too. This was my third time there. It was Paul's first time at this National Park. The first time I went was in '79 with my sister Betty's family and three of my children. Sam was a story teller and I needed to be discerning whether he was telling a tale or the truth. I fell for a big one. The mountains were steep and had areas that did not have a lot of growth like steep trails. Sam told me that is where the bears slide down the mountain. Sounded good to me. On a later trip in 1981 Elizabeth overheard me telling my other sister and brother-in-law this story. She started laughing and asked me where I got this tale. I told her that her dad told me. That is when I learned that I had been had. I fell for Sam's tale.

Some time later Laura and I read that animals do play and that maybe there could be some truth to Sam's tall tale.

After five days with the Hamiltons Paul and I were on the road again heading west. We stayed one night in a motel in Missoula, Montana. The next day we arrived at my Aunt Beulah and Uncle Leo's in Libby, Montana. This was Paul's first time meeting them. They were married more than 60 years at that time. Beulah was Mom's adopted sister. I would have loved to have lived closer to her and get to know her better. We got to stay overnight at their house. They were not in the best of health so I'm sure this was not easy for them, but they were very hospitable. The girls and I had visited them in '81 when we were in Montana, but we did not stay overnight that time.

Aunt Beulah and Uncle Leo have since died. He was almost 100 years old when he died. They died within months of each other. She was in her late nineties.

After leaving Libby, Montana we continued west towards Washington. We saw the Grand Coulee Dam and drove through the North Cascades heading to Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. Next stop after one motel night was at our daughter and son-in-law's. We arrived there on Saturday and went to church with them the next morning. Kathy, John and little Becky went to the Bible Baptist Church on the island.

While we were visiting our children in Washington they took us a lot of places. We enjoyed the scenery of Whidbey Island as well as nearby towns such as LaConner. We ate at the Lighthouse Inn where Paul took pictures of the boats going by. That is when Paul took a picture of a fishing boat that turned out to belong to my cousin's husband. That was an amazing coincidence. We discovered this when my cousin was looking at our pictures quite sometime later.

We had picnics, family gatherings and all sorts of fun on this vacation. We had more family visit us at Kathy and John's in Oak Harbor. We also visited our family in the Bellingham area. My niece Debra and her little family lived in Ferndale and we had a large family gathering there. My cousin Diedra and her family joined us at that gathering. We also went to Laurel to see my Uncle Ray on the old family farm. Uncle Ray was my mother's younger brother. Several cousins and their families joined us on the farm for another family get together. This is the farm that had originally belonged to my great grandparents. A lot of the family lived nearby, especially when my mother was little.

Back at Kathy and John's on the island we celebrated Becky's second birthday a week early, before we had to head home. One of the large packages we had brought on this trip was for Becky's birthday. It was a cute doll house. We have pictures of Becky with her presents. We have pictures of her with family. We also have pictures of her with lots of pretty scenery. There are Dutch windmills on Whidbey Island, as well as pretty tulips. Of course there are pictures of her with these. Appropriate that now she is married to someone with a Dutch heritage. So her baby, Jacob, is half Dutch.

Whidbey Island has Deception Pass and a bridge at the north end. There is a ferry at the south end of the island. There is another ferry from the island to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. Paul and I had to say "bye" to our dear ones on Saturday September 20th. We headed to the ferry heading west to Port Townsend. Then we headed south and then east towards I-5 and Vancouver, WA and then across the Columbia River to Portland. We continued south, towards California with motel stops along the way.

The car had been good to us to this point. But I was getting uneasy about the smell and then it began to overheat. We made a number of tries to find out the problem. We still got to enjoy the scenery in Oregon. I also enjoyed the Redwoods. I was disappointed that Paul was not as excited about the Redwoods as I was. I always enjoy the Redwoods. This may have been Paul's first time there, but he was getting tired of driving at this point. I don't drive and driving is not his favorite thing to do unless he is going for a lot of birds.

As I said we tried to find out why the car was overheating. We went to different stations along the way. I think we changed a hose. At another stop we got a new water pump. Everything was just a temporary measure. After one service station in the middle of California when we thought we had the problem solved we gave a lady and her boy a ride to their car. They were waiting for a friend to tow them. Not long after we said goodbye to them our car said no more. We were in the middle of nowhere. We had to wait for someone to help us. The wait was not long before the Highway Patrol came to our aid.

The C.H.P. called a tow truck for us. We did not have to wait long for the tow truck. The next thing you knew we were in Coalinga in a motel and our car was at the garage for diagnosis. The last pictures I have of that trip is our car being towed. Not in a picture mood after this. Actually the last picture Paul took is a billboard of "Jesus is Lord of Coalinga."

We ended up in Coalinga for three days while the car was being repaired. The only good part is that the real problem was found on the car, and repaired. It was a little plug that needed to be replaced, but it required major disassembly to find it. It should have been done before we bought the car.

This was some time after there had been a bad earthquake in Coalinga and there was still evidence of that event in the area. The motel left much to be desired. At least there was a decent restaurant in town.

What made me decide to write this is in remembering the worst motel night anyone could ever expect to have. The man that checked us in must have had a few drinks under his belt. He was just filling in for the manager. We paid him and he showed us our room. We were getting settled in for the night when he came to the room and accused us of ripping him off. He accused us of stealing the money we gave him. We nicely told him otherwise. Then he went around telling other people at the motel that we had done this awful thing. It was the most nightmarish thing ever.

Quite some time later, maybe the next morning, he came to our door and said that he found the money. He apologized profusely. What could we do but to accept the apology? We didn't even tell the manager what had happened to us. We probably should have. We stayed in that motel two more nights, but in a different room. We had checked out hoping our car would be ready, but no such good news. That is why the different room. There was not much choice in motels either. I never would wish the motel night from hell on my worst enemy.

Thankfully when we left Coalinga we were through with car problems for that trip. We enjoyed the remaining miles heading south, except for worrying about possibilities of problems. They did not happen. We arrived home with photos to put in albums and stories to tell.

pictures from vacation album- family picture at Debra and Pete's in Ferndale, WA-
John, Kathy& Becky; Diedra with Marie& Nathan; Paul, Shawn and Debra.
Bear Tooth Pass on the way to Yellowstone National Park with Sam, Betty,
Elizabeth and Paul. Next picture is Aunt Beulah & Uncle Leo in Libby, MT.
Windmill with Kathy, John & Becky- Oak Harbor, WA.  Two year old Becky
with birthday cake.  Caroline, Becky, John & Kathy at Peace Arch State Park.
Last picture- Dagna Deville.

It's A Small World

Our son Bill enjoys birding and has been to all states for this hobby except for Alaska and Hawaii. He was traveling through Montana one time a number of years ago and must have been stopped by the Highway Patrol for some small infraction. Maybe he was speeding, I don't know. Basically he is a good driver. I am not afraid to be in the car with him. The reason I mention this is because he got a ticket and that is the lead to this story.

A short time later when I was talking on the phone to my sister Betty she asked me if Bill had been in Montana recently. I felt bad that I needed to say yes since he had not stopped in Billings to see his Aunt Betty or Uncle Sam. But Betty really knew he had been nearby.

Sam worked in the Billings Post Office. He handled mail that had been damaged or waylaid in some way. He had processed an envelope for Bill from the Highway Patrol. It must have been damaged in the mail. Now that is really a small world event. What are the odds that my brother-in-law would have handled mail addressed to my son? Bill is rarely in Montana and lives a long way from that state. Another amazing event in our family!!

Amazing Things Happen

In reading about amazing things that have happened in history I thought about the fact that we have had amazing coincidences in our lives. I think that many of us have people we know that have had most interesting stories to tell. Some have been in another country on vacation and ran into a friend. It is always a pleasure to run into people we know when out and about in our own town so it would be exciting to do this when hundreds of miles away.

In the eighties, from 1985 until 1889, our daughter Kathy and family lived in Washington state, on Whidbey Island. Paul, Laura and I were able to visit them a number of times while they were there. I went by myself on the bus several times. Laura and I went on the train to Seattle, and over the years Paul and I did this several times. Paul and I also took one trip by car to Washington in 1986. My mother and I flew to Bellingham together once. This was Mom's and my first time to fly. During this period of time we had many fun family adventures.

We got to see Becky go from a one year old to a five year old. We were able to see Missy as a little baby and then have her first birthday while they were in Oak Harbor, Washington. We also had a number of other relatives to visit while they were in the Pacific Northwest.

On one occasion Kathy and John had taken us to a nice restaurant in La Conner, not far from Whidbey Island. We were sitting near a big window watching the fishing boats go by in the nearby river. Paul took a few good boat pictures while we were enjoying our meal. We were both into taking a lot of pictures in those days. There was a lot of good scenery and family to put into our photo albums.

A year or so later when my cousin Diedra and her husband Nick were here from Washington we were sharing some pictures with them. Diedra was looking at some of Paul's pictures that he had taken in La Conner when she did a double take. She told Nick that he had to see the picture she was looking at. It was the most amazing thing. Paul had taken a picture of Nick's fishing boat. This was not a spot that Nick and his boat were at a lot either, but he was there the day Paul was taking pictures of the boats near the restaurant. Talk about amazing!!

I will write about more amazing adventures as they come to mind. Even more amazing is God's great love for us. :)

We Say Goodbye To Our Son

Our son Bill had been visiting us since Christmas and the time came to say goodbye the other day. He put it off as long as he could. He has a house in Florida that he needs to get back to. Bill is retired from the Air Force and doesn't have another job at this time. That is why he was able to be here for so long. He is single so did not have someone anxiously awaiting his return home.

Bill had a period of time that he was not able to get back to see us in San Diego as he was busy with the Air Force and he needed to replace his car to make the long drive. He needs his car when he is here as we don't have one and he has a lot of places to go. Bill and his Dad are both birders so enjoy going to all the places that birds will be seen. Laura also enjoys looking at the birds and going on excursions with her brother. I enjoy the rides too.

While he was here we went to the desert and the mountains several times. Bill met a new friend while he was birding so they went a lot of places together. It is nice to have a friend with the same interests as you have. The last time we went to the Salton Sea Bill's friend Mark was with us. Actually Bill and Mark headed that way at least one more time to observe the birds.

We always enjoy our mountains when possible. We drove through the Lagunas more than once this year. Bill also went to Palomar Mountain more than one time. I was with him on one of the trips. It had snowed so it was pretty, white and cold. I have to admit that I mostly go for the ride and don't get out in the elements when it is cold.

We went to Borrego Springs and nearby Anza Borrego Desert State Park on one of our rides. Actually Bill did that more than once this year. I won't try to mention all of our excursions as we did a lot while he was here. We enjoyed our coast on a number of occasions as would be expected. We always enjoy a walk along the cove in La Jolla when we get a chance. Sunset cliffs are pretty too and a good place to see some birds. The Point Loma area is also good. We also got to the Del Mar area, and other places in the north county. We found some new parks and nice areas for birding in several San Diego neighborhoods.

Of course my favorite place is Coronado. That is our hometown even if we don't live there anymore. That would be where Paul first started birding. His mother was always interested in the birds in the tree outside her kitchen window and in her backyard. I'm sure that helped gain Paul's interest in birds.

Bill became interested in birds when he was stationed at Luke Air Force Base in the Phoenix area. He wanted to figure out places to take us when we went to visit him. That started him finding birding spots to show us. Paul had liked birding in Arizona ever since we first went there in the late 70s, way before Bill was there.

Another favorite place we were able to get to while Bill was here is Griff's place in Valley Center. He has ten acres that we enjoy exploring. We visited Griff twice while Bill was here this time. We have managed to get to Griff's more times in the past year as we have had other rides there. We had two different family gatherings there last summer. Once with our daughter Kathy, son-in-law John, my sister Donna and brother-in-law Fred. Another time with Becky and Jay when they were here on their honeymoon. Earlier in 2010 Bill had been here on two different trips. We visited Valley Center then too. Griff was with us on Christmas and another time while Bill was here.

My cousin Dagna and her husband Joe also visited us once since Christmas. Donna and Fred were also with us that same day. Dagna and Joe try to get here soon after Christmas each year. They live in Oceanside. We went to their house last year when Bill was with us.

I guess I can say that we have had a lot of things going on in recent months. We are blessed to have family that can come to see us. We still need to get out of San Diego more often to go see loved ones. Laura, Bill and I went to Colorado last year to see our family there. I want to get back there to see our new great grandson and the rest of the family. I want to go to Pacific Grove to visit Paul's brother and sister-in-law. We have not been there in a few years. It is always good to get out of our comfort zone to go see family. They are dear to us.

I pray that Bill gets home safely. He plans to enjoy the birds along the way instead of his usual quick trip across the country. He may get back here before too long. He is hoping to do so, but did not promise for sure. It is a long way and takes a lot of gas. I think he enjoyed his time in San Diego and didn't seem to want to leave. Hopefully he will move to our part of the country eventually. He has had thoughts of doing so.