Our Delayed Honeymoon

Because I was teaching and couldn’t take time off for a trip, we delayed our honeymoon until June.  

We headed for California, with the top down, of course.  Our first destination was Yosemite and Kings Canyon in the central part of California.  As we drove through Yosemite, we came upon a forest fire.  Bedraggled fire fighters were sitting by the side of the road.  It was a quite a scene.

Also in Yosemite, but not in the area of the fire, was the famous Wawona Tunnel Tree.  In 1918, a tunnel was cut through the giant sequoia.  It was a popular tourist attraction, and we were tourists.  We took a picture of the Porsche in the tunnel.  See, I told you we were tourists.

Unfortunately, the tree, estimated to be 2,300 years ago, fell over in 1969.  Heavy snow on the branches was blamed.  Hm-m-m-m!  Do you think cutting a hole clear through the tree might have had anything to do with it?

As soon as we got to the coastal area we began seeing roadside stands selling fresh strawberries.  We stopped at one, bought a flat, and ate as we rode down the road.  They were so-o-o-o good!

We went on down the coast to the Monterey area.  The top was down most of the time so we were both very tan by the time we got to the Pacific Ocean.  Later, when looking at our pictures of the trip, we couldn’t remember taking a picture of a dark skinned woman standing by a Maserati.  Oops!  It was me!

Bill was at Fort Ord when he was in basic training in the Army.  He said that the entire time he was there it was foggy.  He never saw the sun.  Well, it was foggy the day we were there also.  Bill felt right at home.

While in the area, we drove the Seventeen Mile Drive which goes along the coast and through an area of very, very expensive homes.  While on the drive we stopped at Pebble Beach.  There was a Pro-Am Golf Tournament going on so we went to see the excitement.  The only celebrity we saw was Bob Hope riding in a golf cart.  It was a beautiful setting and interesting to be there.

We continued south on Hwy. 1 to Santa Barbara.  I think the only down side of the entire trip happened when we went for Mexican food one night for dinner and were served spoiled tamales.  Of course, when we complained about them, suddenly no one who worked there spoke English.  Bill hasn’t eaten a tamale since then.  It took me many years to get past that unpleasant experience.

We stopped at Hearst Castle.  It was a very interesting tour of a magnificent house and beautiful grounds.  Two young people from the plains of Texas had a hard time comprehending that kind of wealth.  And it is still not in our realm.

When we got to LA, we visited with my mother’s friends, Grace Brickley and Doris Bertrand.  Bill and I wanted to go to the beach.  Doris warned us about getting on the freeways and showed us a route through town.  It took us three hours to get to open water.  We enjoyed our time in the sand and surf, but decided to take the freeways back.  We got there in 45 minutes.  So much for “locals” recommending routes.

By then we were just about on overload of things to see.  Neither one of us can remember much about the return to Texas.  Maybe that’s because we really didn’t want to go back.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip...a great way to start “our life on a wandering road.”