West Coast Road Trip Report -- edited, enhanced and ellustrated by ME.

You will remember Polly's well-written recent account of our grand adventure in italics.  I've added my annotations and additional photos. 

We got back from our road trip Sunday night.  It turned out to be 4735 miles and 21 days.  The hottest place was probably our first night in St. George at 108 degrees. 

It was so hot in the tent I moved outside to the sand in the early morning hours.

We met Cal and Jan for dinner at Cafe Rio.  Margaret wasn't feeling well so we missed her.

First of fam fotos.  Before leaving town we stopped by the temple where my sisters and me were sealed to our parents in 1952--later than I had remembered.  I was 15.

Snow Canyon, the first of almost daily hikes. 

 We enjoyed seeing Hoover Dam . . . and survived the long, slow desert crossing.  

Great beginning to a continuing influence of art deco in buildings and bridges along our way, "Wings of the Republic".  These bronzes eminded me of my neighborhood Academy movie theater decor.  The dam was finished the year before my birth--round the clock construction.

The approach to the dam and visitor center. 

The rest of the trip was on the coastal highway as much as possible, and covered most of the western edge of the U.S.:
San Diego:  camped at Dos Picos, . . .

Lovely solitude in this little cabin--beds and bathroom. Sweet moments sitting at the table in the early morning contemplating.   Polly and I did a little hike in the foothills till the boys awoke. 

visited temple (stunning) . . .

It really is a stunning building.  The sky-blue glass of the towers links to the heavens.

and zoo (rare panda, playful other bears) . . .

Love giraffes, ungainly in appearance and graceful in their motion and engaging faces.

There were a couple of bears playing chase between two sections of their quarters.

This guy had such a crowd it was hard to get a glimpse of him.

The one thing I remembered from our early 70's visit was this people mover and Polly was a little girl. 

Isn't this guy funny.  It appears he's considering or about to ignore the sign on the street.

Carlsbad:  fun riding the waves at beach until dark, first of many fish & chips and clam chowder
Carlsbad:  one Legoland day of rides, some afternoon beach time, back to Legoland to admire mini cities,  . . .

The unbelievable variety of use of Legos was captivating--everything Lego.

Polly in Paris.

The miniature buildings reminded me of Maduradum miniature village of our 1970 Europe camping trip.

The mini-landscaping was remarkable.

Interactive instruments.  Step on the disk and your instrument plays.

This was from a 2-person boat ride on a canal.  Great variety of rides--the only place I could handle consecutive rides on the roller coaster.

LA:  temple where Mom &; Dad were married, great visitors center, . . .

The visitor center has a Jerusalem model and supportive vignettes at the time of Jesus that were inspiring.

Mum’s old homes, . . .

My recollection has always been of everything larger than reality--the high living room ceiling that I painted on scaffolding is not cathedral high!  Nice to see my home for 18 years well-cared for.

 school, . . .

Morningside Park's Warren Lane Elementary, my sixth-grade class room on the left.  Prior to 6th we had WWII army barrack buildings.  I was surprised to see that the long walk to school was only .3 mi.--shorter when we walked through the bean field before houses were built.

church, . . .

San Pedro Ward was unique with stained-glass chapel windows.  Lots happened here.  Grandpa Watson began to attend church again and never stopped.  Bishop Cowser suggested I serve a mission.  Met Jim and Polly Beatty here.  David bore his testimony after his mission, commenting "the Scots are the salt of the earth"--hooking my father.  I was president of M-Men and Gleaners here for the stake planning fun activities for our young single adult age group--David asked me to "South Pacific" in Anaheim theater-in-the-round activity, our first date.  David was in a play.  Site of our wedding reception. Our home neighborhood on Pescadores Dr. still has the beautiful views we loved of the LA Harbor.  It was a beautiful place to live and still is beautiful to visit.

and places she and Dad went on dates, . . .

Peck Park.  There is a little pond where David introduced me to crawdads when we picnicked.  We also passed Griffith Park in our LA driving where Dad and I  had our last picnic before he went back to BYU after our engagement.  Dad made a point of planning a variety of dates in a variety of settings--theater, movie, picnic, pro-baseball game, beach, . . . . 

 Granny Hunter’s gravesite, . . .

I don't believe I ever visited Granny's grave.  It took a lot of searching even with the location numbers.  Mary Preston Hunter died while I was in Brazil.  Being an immigrant family we didn't have the tradition of visiting family graves.  When I became a Parkinson I learned the value.

 family memories, met her high school friends.

Capistrano Coco's lunch near I-101 exit hosted by Sharon who had rearranged her day, drove over from Torrance.  Loretta lives nearby.  An opportunity to tell them and my family of their influence--Loretta introduced me to reading great books, stage plays and the Hollywood Bowl seeing Nat King Cole, Jascha Heifetz, LA Symphony, etc. ; Greek Theater where we saw Harry Belafonte.  Sharon suggested I run for Senior VP our senior and I won adding much more to high school life and leadership experience.  We three went to UCLA the semester I took a break from BYU.  Lots of memories.  Much has happened in our lives since.  They are still an inspiration.

Newport Beach Temple was on our way north.  A remarkably beautiful temple in the Spanish mission style with Angel Moroni on the spire.  These photos don't capture the impact upon first seeing the whole building.

 LA: stayed in Ventura with my friend Mayla from Charter Hospital, . . .

 Mayla and her family were wonderfully welcoming.  It was fun to reconnect with Polly's earlier years.

. . . spent the day at the Huntington Library—a collection of science and nature books, art collection, botanical gardens, and two restaurants (everything we love in one spot:  books, art, nature, food)

Mid-day tea was a delight.  Many really good things to eat from the buffet. 

Loved the Japanese Garden.

"Breakfast in Bed", Mary Cassatt.

Loved this hall window.

"Pinkie" not by Gainsborough, but Lawerence. Strikingly beautiful light.

"Blue Boy", by Gainsborough.  I've always thought of these two together and here they are, not the same painter after all. 

The first five days and time for a break.