May 28th
Got bread started. Bob was home sick in bed. Wrote a letter to my parents. Clarke and I went to the library to run off a copy of an article to send to my parents. I took some of Clarke’s outgrown clothes to Miller’s; took clothes to the thrift shop; took ironing to Mortimeyer’s ; went to the post office, went to the Shell Station to order seat belts; went up to the Standard Station to have the mechanic listen to a noise in the right rear wheel. Went home and ate lunch out on the lawn with Clarke, after putting the bread in the oven.
After lunch I sanded Rebecca’s shelves and put a coat of varnish on the bottoms. At four took the children to Van Matre’s and got socks for Rebecca and tanktop shirts for Jeffrey. Came home and put a second coat of varnish on the shelves. Washed my hair, got the paper and read it. Fixed dinner. Washed dishes; helped Rebecca rearrange her room. Got kids to bed. Finished five certificates for nursery school. Was cross with Bob and him with me.
Monday out at the ranch I pruned brush along the road for a couple of hours in the morning and mowed the lawn in the afternoon. Took the children down to the creek to play for about an hour after lunch. Clarke learned to climb the little maple that weekend while I held my breath.
Tuesday I taught nursery school and then cleaned house. Rebecca is excited because she and Cindy are going to put on a puppet show for the nursery school children. They had a chance to go Shasta Dam with the rest of the 4th grade but chose to stay in town.
Jeffrey picked out Yellow Submarine on the piano with one hand.
We had 71 people, counting babies, at the nursery school picnic. Went through three freezers of homemade ice cream, numerous bags of potato chips, hotdogs, etc. Rebecca and Cindy put on their puppet show and they and Bobbie Edwards stayed for lunch. We took Andy home with us and then I dropped him off at Brigitte’s on the way to Jeff’s piano lessons.
Friday I didn’t go for my usual walk but did take Clarke to Linda Lindsey’s for a couple of hours while I went to Greenwood’s for gift certificates for Linda Ohde and Patty Forero, etc. That afternoon I took Clarke over to the kindergarten room to register. Later Rebecca helped me make strawberry ice cream.
Saturday we went out to the ranch. It was very hot, the children were cross, and all three had colds. Also, the dog was hot and drooling down their backs. On the way we stopped at Big Bar at the Nunn’s so I could get my dark glasses, having left them there when we went to their anniversary party. We also bought a block of ice.
I saw a shrike that afternoon. The first I’d ever seen at the ranch. It perched on the cable on top of the boom truck and flew down to the grass to catch insects, probably grasshoppers. Also perched on top of the sprinkler at the corner of the orchard. There was a robin nesting in the green apple tree. We got back to Weaverville around 8:30 and had some of our ice cream.
The next week I spent some time in Redding getting the car checked but it was ok. Went to the Mall and got some birthday presents for Rebecca and some paperback books at Hyatt’s for myself.
That Saturday, just after Bob left for the ranch, I went out and found the right rear tire of the VW flat again. I couldn’t get the lug nuts off so had to call Miller’s and a boy came up and changed it for me. Went down and bought groceries, came home, loaded the car, went to Miller’s to get the tire put back on. They were busy so I took the tire down to the Shell Station.
The children were hot, bored and fighting so I got them each a soft drink, which quieted them down. The Friday before we went to the ranch on Saturday, Candy, Jim and Carin came by. We visited all afternoon and I was jealous of her new camera. Saturday they followed us out to the ranch. We finally got there around 1:30 and spent most of the weekend talking and watching kids. Some little animal chewed off the tops of all my peas. Jim helped Bob a lot down at the creek moving the I-Beams up to rest on the abutment so a backhoe could get in.
On Rebecca’s birthday we got her a camera, a song book (UNICEF), pajamas and a rag record. Florence gave her $10 to spend on going to Oregon. She deposited $5 in a savings account and bought some more film and was saving the rest for the trip. She had five girls come to her party. They had a good time and although antsy at first, settled down under the card tables outside for an hour, eating, telling dirty jokes (which stopped in abrupt silence whenever I appeared) and had contests with their noise makers. I gave them all rides home, then went to the bank with Rebecca and to Brown’s. Went up to Ohdes and then over to the park where Linda was with Jeff and Clarke. Took Linda home and we stayed for root beer and ice cream. Had a good talk with Doris. Rebecca’s birthday was announced on Channel 9. I’d sent in all three children’s birthdays. That was rather exciting for her.
I was getting really stressed out with preparations to go to Oregon to see my parents with the children. Linda Ohde was going to come and help out though. But I wasn’t getting enough sleep and our pace of life was getting overwhelming. I had a bad cough that kept me awake at night as well. I borrowed a VW seat from the Meyers because, with Linda coming with us, we needed another seat. I struggled with trying to install it and/or get someone to install it for me. Bob came home for lunch at just the wrong time and, instead of having a calm, firm conversation about our speed of life I blew up. Needed a chunk of quiet time afterwards to recoup and apparently the children were good about letting that happen. Also told him I was worried he’d have a heart attack at the rate he was going.
I finally was able to borrow a seat with parts (lacking with the Meyer’s seat) from the Avens. After work Bob came home and installed the seatbelts “If I were trying to do, in the time allotted, what he’s trying to do I wouldn’t want petty details (like cars) to be bothered with either” but “I didn’t volunteer for that shift”.
The three children, Linda Ohde and I left for Nehalem on the 18th and were gone about a week. I’ve not been able to find the slides that go with this trip but they are someplace in my possession!
It was a good, though tiring trip. When we got to the coast we went to the Humboldt Marine Biology Station (fish, sea anemones, and an octopus, etc.). From there we went to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park where we ate lunch and went on the nature trail, which goes along Prairie Creek. Linda and I took lots of pictures. The boys did a lot of hiding in the ferns and hollow trees and jumping out at us. Stopped in at the visitor center, which used to be the recreation building and at that time had an apartment at each end. I stayed in one when I worked there at college age. Stopped for gas in Brookings and camped the first night at Humbug Mountain State Park. Had a lunch type dinner, went down to the beach for a few windy minutes. A big help having Linda to keep an eye on the boys. Wind gusts had made driving a bit difficult. I took a hot shower to warm up.
We stopped in Port Orford for breakfast the next morning and I noted that bicyclists wearing long underwear and shorts were eating there. In mid-morning we stopped at Sand Dunes National Monument and walked up a little trail. Took off shoes and jackets and everyone ran. It was overcast but bright. “The children rolled, slid, bounced, danced, skidded and whooped their way up one dune and down the next.” We ate lunch at Carter Lake, a little park along the way. Picnic sites were tucked among thick growths of salal.
Our next stop was at Sea Lion Caves, where sea lions were out on the rocks. We rode down the elevator to see their cave and bought some souvenirs. “an interesting spot in spite of the tourist trap aspects.”
The boys fell asleep a little later and we drove on to Tillamook where we got gas, ate dinner (opposite the Cheese Factory). and I called my parents. We arrived in Nehalem that evening.
Children were tired and cranky the next day. The older three played monopoly for a while but fought. I took them all for a walk Honeysuckle and foxgloves were blooming and we ate a few salmon berries. Went down to the beach for an hour after lunch. It was foggy and we got wet so took a while to get the sand off. After dinner Linda played monopoly with Jeff and Rebecca played some with Clarke, drawing around him, etc.
The next day my mother wanted to know where we might go, very enthusiastic, my dad not so much. I’m sure it was hard for him to have all of us there with him having to take care of my mother with her disabilities, even though I think he was glad to see us. I fixed a lunch and my dad drove us all to Ft. Stevens, which I noted, was kind of depressing. Then we went to Ft. Clatsop. By the time we got there we were all hungry. Everyone really enjoyed exploring here and finally, around 4:40, we ate lunch in the picnic area, which we had all to ourselves. Back on the main highway there was a Scandinavian Festival going on that I would have stopped to visit but with my parents having already had a long day it wouldn’t have been a good idea.
Finally got the children fed by about 8:30 or 9:00 and Linda helped by getting the boys to bed. We didn’t finish until nearly 10:00. My father got cross when I tried to help with the dishes and we yelled at each other but “I think things were ok by the time we finished. “ I did decide we should leave the next day though.
The next night we stayed at a motel in Florence. We had stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory where we got a box of cheese and some smoked salmon. We ate lunch at Gardener Beach, eating in the car because of the rain. From there we drove to Newport and visited the Undersea Gardens—a touristy sort of place that included a rather limp octopus. After that we went to the University of Oregon Marine Laboratory, where we should have gone in the first place. And no charge. It was terrific and included sea creatures that the children could touch.
I’d planned on going to the animal place near Wilsonville, but decided against it because of the price, plus kids were acting as if they were coming down with a cold so we just drove. Ended up in Grants Pass for the night at an older motel for $18. Took the kids for a walk so Linda could have half an hour to herself. Ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Watched the news and then everyone went to bed.
Breakfast at the Chinese Restaurant, with fortune cookies, then went to Oregon Caves National Monument. When we got there we found that no one under the age of six was allowed to go through. Well, I wasn’t about to leave Clarke with their baby sitting service so just made sure he hustled right along with the rest of us and he kept up pretty well.
We ate lunch at Jedediah Smith State Park and then went on down the coast to Patrick’s Point. I hadn’t planned on that but the boys were pretty restless so we went to the beach. It was really beautiful. Got gas at Trinidad and drove to Willow Creek where we stopped for a bit to eat and I called Florence to see if she would call Bob. We got home around 8 pm.
Cleaning the car included sand mixed with orange juice and a few seagull feathers.
Shortly before July 4th Linda Ohde sat with the kids while I drove to Castle Crags and hiked up to the dome. It had been years since I’d done that. Brought back all the memories of having lived there as a child for ten years, 1947-58.
Left the trailhead at 9:30 and was at the top by 11:00, including going out the Indian Springs trail and back. “ It hasn’t changed much, the trail is wider and deeper in some places.
It was a good day for hiking, fairly cool. Because I was hurrying, I was really sweating. I ate lunch at the overlook above Root Creek. Where I could see out to Mt. Shasta, with the dome on my right, and hundreds of feet straight down to Root Creek.” There were lots of people on the trail. I was back at the trailhead by 1:30 and hiked out the Root Creek Trail and back, stopping to eat an apple in the pitcher plant bog. Got home in the middle of a cloudburst from a thunderstorm. Stiff and sore for a few days.