Cross Country: From Montana to California, To Philadelphia And Home Again
We returned from Marion’s first transatlantic crossing in November and spent the 2006 Christmas holiday at home. Winters in Montana are always cold, snow packed and picture postcard beautiful. We enjoyed the hospitality and warm camaraderie of friends and waited for the frigid season to abate. In April of 2007 we got itchy to travel and decided to take a motor trip. Marion has several timeshares so she booked one at Point Arena in Northern California. We left Bozeman on a bright sunny day and by the time we got to Idaho Falls, Idaho, the rain was coming down horizontally. We kept going until we got to Jackpot, Nevada. If you have never been to Jackpot, Nevada you are in for a treat. The highway from Idaho Falls, Idaho, down to Wells, Nevada, is straight, desolate and lonely. There’s hardly a scrubby bush or stunted tree anywhere along the roadside. The moment you cross the Nevada line the world opens up and there are motels, hotels and casinos with bright lights and lots of people. Everyone along that route stops at Jackpot. We spent an evening, had a nice dinner, played the slot machines and got a good nights rest. The next morning we went south to Wells, Nevada, and then west towards Reno. That’s a long lonely stretch of road and the only thing of interest I remember is the Nevada State prison stretched along the highway, coils of razor wire and signs advising not to pick up hitchhikers. We drove through Reno nonstop and on to San Francisco to visit with Marion’s cousin, Fay Ann. We stayed with her for three days and had a wonderful time. She is a consummate hostess and made us feel completely at home. During our stay with her she invited another one of Marion’s cousins to spend an evening with us, Richard and Ulrike Moon. We ate, drank and schmoozed and the evening passed in pleasure. Fay Ann makes a great Martini.
It is time to interject a bit of family history here. Fay Ann’s brother is Buzz Aldrin, the astronaut, who along with Neil Armstrong, were the first two humans to set foot on the moon. Marion and Buzz are first cousins and have known each other since childhood. Some irony here is that their mother’s maiden name was Moon before they married. When they were children, Fay Ann would refer to her brother as my little “baby buzzer” and it was Buzz from then on.
One morning we were put in a car, taken to the ferry and rode across the Bay to Fisherman’s Wharf. We spent the morning walking around the shops and sampling the always delicious San Francisco seafood. As I recall we had two lunches and then went down to meet Fay Ann at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. She told us to get out of the car, walk across the bridge and she would meet us on the other side. We did and it was a hoot. Looking at the Pacific to the west and Alcatraz on the east from the midpoint of the Golden Gate Bridge was an experience to be remembered. There is a sign on the walkway about midway across a bridge that reads “jumping from the bridge at this point could result in severe injury.” Rather an understatement. We met Fay Ann at the other end of the bridge and she presented us with a button that said “I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge”.
The next day was a stimulus to the senses. We drove to Muir Woods and spent the day walking through the giant redwoods. Gigantic trees, centuries old, still growing and healthy. One cannot help but leave Muir Woods with a sense of astonishment, reverence and awe. We had an early dinner at a cozy California restaurant and called it a day.
We said farewell to Fay Ann, pointed the car north on the Coast Highway, towards Mendocino. Driving the Coast Highway north with the Pacific on the left is a trip that everyone should take at least once in a lifetime. It’s a slow ride, meandering back and forth along the coast, sometime high up on a ledge sometime almost at the water’s edge. Waves that start out somewhere in Hawaii come up pounding on the rocks, crags and outcroppings that are so distinctive on this coast. You drive along and suddenly an amazing vista presents itself; you get out of the car, snap a few pictures but shortly on the road ahead there is another scene equally as spectacular and compulsory for photography. I’ll bet we snapped a thousand pictures on that trip and never got tired of doing it.
Our desitnation was Point Arena, a rare old light house that is still in operation. We arrived
later during the day, the timeshare was a bit of a disappointment and Marion was upset. All
in all, it was comfortable and we moved in. We used Point Arena as our hub and each morning
we took off in a different direction to explore the countryside. Mendocino to the north,
is still a great hippy enclave and it was a lot of fun. Many chachy stores and antique shops
to visit so we soaked up a lot of old history. The next day, we went north and east into
Northern California wine country. We stopped at several vineyards, sampled the tasty wine,
bought a few cases and in general had a tipsy day. The next day we went in a southerly
direction to visit the Sterling Vineyards. That experience is worth a day in itself and we
literally drank in every moment of it. The countryside is gorgeous and the Vineyards spare
no expense to make sure the visitor leaves with a complete understanding of the art of
winemaking, and a few cases of wine.
We went into Reno and spent the day in the casinos. It was glorious, complete with time at the tables and a delicious, leisurely lunch. At this juncture in our trip we did something a little strange, we left our car in Reno, took a flight to Philadelphia to be with Marion’s son, Jeff, and fiancé, Maura. It was Mother’s Day weekend and we joined the family, settled in, schmoozed and had a relaxing week.
One morning we went to Longwood Gardens and spent the day looking at the beautiful array of flowers in the gardens including a spectacular display of flowering orchids.
We drove to Atlantic City by the sea, walked on the boardwalk, wiggled our toes in the sand and remarked that in three weeks on the trip, we put our feet in the Pacific and the Atlantic. It was a Friday when we were in Atlantic City and the Trump Plaza offered an “all-you-can-eat” seafood buffet. Well, we gorged ourselves on fresh clams, oysters, steamed sea bass, Alaska king crab and a variety of “Fruits De Mar”. I recall sitting there for at least two and half hours nibbling on Alaska King crab legs and sucking up little neck clams. We were so sated it was hard to stay awake on the drive home.
It was Sunday, Mothers day, and Jeff & Maura wanted to provide any meal that Marion desired for the occasion. Marion came up with a stunning menu….she wanted to go to South Phila., to Pat’s Steak Emporium for a signature Phila Cheese Steak sandwich on a hoagie roll, smothered with fried onion and tomato sauce. That’s what we did. We spent the afternoon in South Philadelphia, on South Street and down by the river. We ate steak sandwiches on the side walk and had a ball. South Phila has changed dramatically since I was a boy. I’m not sure if for better or worse. We watched a bum change his clothes on the street corner and never gave it a thought.
We had a warm and tender family visit and left a week later to go back to Reno to pick up our car. From Reno we drove on back to, you guessed it, Jackpot, Nevada. The night we stayed there proved to be rewarding. When you arrive they give you five free plays on the dollar slot machine. I put in one free play and hit for $450, a nice bonus at the end of the trip. The next morning we drove back to Montana and snuggled into home after a four-week escapade.
It was a great trip; we saw a lot of the country, visited with friends and family and thoroughly enjoyed it.
It is time to interject a bit of family history here. Fay Ann’s brother is Buzz Aldrin, the astronaut, who along with Neil Armstrong, were the first two humans to set foot on the moon. Marion and Buzz are first cousins and have known each other since childhood. Some irony here is that their mother’s maiden name was Moon before they married. When they were children, Fay Ann would refer to her brother as my little “baby buzzer” and it was Buzz from then on.
One morning we were put in a car, taken to the ferry and rode across the Bay to Fisherman’s Wharf. We spent the morning walking around the shops and sampling the always delicious San Francisco seafood. As I recall we had two lunches and then went down to meet Fay Ann at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. She told us to get out of the car, walk across the bridge and she would meet us on the other side. We did and it was a hoot. Looking at the Pacific to the west and Alcatraz on the east from the midpoint of the Golden Gate Bridge was an experience to be remembered. There is a sign on the walkway about midway across a bridge that reads “jumping from the bridge at this point could result in severe injury.” Rather an understatement. We met Fay Ann at the other end of the bridge and she presented us with a button that said “I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge”.
The next day was a stimulus to the senses. We drove to Muir Woods and spent the day walking through the giant redwoods. Gigantic trees, centuries old, still growing and healthy. One cannot help but leave Muir Woods with a sense of astonishment, reverence and awe. We had an early dinner at a cozy California restaurant and called it a day.
We said farewell to Fay Ann, pointed the car north on the Coast Highway, towards Mendocino. Driving the Coast Highway north with the Pacific on the left is a trip that everyone should take at least once in a lifetime. It’s a slow ride, meandering back and forth along the coast, sometime high up on a ledge sometime almost at the water’s edge. Waves that start out somewhere in Hawaii come up pounding on the rocks, crags and outcroppings that are so distinctive on this coast. You drive along and suddenly an amazing vista presents itself; you get out of the car, snap a few pictures but shortly on the road ahead there is another scene equally as spectacular and compulsory for photography. I’ll bet we snapped a thousand pictures on that trip and never got tired of doing it.
Our desitnation was Point Arena, a rare old light house that is still in operation. We arrived
later during the day, the timeshare was a bit of a disappointment and Marion was upset. All
in all, it was comfortable and we moved in. We used Point Arena as our hub and each morning
we took off in a different direction to explore the countryside. Mendocino to the north,
is still a great hippy enclave and it was a lot of fun. Many chachy stores and antique shops
to visit so we soaked up a lot of old history. The next day, we went north and east into
Northern California wine country. We stopped at several vineyards, sampled the tasty wine,
bought a few cases and in general had a tipsy day. The next day we went in a southerly
direction to visit the Sterling Vineyards. That experience is worth a day in itself and we
literally drank in every moment of it. The countryside is gorgeous and the Vineyards spare
no expense to make sure the visitor leaves with a complete understanding of the art of
winemaking, and a few cases of wine.
We went into Reno and spent the day in the casinos. It was glorious, complete with time at the tables and a delicious, leisurely lunch. At this juncture in our trip we did something a little strange, we left our car in Reno, took a flight to Philadelphia to be with Marion’s son, Jeff, and fiancé, Maura. It was Mother’s Day weekend and we joined the family, settled in, schmoozed and had a relaxing week.
One morning we went to Longwood Gardens and spent the day looking at the beautiful array of flowers in the gardens including a spectacular display of flowering orchids.
We drove to Atlantic City by the sea, walked on the boardwalk, wiggled our toes in the sand and remarked that in three weeks on the trip, we put our feet in the Pacific and the Atlantic. It was a Friday when we were in Atlantic City and the Trump Plaza offered an “all-you-can-eat” seafood buffet. Well, we gorged ourselves on fresh clams, oysters, steamed sea bass, Alaska king crab and a variety of “Fruits De Mar”. I recall sitting there for at least two and half hours nibbling on Alaska King crab legs and sucking up little neck clams. We were so sated it was hard to stay awake on the drive home.
It was Sunday, Mothers day, and Jeff & Maura wanted to provide any meal that Marion desired for the occasion. Marion came up with a stunning menu….she wanted to go to South Phila., to Pat’s Steak Emporium for a signature Phila Cheese Steak sandwich on a hoagie roll, smothered with fried onion and tomato sauce. That’s what we did. We spent the afternoon in South Philadelphia, on South Street and down by the river. We ate steak sandwiches on the side walk and had a ball. South Phila has changed dramatically since I was a boy. I’m not sure if for better or worse. We watched a bum change his clothes on the street corner and never gave it a thought.
We had a warm and tender family visit and left a week later to go back to Reno to pick up our car. From Reno we drove on back to, you guessed it, Jackpot, Nevada. The night we stayed there proved to be rewarding. When you arrive they give you five free plays on the dollar slot machine. I put in one free play and hit for $450, a nice bonus at the end of the trip. The next morning we drove back to Montana and snuggled into home after a four-week escapade.
It was a great trip; we saw a lot of the country, visited with friends and family and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Fisherman's Wharf
Alcatraz
The following day we pointed the car east towards Reno. Marion has relatives in Sparks; we spent three days with Wayne and Jana Metheny. One day we went high up the mountain to Virginia City, an old silver mining town and site of the famous Comstock Lode, replete with nostalgia and history. We saw the portrait of the woman wearing the “Silver Dollar Dress” that adorns the wall of one of the saloons. We took the tram ride through the town and saw all local goodies.
Marion & Fay Ann
Sterling Vinyards