A Day of Remembering

Sunday, since we knew we were only going to be in this area a couple more days, we decided to take a little drive to a place not far from here.

We have not visited this place for 44 years and wanted to see if it was still there.

 Recently I shared with you that we were celebrating our 44 anniversary.  On June 21st., 1968 we were married in Long Beach, Ca.

Just 3 days before our big day, Mr. SS, after his junior year at Long Beach State College, signed with the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.  He was to go right away to Modesto, to join the Cardinals A league farm team.

After explaining to the agent who signed him that he was getting married in 3 days, they generously gave him until June 25 to get to Modesto. I say generously, because in those days, once you signed a contract, they owned you and as we were to find out later, showed little regard for family or family events.

Anyway...we had to make a quick decision to shorten our honeymoon plans and find a place nearby, so our precious time wasn't spent traveling.

I had read in a Bride's magazine about all the wonderful places to honeymoon and a small ad caught my attention.

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans had recently bought the Apple Valley Inn and refurbished it. It offered a lot of fun things to do along with a restaurant, pool, stables etc.

So after our wedding on a Friday night and a reception at my Mom's we took off for Roy Roger's Apple Valley Inn.

Last Sunday, after going on the internet and googling Apple Valley Inn,(something we sure couldn't have done in 1968 lol) I came up with a little info:

In 1965, movie stars Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and their family became residents of Apple Valley. Roy Rogers leased the Inn and restaurant, which was then renamed Roy Rogers' Apple Valley Inn. The Outdoor Steak Fry and the Roy Rogers' Riding Stables, with its haywagon rides and horseback riding, were two popular enterprises attached to the Inn. Mel Marion and then Billy Bascom managed the stables. Cowboy artist Earl Bascom and his artist son John worked there from time to time. Roy Roger's personal horse, Trigger Junior, was frequently boarded at the riding stables.^[2]
After many successful years, the Inn closed to the public in 1987. It was purchased by the Lakritz Partnership in November 2003 and restored.

After putting the address in our GPS, (something else we certainly couldn't do in 1968)
we once again headed for the AppleValley Inn. No longer the Roy Roger's Apple Valley Inn. and as far as we could see, it wasn't  even open.

The entrance hasn't changed much, except for the name change.

 We took pictures of each other standing here on our honeymoon.

Wonder if I could find them.

On the way back, as we were driving down the highway, I looked to the left I saw this sign over a street leading to Old Town Victorville. Mr. SS (who knows me so well) did a quick turn around and stopped so I could get a picture. My mind was racing...antique stores, cute gift shops, little outdoor cafe for lunch. Photo opps galore!!

NOPE!! All vacant, boarded up or covered in grafitti. I was so disappointed. At least there was a great sign.

Since in 1968, there wasn't much to Victorville, I'm sure this is where we came on Saturday for lunch and a little shopping.

As we drove back to Adelanto, we started reminicing about that 3 day honeymoon so long ago.

Like:

How the minister said during the wedding ceremony "Do you Chuck, take...." instead of Dennis.

When we were having our counseling with him,  he laughed and said Dennis reminded him of Chuck Conners (a lot of people thought that when he was younger).

Yes...he actually called him Chuck during the ceremony.

Like:

How my cousin showed up in the same dress as my mother in law and had to rush out and buy a new dress.

Like:

How the flower girl (Mr. SS's little neice) picked at her "bottom" during the whole ceremony.

Like:

 How while driving our VW bug to Apple Valley, Mr. SS got a speeding ticket.

The officer looked in the back seat (where we had put the cans that our wedding party had tied to the back of the car.  Remember when, back then, we did that?)

and asked if we had been drinking. LOL

Like:

When we checked in, we asked where the restaurant was and were told it had just closed.  We had left the wedding reception without eating and Mr. SS had to have something to eat, (he hasn't changed a bit) even on the eve of his honeymoon.

Like:

How we canceled reservations for horseback riding and the Steak Fry on Saturday night to just be together.

Like:

 Coming home late Monday night to our little apartment and sitting in the bed cross legged and eating apricot jam on toast.

(My Mom had brought us some of her homemade jam and bread and leftovers from the reception so we would have food when we got home.

Like:

Going over to my Mom's on Tuesday and opening presents and having more sets of glasses than we have ever seen...

Like:

Saying goodbye Wednesday morning when Mr. SS left to go to Modesto.

I had a job at the Post Office and had to be at work the next day.

Like:

How can we remember in detail things that happened 44 years ago and we can't remember where we left our eye glasses ten minutes ago.

Well, if you made it to the end of this, I'll just say thanks for stopping by.

It was fun to write and brought back a lot of memories that I had forgotten.

While writing this, we got "orders" to leave Adelanto for one day at Puddingstone Lake and tonight  we will be heading for Agoura Hills, but will stay in Oxnard.

Next post won't be so long and boring. I'll show some things I have been sewing on.

God is Good!!

Life is Good!!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I drove down to Long Beach last night to spend the rest of the week with Mr. SS and our #1 son, Scott. They are still working on the remodel for my friend's cousin.

After dinner tonight we decided to take a drive and show Scott some of the places that hold memories for us from our childhood. He was probably bored silly, but we sure had fun.

Remember this post when I told the story of how Mr. SS and I went steady in elementary school.

Well, this is that school. It was Sutter Elementary when we went there and now it is an acadamy of some kind, so I couldn't get a close-up of the front like I wanted as the street was blocked off.

The next one is of Hughes Jr. High where I attended school.  Mr. SS went to a different Jr. High, but he said his practices for his first Little League team was on the field here. I didn't know that.

We didn't drive by our High Schools because they had done that the night before, so no pictures of those.

Next we drove by the house I lived in when I was in Jr. and Sr. High.

What a surprise to see that it is now a two story house. Doesn't fit very well in the neighborhood, and don't know if I would have recognized it if I didn't remember the address.  I learned how to drive in that driveway. It used to have the strip of grass up the middle and a flower bed with bushes on both sides. We had a Ford Fairlane and my Dad made me backup and pull forward until I learned to stay on the cement and not touch a bush.

 

I really wanted to show Scott where we lived when we brought him home from the hospital.

Back then you stayed in the hospital for 3 days after the baby was born.  I wanted the whole place painted and cleaned before I would bring my new baby boy there. My sweet Mr. SS got his first inkling of  what it was going to be like from then on. Even back then, we were painting and refinishing furniture and homes. He painted the whole two bedroom duplex including doors and trim in 3 days.

Here's the front.

 

Here's the back yard. I got out of the car to get this next one in an alley and stuck my head around the gate.

I really wanted this shot because I have a picture of Scott in his walker or on a blanket in this little yard..

This place and the next two were in what is considered North Long Beach. It wasn't the best part of town when we lived here, but was okay. Now it is a lot more run down and really not a good place to be out taking pictures, if you know what I mean. We were honked at if we slowed down and definetly got a few stares. But you know I had to get these pictures.

Right across the street from this duplex is the trailer park I lived in off and on while in elementary school.

Not far from here was our very first apartment, so off we went to find it.

How can I remember these addresses when I can't remember where I put my glasses or keys??

18 Morningside. I loved having that for our first address. It sounded so fresh and sweet, just like being newlyweds.

 

Well, not so sweet now, but you can see the number and the words Morningsi  Apts. So what if the de is missing, which my smart-alec son pointed out....and not fenced when we lived there or bars on the windows and doors either.  Such are the signs of change.

Okay on to the last place we lived in Long Beach before making Bakersfield our home.

Our door was at the top of the stairs and to the left.  This is where we lived when our second son, Eric was born.  It is also where our "Corvair Monza" was stolen from the street in front. Okay, maybe even back then it wasn't such a great neighborhood.

I'm sitting here wishing there was something I could add or post to make this a little more exciting for those who got through the whole thing. I apologize for being a little indulgent by going on this Sentimental Journey.

Tomorrow, I go to Aunt Fanny's for a little while. Maybe I will find some fun things there to take pictures of to post.

P.S.

I just remembered...

I do have something exciting to add to make it worth reading to the end of this post. My sweet friend Marcia

is having a giveaway. It is a $50.00 gift certificate from CSN. Click on her name and hurry over to her blog, leave a comment and learn about this great giveaway.