Boy, oh boy, do I love to get my hands on the perfect picture! One so good, you don't even have to put words with it to tell a story! This one, hooo boy, does it speak to you? To me it makes me remember all of those roadside attractions we stopped at during my childhood. We traveled Route 66 a lot, and it didn't really matter where we were going. It was the trip and not knowing what was around each curve!
My parents took a trip back to California when I was 2, it was 1954 so I really don't remember it other than seeing these pictures a million times. Mom's family lived there, all except her Mom and Dad who lived in Arkansas. They actually went with us on the cross country trip. That's 6 people in that car you see behind them... HOW did they do that?
All along the way, they never passed up a chance to take a picture. Approximately 1800 miles and dozens of stops along the way to take advantage of a photo op! Mom's hobby was photography, she called it Kodaking!
I look at these pictures and I see it was hot summertime, you know they didn't have ac in cars then. Wow.
Mom and Dad were a good match, she loved stopping for pictures and he loved stopping to try out cafes. He used to call it "local flavor," he was afraid he'd miss something good!
Taken somewhere, 1957, I'm not sure since Mom didn't write on the back. It most likely was a Sunday drive, we did those a lot. Probably the Ozark mountains behind us. Memories for later, now it's later.
Thanks for the memories Mom and Dad!
*Thanks to daughter Stephanie for taking that great shot of the Blue Whale. You are proudly carrying on the Kodaking tradition!
Great old photos. Great memories! Loved these Joy!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ginny! Can you just imagine 6 people stuffed into that little car driving to California?
DeleteI SO enjoyed these pictures. It reminds me of our family vacations also and we did the same thing....local sites to visit and family owned restaurants to experience. It was such a wonderful time, wasn't it? Thank you Joy, for taking us down your memory lane.
ReplyDeleteI've been hearing so much about the heatwave of 1954, then when I wrote this blog and scanned these old picture... I realized THAT was the year we took the trip to California! No AC, two small kids and all those miles!
DeleteDon't you just love it when the camera bug bites three generations in a row. And you do a pretty darn good with your 'kodak' too!!! Happy snapping!!
ReplyDeleteIt did bite us all! I didn't even know I liked taking pictures until I started the blog!
DeleteI loved this post. It brought back memories of long car rides, before the days of seat belts and air conditioning. We were four kids in our family, so the back seat was full.
ReplyDeleteThat's so true, there were no seat belts and no ac! The windows were rolled down in the hot summertime. Remember how big those back seats were?
DeleteLov e those old photos. I have a pic of my son in front of one of the cement tee-pees in Winslow, AZ, they are actually motel rooms. Those are such sweet memories. I bet you are glad your mom liked to Kodal! Joni
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I have one in front of those too... almost included it in this post! Where was Santa Claus Village, that was in Mom and Dad's pictures too. I'm thinking California around Santa Ana. So many, Mom didn't write the location. Fun to look through and remember!
DeleteWhat a great post! You are the absolute cutest little girl ever! My parents took me to California too, but I believe I was only 1. My Mom always says she stuck my toe in the ocean! I still don't use AC unless I have a passenger. I like the windows rolled down and the sunroof open with the breeze, hot or not. Crazy, I know, but I'm just cheap. :) Love it when you wrote, "Mom and Dad were a good match, she loved stopping for pictures and he loved stopping to try out cafes. He used to call it "local flavor," he was afraid he'd miss something good!" That is so sweet and I can relate! I keep my Mom's letters (got one today) based on, "Memories for later, now it's later." My Mom's got a good long time to go til later though. She likes that about me :) that I won't let her go.
ReplyDeleteThanks Victoria, we have a lot in common~ I love the windows down too. I will be the only person riding along in 100 degree weather... but I leave the ac on too so my toes stay cold! That whole picture taking thing wouldn't work in my marriage, Jerry would come unglued if we stopped every five miles! I like the destination pictures, when we get where we are going I snap away! They left us a lot of memories in those pictures~
DeleteThis sure reminded me of my childhood- I still to this day love to take "drives" in the country, sight-seeing.
ReplyDeleteWe did that a lot when gas was cheaper, sad that it's hard for parents to do these days. Having the time to do things like that is an issue now too :( my husband says we have to make the time, they grow up fast!
Delete