Trip Down Memory Lane

Alison and I did our third interview today, interviewing Jim and Judy, who have been with The Lamplighters almost as long as we have been around, so they are people we have known for many years. Not only have we known them for many years, but they live in my old neighborhood, just about 3 blocks from where the first home Walt and I owned is, where we were living when Paul, David and Tom were born.

Jim and Judy actually live next door to the house our friends Pat and Rich owned back in the 60s-70s, so I was very familiar with their block.

The ride down from Davis was horrible. It was very, very, very foggy. I stopped in Pleasant Hill to take this photo. (The crosses represent the losses of our military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan.)

In some places it was more foggy, in some places less, but foggy, foggy, foggy all the way down to the Caldecot Tunnel, which separates Contra Costa County from Oakland. I drove through the tunnel and couldn't believe what happened when I got to the other end of it. It was like Dorothy opening the door to Oz. There wasn't a whisp of fog, the sky was clear blue and it was sunny. You'd never know that there was a whole valley full of fog on the other side of that tunnel!

I was half an hour early for the interview, so I went on a trip down memory lane. First I drove by our old house, which looks pretty much exactly as it was when we left it in 1973, except it's a different color now. I loved that house. I still do.

Then I drove past the store, over the bridge, past the trees, and by the stairs that Tom thinks are ladders. It was by sheer instinct that I remembered where to turn (because nothing really looked familiar) and found Grande Vista Ave., the location of our old nursery school, Tiny Tots. What a disappointment to discover that while the building is still there, it is no longer the playland of little kids.

(It's now the offices of the Oakland Family Services Center

Our interview with Judy and Jim was delightful and brought back lots of memories, as well as helped Alison and myself with some decisions regarding future interviews and layout of the book. I also loved the two dogs, Athena and Lily, who were so much better behaved than our dogs would have been (even if Athena did lick one of the scones)!

The ride back through the tunnel plopped me right back into the fog (though less thick by mid-afternoon). I stopped at BevMo on the way home to buy some vanilla liqueur so I can make something called an apple pie martini tomorrow at Cousins Day (the liqueur mixed with vodka, apple cider, and a twist of lime).

And yes, the next entry will be posted late because of Cousins Day.

But what a great day it was. Such fun being back to the place that was such a fun part of our lives.