Can you believe this?

Grandpa and Grandma on the four-wheelers

July, 1984

Linda Musso - Leona - Carol

Blue Water Lake State Park in New Mexico

Leona - Lou

Gallup, New Mexico

You're only young once!

Sailing into a New Year

 The Crown Princess

From December 28, 2001 - January 12, 2002 Lou and Leona were aboard the Crown Princess cruise ship sailing from San Diego, California to Point Everglades, Florida through the Panama Canal.

Highlights will follow (when I get some of the pictures), but for now, welcome aboard!

Boarding the ship in San Diego

Spring Break in Texas - 1984

Clark and Carolyn Harriman

March, 1984 – took a vacation to Port Aransas, Texas with Clark and Carolyn Harriman, (Clark is my cousin). We spent three weeks with them fishing, golfing, and playing card games. We had a great time and hope to make more of those kind of trips with them.

We each had CB radios, and it was fun to be able to talk back and forth on the road to each other [while driving to Texas]. We were able to ask questions about things we saw. It is good to be with people like Clark and Carolyn who treat everyone with kindness and helpfulness.

Clark & Carolyn's motor home with their little truck on the trailer

While in Texas, they fished and golfed. This was Leona's first time on a golf course, but Lou reported that she did very well - kept the ball in the middle of the fairway all of the time.

Leona and Lou
golf course at Corpus Christi, Texas

In order to fish the travelers had to catch their bait on the beach - fiddler crabs. The bait expeditions took place in the evening, and they used a propane lantern for extra light.

It was really fun and exiting when we found a lot of them [fiddler crabs]. They run for their holes, and they also bite when we grab them. We got so many that it was hard to keep them in the buckets. Clark tied a platter over the top so they couldn't get over the top and get out on the way home. We keep them in a half barrel of sand.

A little bait

Lou's play by play description:

#1 - Bait up

#2 - Talk to 'em

#3 - Hook 'em

#4 - Throw 'em on the rocks

One funny thing happened while fishing one day with [Uncle] Carl. [Carl Freeland was married to Lou's Aunt Rachel before her death.] I sat my bait bucket down and told him I’d bring him good luck. About that time, my bucket went down in the water in a hole between the rocks, the lid came off, the fiddler crabs came out, the bucket filled up with water, I reached for the bucket, my hat fell off, then Clark’s needle-nose pliers fell out of my pocket, I got the bucket out, reached for the pliers, and a wave came in and my head was under water! I did manage to get the pliers and everything else.

I finally was ready to fish and it wasn’t very long before I caught four nice fish. Carl had some bites, lost a good one after he almost had it out of the water, then lost a small one. So much for me bringing him good luck!

Have Trailer - Will Travel

The home away from home
unidentified campground

March, 1984 – took a vacation to Port Aransas, Texas with Clark and Carolyn Harriman, (Clark is my cousin). We spent three weeks with them fishing, golfing, and playing card games. We had a great time and hope to make more of those kinds of trips with them.

The 3/4 ton Ford pickup

Shortly after returning from that trip, we traded our car in on a 1984 ¾ ton truck and bought a 5th wheel trailer (26 feet).

Rest stop on the open road

Lou and Leona spent many days and nights living contentedly in their home on wheels. I've heard Mom say many times that when they hooked the trailer to the truck and started down the highway, she never was happier than when she looked behind and saw the trailer rolling along behind them.

Lou studying in the trailer "living room."

Their children and grandkids all have very fond memories of spending time with Grandpa and Grandpa in the trailer. Some of those stories will follow - feel free to leave your memories as a comment.

California, here we come!

NydaDell Calloway (cousin), Eldon, Delbert, Louis, Charles

During the Christmas vacation in 1938, my mother took us four boys to Los Angeles to visit with Aunt Florence (her sister) and Uncle Evan. Since Dad worked for the railroad, we could get passes so the transportation didn’t cost us anything. We had never been to California before, and so it was a great experience to see the ocean.

Eldon (9), Charles (13), Delbert (4), Louis (15)

Back row: Elder Potter, Mable, Eldon, Louis
Front row: Nyda Dell Calloway, Delbert

An Elder Potter, who had been at our home a lot, lived in LA also, and he took us down to the beach along with Aunt Florence and her children. It was really cold, but we got in the water anyway, but stayed on the beach most of the time. Of course, it was December and not exactly swimming weather!

Louis - notice the transformation from dress clothes to skivvies and a towel!

On New Year’s Day we went to see the Parade of Roses. We went real early and sat on the curb to see the parade. It was really exciting for us as we had never seen anything like this before. This was before TV. Shirley Temple was the Marshall for the parade. I don’t remember who played in the Rose Bowl that year; we didn’t go. I remember that we did a lot of roller-skating around the neighborhood with my cousin, Delvin.