Road Trip!

This license plate was my father’s and as long as I could remember, it was on the wall in our garage in California. When I had to pack up everything and sell the house I made sure this cool memento was not left behind. It’s a reminder to me of the long road trip my parents had to take to start their life in Southern California. In 1968, my father, a native of Alaska (but not that kind of native), and my mother (originally from Long Beach, California), decided to move from Anchorage to California. They began what must have been a hell of a long road trip, from Anchorage, through Canada, all down the west coast of the US. The trip took over three days and around 4000 miles. You would think such a long trip would be memorable but unfortunately, my parents' memory isn't as good as it used to be. Still, there were a couple interesting things they did recall.

The Cat and Mouse Game

At the time, my parents had two pets, a large cat named Tammy and a little mouse whose name escapes me now. Naturally, they were unable to ship these animals safely all the way to California so the pets went in the car along with my parents and I imagine, a ton of luggage. Partway through the trip, my mother couldn't find the mouse no matter how hard she looked. So, in yet another case of stereotyping, the cat was the number one suspect. Fortunately, the mouse was found safely later, sleeping in a shoebox.

The Cat Burglar

This second story again involves Tammy the cat. During the long road trip, my parents stopped for the night at a pretty good motel. Not thinking, my father left the balcony glass door slightly ajar. Tammy, probably upset with being in the car for so long and being in an unfamiliar place, took the chance to sneak out. Unfortunately for my parents, this was the kind of balcony that connected to the room next door. So after sneaking out of the room, Tammy then proceded to go to the guest room next door and hide under the bed. My father had to sneak into the room before the other guests came back and get Tammy out from under the bed.

I hope you enjoyed these little episodes.