HOWLETT WEST COAST REUNION Claudia Howlett Lindsey
August 10, 2002: On a very hot August Saturday it was finally here. The house had been
cleaned from top to bottom and new plants planted in the flower beds to
bring some color to the back yard. Our kind neighbors Ron & Debbie Prisk
loaned us tables and chairs and helped us set them all up the day before.
Debbie & I spent over an hour reading the directions and putting up the
canopy in the blazing sun.
When Saturday rolled around, Marti showed up at 8:00 in the morning to help
put the finishing touches on things and to go get the much need ice for all
the drinks. At about 11:45 we thought that maybe people had gotten the date
wrong as nobody was here yet. Never fear, as a couple of minutes later people
started coming in droves. Yes, folks, we had about 55 here in our back yard.
The food was plentiful and as Dennis said to me later, "Boy, you Howletts know
how to put on one heck of a party." Speaking of Dennis, he had put the burgers
on the grill, and when Nancy went to find him to ask him if they were ready yet,
he had disappeared. Was it the fear of having all these In-Laws in his house?
Nope. He and Meredith were in the computer room checking things out.
Needless to say he was banned from the computer room for the rest of the day.
Marti and Tommy (Aunt Eunice's grandson) took some of the little kids out on
the front lawn and proceeded to have a good old fashion water fight with the hose
so that they could cool off.
Lots of pictures and memories were brought and we saw some pictures we
didn't know existed - one of Andrew Jackson Howlett & one of Emily Vinton
Howlett, whom we all lovingly called "Grandma Mamie."
Near the end of the day I picked up the phone and called my Dad (Clyde)
in New Hampshire so that everyone could talk to him. He was quite
surprised by this and real happy that he was made a part of the reunion
that he wasn't able to attend.
I could go on and on but this is already too long so will close and maybe
next time I will have some other tidbits to add.
Oh yes. Snowball (our dog) didn't beg for food He was a good puppy and
just lay around and let everyone fuss over him. He just turned 12 and
has been a joy to us.
With two important events scheduled for the family, we went to CA for one and a half weeks in early August. You might say we left the hot weather on the East Coast to vacation in the very hot desert. We had a few qualms about this. For one thing, we hadn't gone on a plane for more than five years, and we knew the rules had changed and the individual's space had gotten smaller. We'd probably still be sitting here saying we needed to make some plans to visit the relatives on the West Coast, if we hadn't had a nudge from Becky Murdock and Claudia Lindsay. Ah, the joys of having someone else do the planning! Becky wanted to set up a 40th birthday celebration for Ian, and Claudia wanted a Howlett reunion out there. So they set them up on successive weekends.
The closest place to La Mirada where we could get a timeshare week was Palm Springs. The best thing about that was that PS was not too far from Joshua Tree National Park, one of our favorite places in the world. We also hoped to see Chip and Rose Martz, who live in Redlands. A few weeks before the trip we were disappointed to hear that they couldn't be at the Howlett Reunion West, because they would be traveling to VA for a wedding and to see Rose's brother, whom they would probably be seeing for the last time. But then when they saw our itinerary, they realized they would be home the first half of our time there, so we made plans to visit them.
The first hurdle for the trip was to get to Dulles Washington Airport, which is 75 miles from home and the best I could do for the first leg of our journey. Colleen McKay couldn't take us to Dulles, because she was leaving on a trip a few hours earlier. She clued us in to a great airport shuttle, though. Good thing, too, because the one I had in mind doesn't pick up from ZIP 21244 for Dulles. We had a nice van all to ourselves, a quiet driver, and music probably chosen with our age in mind, since it was just right. We arrived at Dulles two and a half hours before flight time, pleased to have no rush and no uncertainty about getting on the plane.
Both flights were on an American Airlines Super Shuttle, which had been completely redone to allow more leg-room, so that was another concern that worked out well. Airline meals had gone way, way downhill since the heady days of our former trips to CA. We picked up a Bistro Bag on the way in, but all we vegetarians could eat was the potato chips, baby carrots, and cookies. The turkey roll had no appeal for us vegetarians. We had some uncertainty about the time difference in Dallas, so Bob inquired and found that we were off by one hour, not two! We had just ordered some almost real food, so we grabbed it up and ran for our next flight.
Palm Springs Airport was quite different. A lot of it was outdoors, which is quite balmy during the "season." It was nice and roomy during the off season. Every time we asked questions, we could see people wondering why we had come in August, so I learned to insert the two get-togethers into the conversation casually.
The Budget Car Rental guy was much more laid back than we are used to, and it took forever for him to process one customer ahead of us. Trained by the feverish rush at LAX, we had to resist the urge to be Type A persons. Bob got the luggage while I worked on the car. Eventually we had the keys to a silver Hyundai Sonata, which didn't impress me at first, because Hyundais are not noted for longevity and I feared it might be chintzy. By the time we handed in the keys at the end of our vacation, though, I suffered separation pangs.
We had a deal with the timeshare. Bob had paid $25 extra so we could be late. They put two keys into a lockbox and gave him the code. If we got to the office before it closed at 10:00 PM, we would get the $25 back. We went around and around the office area but finally found the address. We got there at seven minutes before the deadline and found that the lady was just locking up to go home. Whew! We even got to pick up our pool towels.
Finding our place in the dark was a bit of a challenge. We parked where we thought it was and walked up to the building, where a small dog started barking briskly. We were relieved to realize it was the wrong number. We moved the car a few feet and went up the correct walkway. Groping around in the dark, Bob got the door open and we found the lamps. It was a weird experience, kind of like walking into the wrong person's house, or arriving at your brother's house for the first time, after he and his family had gone to bed. We unpacked the minimum for our nighttime needs, and I reached for my bag of library books, only to find that Bob hadn't picked it off the luggage carousel, and I had been too busy subtly trying to nudge the Budget man to notice. So that was the first item scheduled for the following day - a trip back to the airport before heading in the other direction for La Mirada.
SOUTH TO LA MIRADA Nancy Murdock
Saturday we stopped in Banning for lunch, recalling pleasant earlier stops on our way to Joshua Tree. We remembered it as a friendly little town with a small discount department store. But we picked the wrong street, and it was a study in urban depression. The menu was drab, but we found one item that could be made with cheese. Unfortunately the one woman on duty had a method of doing one person's lunch at slow speed, start to finish, before even taking the next order. She could never be described as a short order cook. We had to sit at a scarred table with badly matched chrome chairs and pretend we were having a nice relaxing time. Fortunately, that was after I'd picked up my library books, so I was fine, even though the other few customers stared at us. I realized that we live a sheltered life.
The closer we got to La Mirada, the more it felt like a trip back in time. Having lived in Downey for 12 years, we got excited over Imperial Highway and other landmarks. I don't think Ian and Becky have ever lived in the same place on any two successive visits of ours, but they radiate around a small area, so it all looks pretty familiar. The whole family welcomed us with open arms. They all put down their cell phones and walked away from the TV to come outside and give us fervent hugs. We were very glad we'd made the trip across the continent. Ian and Becky looked exactly as they had at our golden wedding anniversary, but both NaTT and Tim looked like two adults, even though Tim is only 14.
Becky went to pick up Meri, after which we quickly got down to business with the Scrabble board before it was time to start the BBQ. Ian showed me through the kitchen, pointing out all the nice food he'd bought in advance, knowing what we like. I'm always impressed when someone can remember those important facts, which have always eluded me. (Let's see - does she particularly like peas, or that is the vegetable she hates?) Ian's friend Keith came to put the fire and meal together, and he brought some great fresh corn, too. We sat down to a true feast, tailored to everyone's taste. Ian's middle son, Sean, came over for his dad's birthday, too, so that was a great opportunity to catch up with him.
We stayed overnight and went out for breakfast at a place Darrel had gone to with them. After a lot of good conversation there, we went back to play some more games. I'm not sure which we enjoyed more, Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit. The whole family (except the two grandparents) was especially knowledgeable about the TV questions, but even we were able to answer some on the old sitcoms and cartoons. We played in teams, using two sets: Genus 2 and TV, with each team making a choice before hearing their question. It's always inevitable that some choices will occasion groans, but we weren't being scored for posterity, only for a great family time before driving back to Palm Springs.
ENJOYING THE TIMESHARE Nancy Murdock
Monday Bob and I relaxed at the timeshare, where we spotted a roadrunner moseying around the grassy area a few feet from the patio. I think it was the first time I'd seen any other than as we drove along in a rural area. Somehow he was not as frantic as my concept of a roadrunner. He was as at home as a robin but a little less antsy at the sight of humans.
Ian and Becky were taking some vacation time that week, so they came up for the day on Tuesday. We had a great time! Becky fell in love with the timeshare and Palm Springs. Bob, Ian, and Tim climbed the small, rocky "mountain" across the road, with Tim venturing all the way to the flag someone had placed there that morning. We all went to the Aviation Museum with its wonderfully restored WWII planes. It had very good placards to tell the stories. The kind museum volunteers held it open an extra 45 minutes for us.
We also had a nice browse in the art museum, where Becky in particular was excited to see some of the items from Africa, India, and the American West that had been donated by actor William Holden. It was interesting to see the large pictures of how the art pieces had been part of the decor in his home. There is an excellent collection of paintings and sculpture by artists who recorded the Western part of our country before it changed into Suburbia. As a fervent reader of "American Art Review" magazine (a gift of love from Bob to me), I oohed and aahed as I found yet another piece of art by names I recognized as top artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Back at the timeshare, Tim and NaTT finally got to swim in the pool, which they found nice and warm.
I was a little concerned they would be disappointed by my supper offerings of carrots, apricots, sliced tomatoes, and 2 boxes of Kraft shell pasta with cheese, so I apologized for the simple meal. They were enjoying it thoroughly, however, and Ian said, "At our house, this counts as a homemade meal." And Tim said, "This is my favorite." How could we be so lucky? Their eyes even lit up at the Eskimo Pies for dessert. I love my family!
THE MARTZES OF REDLANDS Nancy Murdock
Wednesday we went to Redlands to see Chip and Rose, but we got a bonus. Their daughter Jenny and her baby daughter Cami were surprise visitors. We showed each other the updated pictures of our families and enjoyed the iced caffeine-free tea and well planned vegetarian meal. They had a positively wicked chocolate dessert, of which we had really huge slices. Rose admitted she had eyed it many times at the store, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to indulge, when others were around to help consume it.
We reminisced about past days when we'd have four young girls together: Meri, Jenny, her sister Sarah, and cousin Julianne. All but Meri are now married, but Jenny, the youngest, is the first to have the next generation. And, as Rose previously reported, she and Chip make sure they each get plenty of baby-holding turns. Chip even wanted to hold Cami while he ate.
Chip picked us a bag of his home-grown tomatoes, which were very tasty. The flavor took us back to the gardens we grew up with. We rationed them so they could last all week.
With all the heat, we debated about not going to Joshua Tree. But how could we notgo? We knew we'd regret that forever. So we crunched our usual all-day trip into a shorter plan and set off for the place I used to consider for our retirement plans. We remembered hearing that people used to go up to Joshua Tree when it was too hot in Palm Springs, because it was cooler. The guide at the entry verified that it could be as much as 15 degrees cooler there. She said it was 3500 feet above sea level where we were standing, and PS was right at sea level.
We drove slowly along, stopping as we saw something nice. We had plenty of film, so I took enough photos to keep me until the next trip. At noon we found a nearby picnic are on the map and drove to it. No grass, of course, but there were a couple of small trees. The tables were clean, and the family at the next table had a well behaved pair of children and two quiet parents. After they left, as we were sitting idly with the last of our peanut butter and jam sandwiches, a tiny blond rodent came out and investigated. I think he was a ground squirrel. He was adorable , with the way he would stand straight up on his hind legs and look around. There was also a fluffy dark rodent, about the same size if you didn't count his fur. The two of them found some microscopic bits of food, which they ate. Desert mammals are a study in conservation.
On our way in and out of Joshua Tree, we stopped in Yucca Valley for a rest and cold drinks at an almost deserted, cool Carl's Jr. When we first started going to that area, there was no place to buy a quick meal. On our first trip, we weren't prepared for such rustic accommodations and got a little frantic before we finally found a place that sold date shakes. A few years later we found a branch of our Downey Bank there. As we conducted our business, we remarked on how surprised we were. "We have everything in Yucca Valley," the young teller said proudly. It's now an odd combination of fast food and other franchises, with Joshua trees in the front yards. It looked as if they might even have a law protecting the trees, which take 200 years to mature into a 7 foot shaggy skeleton.
Friday we checked out of Indian Wells Condoshares five minutes before the deadline and headed for Downey Inn Luxury Suites so we'd be ready in the morning to pick up Meri and go to the reunion. This place had a way to go before we'd call it luxurious. We had to go to the front desk to report that we couldn't turn on the air conditioning or make a local phone call. They had to code something at the office so we could do these things. Of course, they hadn't given us any instructions when we checked in! It was a far cry from the timeshare. I suspected it was a decent place where welfare families in danger of being homeless might be lodged. But we didn't need to spend much waking time there.
We picked up Meri and some groceries and hopped over to Ian and Becky's house for another great evening of visiting and games. I made bean tacos and Mexican rice, and we all got nice and full.
Saturday we picked up Meri and drove to the reunion at the home of Claudia and Dennis Lindsay in West Covina. They had done a great job of preparing for so many visitors. We had some great salads, along with the burgers and hot dogs in meat or vegetarian versions. Then there were more desserts than I want to admit, since I sampled several of them. We wandered comfortably around, talking with various cousins. Some had three or four generations present.
Most of Uncle Roger's family moved out there from Maine in the 40s, and several of Uncle Arthur's family are also in the area. Our two youngest, plus Ian's descendants, are the only ones from Foster's family in Southern California, and the Martzes and Richard Avery's granddaughter are from Aunt Doris's family. We had an excellent representation from Arthur's side and two from Roger's, as well as seven of us Murdocks. Click here for Bob's list of attendees.
The best part of getting together was that we got to visit with several first cousins who are now in their 80s and 90s and hale and hardy. I enjoyed seeing them all and decided I'd better figure on living to age 100. They're busy people with plenty of things to do. We had a chance to see a good selection of pictures from days gone by, in a nice arrangement set up indoors. In the afternoon Claudia called her father, Clyde, in New Hampshire, and he talked with each one there. We were glad he got included in the festivities.
Sunday we all went out to a buffet brunch to put us in shape for more games. In the late afternoon we drove up to a motel near the Palm Springs airport. Since we stopped for supper, we arrived after winding around the unfamiliar area in the dark. After squeezing all of our stuff into the luggage and packing the car for the morning, we fell into bed, exhausted. At 5:45 we were very glad we'd asked for a wakeup call, because we never would have opened our eyes otherwise, and we had to get there at 7:00.
We were a lot more relaxed on the return journey, although we spent some time being perplexed as to the location of "the box" into which we'd been told we should place our car keys and all copies of the rental agreement. PSP is a very different airport from Dulles, Dallas, or BWI. I think ours was the only flight scheduled for the early hours. We could all spread out in the lounge and read.
Dallas was another matter. We had to go almost the entire length of the airport to get our next flight, and we had only about 20 minutes to get there. We got more and more concerned as we saw that all of the electric carts were full as they went by. I prayed that we would get there in time. Finally I spotted a cart for the handicapped with only two passengers, so I asked if we could get on. Fortunately we were going to get off a couple of stops before one of the passengers, so the driver graciously let us on. By the time we arrived at the lounge, the passenger loading, which went in sections designated on the tickets, had already reached our section. That was close!
Colleen McKay , bless her, had offered to pick us up at BWI. She is such a frequent traveler that she had specific directions for us to reach her when we got in. We were to go to the luggage area and call her. After picking up the luggage, we should go up to the Departures level, which wouldn't have all the cars lined up to wait for passengers. Okay, but she forgot to tell us what to do if we reached only her answerphone. We followed the steps she had told us and sat up in the Departures area for a few minutes, then went outside. A few minutes later, as I had decided maybe I'd better not read, I happened to spot her dashing in through the door. She said when she didn't hear from us on time (because our flight was a little late), she decided to come along anyway. What a relief!
The next day at work, more than one person was surprised that I had come to work the day after getting in from CA the previous evening. I told everyone we'd had a really great vacation and even better visits than we had hoped for.
MUSE EDITORS' VISIT Meri Murdock
Mom and Dad came to visit Ian’s family and myself recently and we all had a great time! We played
some games, including Scrabble, but my favorite was Trivial Pursuit. The first weekend was Becky’s
and Ian’s birthday weekend, and we celebrated with a fantastic barbecue. We also went out to eat
several times during the visit, including a rich, filling breakfast at a coffee shop, a spicy, delicious dinner
at a Mexican restaurant, and best of all: brunch at Hometown Buffet.
The visit seemed too short, and nobody was happy to see the folks head east. After all, it’s going to be
a long time before I get to taste my mom’s Spanish rice again (which my brother tried to hoard!)