Mom did not forget the zip code when she addressed this letter.
"Dear Mother and Mike,
"Hope this letter finds your broken arm healing. I know it must be broken, because I "pined away" all last week for lack of a letter."
[Oh, snap! Mom's getting a little sassy about the lack of mail from back home.]
"We had a wonderful weekend. I wish both of you could have been with us. Friday night we stayed home and David Wayne was miserable. I must start going places during the week with him. It's too much for him staying in all week with no one to play with."
[Yes, please entertain me. I'm five. I already memorized that reptile book on the drive from Texas, and you won't let me read "Mandingo."]
"Saturday afternoon we went to Marineland. It is one of the most interesting places we've been. There are three levels and each one is an adventure. On each level in the center is a circular tank filled with all sorts of fish - small, big, gigantic. We even got to see underwater divers (David Wayne called them frogmen) feed the fish and _big_ turtles. We saw a whale show - with "Bubbles" the whale and other personalities. They were really well-trained and would do the tricks perfectly - even splashing the first three rows of spectators. It was so hot that Dave and I wished we had been closer. We did get a good spray of water as we were leaving. The whales seem to be reluctant to end the show and they keep jumping up and bowing as you leave."
"The next event was the trained seal and porpoise (or dolphin) show. The seals were terribly funny - ringing bells, one made a political speech over a microphone, and playing games. I think Dave laughed more than David Wayne. The dolphins were very good, but they refused (The M. C. said they were temperamental) to do the final grand finale act. I took a whole roll of films, but I think I was too far away to get any really good shots."
[No real surprises there with the description of Marineland, especially if you have ever been to Sea World.]
"After the shows we just walked around and saw the smaller tanks. There was an otter tank, seal tank, walrus tank, whale tank and dolphin tank. Most of the tanks were fixed for underwater viewing also. David Wayne really liked this and I think he learned much - such as the dolphins and whales talk through the holes on top of their head, not through their mouths."
"We really got our money's worth for all we saw. It cost $2.50 each for me and Dave and David Wayne got in free. Outside of the aquariums were the gift shops, restaurant, motel and snack bars. We rode in the Sky Tower 344 feet above sea level. On the way up the car turned around several times so we saw everything for miles and miles. This was also well worth the $1.25 that it cost. ($1.25 for all 3 of us, not apiece.)"
[Below is a scan of our Marineland tickets from that day. I scanned the back of my ticket for the Sky Tower so you could see the cute dolphin that's on the back of all the tickets.]
[The Sky Tower was really only 244 feet above sea level, not 344. Mom was always prone to exaggeration, but I think this was just an honest mistake. She understated the cost of the adult tickets to Marineland, so I guess it all evens out.]
"Then Dave really surprised me by announcing that we were going to take a one-hour boat ride along the coast. We had a near catastrophe about this adventure. Dave went to get the tickets and David Wayne and I were to meet him. While we waited, we went through shops, bought cotton candy, and just relaxed. About ten minutes before the boat was to leave, David Wayne had to go to bathroom. No problem - the restrooms were close by, so we walked over. I sent David Wayne into "MEN" while I held cotton candy. Suddenly, David Wayne came out crying - they were pay toilets, we didn't have a nickel, and he didn't know how to work them anyway! I didn't really feel like stalking the gents going in and pleading for their assistance, so the only course, much to David Wayne's chagrin, was to go in "WOMEN." This finally accomplished, we ran - yes, ran - to our destination. My shoelaces were untied and David Wayne lost half his cotton candy in the wind we stirred up. We did make it, by hailing down the bus that took us to the dock. No one was mad because of the delay as David Wayne announced in his loudest voice, "Please don't be mad Daddy. We didn't have a nickel for the commode!" Daddy was the one that wanted to run then."
[Apparently I wasn't very shy at that age. I wonder if the toilets in the women's restroom were pay toilets, since Mom said she didn't have a nickel.
[The first pay toilet in the US was installed in 1910. In 1970, 19-year-old Ira Gessel founded The Committee to End Pay Toilets in America. Their slogan was "When a man's or woman's natural body functions are restricted because he or she doesn't have a piece of change, there is no true freedom." Very profound, don't you think? The committee disbanded in 1976 due to their significant, although not 100%, success.]
"The boat ride was really great. We even saw the cave where recently a Batman story had been filmed. David Wayne got very cold at the last and a guide gave him a blanket. He thought he was very important as he was the only one on the boat that got one."
[I still tend to get cold before most other people.]
[The Batman story Mom is referring to was very likely "Batman: The Movie," released in 1966, in which Penguin and some other villains operate out of a submarine while plotting world domination until Batman and Robin track them in their Batboat and use Batcharge missiles to force the submarine to surface. The original Batman TV series is one of the first shows I remember watching.]
[Below is a scan of our boat ride tickets from that day. In case you're wondering what "Frontier 4-2013" is, it's a phone number. Weird, huh?]
"Sunday we went to Little Tokyo. All week had been the Nisei Festival and the climaxing parade was to be at 5:30. The three of us and 25,000 other people crowded into an area of about three blocks. We had a good place to see, but we were anything but comfortable. The parade itself was the best I've ever seen because it was so different and colorful. I am enclosing an article about it. Please save it for me because I am beginning a scrapbook about our trip. Needless to say, David Wayne loved it. I took color pictures, but again they may not be any good - the sun wasn't right."
[Nope, no pictures. Only Polaroids that must have been taken later.]
[Did my grandmother save the article Mom sent her about the parade? Of course she did. Below is a scan of the article, minus the much larger picture of the Royal Float.]
"Dave and I are proud of ourselves because of a project we have begun. Instead of spending a lot of money on useless souvenirs for David Wayne, we have begun a bank collection. An alligator from Alligator Farm, a whale from Marineland, and a Japanese woman from Little Tokyo. We are going to try to get him a bank from every place we go."
[Ok, here we have the first mention of the bank collection I talked about earlier. Right now we are at three banks. If I ever finish unpacking from our recent move I'll be able to take pictures of the ones I still have.]
"This week we plan to go to the Griffith Park Observatory, and take a "trip to the moon." No, not with the help of LSD, but I hear that's one way to go. This next weekend we may go to Jungleland which is the home of movie and TV stars (animal stars that is.) We don't know yet what else we will do, but we certainly haven't run out of anything to do."
[Well, I wasn't expecting to hear my mother talk about LSD. Although she and my dad both smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol (mostly beer), I'd be surprised to hear about either one of them doing any "experimentation" in their younger days.]
"I am anxious to hear your plans about visiting. We want you to come anytime you can, but you might consider not coming over Labor Day weekend. Firstly, it might be real bad at the airport. Secondly, the men told David that it was impossible to go any place because of traffic and crowds. After Labor Day, the crowds thin out and you can see more and get more places. Dave does have three days off then, but it might take that long just to get to Disneyland in Labor Day traffic."
[I think Mom was a little more than anxious about my grandmother planning a visit, since she has mentioned it in every letter so far. (Spoiler Alert: She mentions it in the next letter, too.)]
"I will close another "catalog." David Wayne is up and throwing a fit to go to beach. (I promised this once while in a weaker mood.) I would just as soon take a dose of castor oil than mingle with the "beach crowd." Take care of yourself and write soon. Give Taffy an extra pat from each of us."
[That's too bad the crowds kept Mom from enjoying the beach more. I know she enjoyed swimming and was definitely the outdoorsy type.]
"Love, Linda"
"P. S. - There is a sign on California highways that reads, "Now leaving California - resume normal morality." We will try to behave though."
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