My Pismo trip....last post I promise

Perhaps no one cares about this but me, but I want to share it anyway.

Normally Dennis and I wake up about the same time and go to breakfast together. 
But the morning after the wedding I was up at 5am. 
I didn't want to disturb Den's sleep so I got dressed by flashlight,
and then went into the lobby to see what was going on.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

No one was even behind the desk. All 103 hotel customers on all 4 floors were still sleeping, apparently.
I loved it.
So quiet.
I had the TV to myself
Not exactly on my favorite station, but the Pismo weather ahead was looking mighty fine.
 Too bad we had to check out later that day.

Finally it was 5:55am and breakfast was served. To me.

I ate and ate. Not one, but TWO plates of eggs and sausage, toast, Cheerios, and Raisin Bran, and OJ.
Well okay, so they weren't full plates of eggs or full bowls of cereal. But still.
Normally this kind of food doesn't even appeal to me.
There was just something about being all alone in that brand new hotel with food all around me.
I was having my own little party, while occasionally chatting with the food staff.

For some reason it reminded me of those very early mornings to myself all those years ago, 
when I was up nursing a baby. 
It's such a peaceful, and even sacred time of day.

Then about 6:25am the UCSB soccer team woke up, 
and I crawled back into bed with Dennis.
He never even knew I had left!

On our way home later that day after church in Atascadero,
we stopped by 2 landmarks.
First, James Dean's memory spot....it was where he died in a traffic accident in 1955. 
Some said, mainly my mother, that my first husband looked a little like James Dean. 
My sons probably have never even heard of him.I barely have myself.


But the 2nd landmark meant a lot more to me. 
Dennis was able to locate out in the middle of nowhere it seemed....
the house Bill and I lived in for the first 6 months of our marriage....way back in 1975. 
In Laton, Ca. I remembered the address so he GPS'd it and there it was. 
Looking more like a shell of my memory of it. 
So old. It was built in 1902 so it was an "old house" when we lived there,
but now it almost looks creepy old.

Just so sad and all out there by itself.
 We had cows, and pigs, and wild cats. Green pastures. A barn, which is also gone now.

I have many great memories living there as newlyweds. 
Memories like staying up til midnight baking 6 loaves of bread 
because I hadn't yet adjusted from a family of 10, to a family of 2.

The house belonged to Bill's parents and while they traveled we lived there.
Then we would come back and spend summers there for a few years.

On that very property many sunny days ago,
Grandpa Heasley use to pull Brock around in that little old wagon

 Grandma Heasley with Logan and Brock....the summer of 1980

Had I known way back then that I would be doing a blog post about it today, 
I would have taken more pictures 37 years ago.

13 comments:

Scrapally said...

I love that old house! that is what I want, a fixer upper on a big piece of land. That is so neat that you were able to find it! Does it still belong in the family? I love your hotel experience...having the whole lobby and breakfast to yourself. How fun! I love reading your posts no matter what they are about...keep it up!

Grandma Honey said...

Scrapally-- No the house hasn't been in the family for years. The streets are terrible out there....not kept up at all so it was a very bumpy ride. And the house although once looked charming I thought, now it looks old and somewhat neglected. I really thought the area would have been built up by now, all these years later, but no, it's deteriorated.

Karen Mortensen said...

That hotel is beautiful. How lucky you were to live in that house. I love that style of houses. Too bad it is run down.
Did James Dean die in 1959? If so, he died on my birthday.

Tyler Heasley said...

Why did I never know about this house?

And why wouldn't I know about James Dean? (Because I do.)

And why would I know about James Dean and not that house?

If you'd heard about a "blog" back in 1975, I think you would have been sorely confused. Because I think anyone would get lost in an explanation of the Internet back then, much less how a blog works. Though, it would have been neat to see your reaction. "When you're a grandma of a million kids, you're going to create a full-color journal on an electronic machine that transmits information all over the world. So take good pictures!"

Dad and Susan said...

Jill, There is always a "rest of the story" or a "side trip story" with you! You're amazing! All very interesting. Probably most of the "men" dressed like James Dean when he was around. I remember him vividly. Thanks for new perspectives and trips down memory lane. Your dad enjoyed it immenseley. Love, Dad and Susan

Grandma Honey said...

Karen~ Sorry, I typed wrong at first. I thought he died in 1959, but first thing Dennis told me this morning it was 1955. I just corrected it.

Tyler~ Even though that house was so much a part of our family and our past, I don't think you or McKay ever went there. Your Grandma can't remember when they actually sold it, but somewhere in the early 1980s they began renting that house out. I know what you mean, I would have never understood back THEN what we can do NOW with computers and family history!

btw, I remember the first time I ever heard of email, was in January of 1989 when your Dad was in the hospital with all those gunshot wounds....I was watching TV with him and at the end of the program they said something like, "Or you can email us at ....." I thought at the time, what's email??

Susan Anderson said...

I always love to go back and retrace the past. I'm glad you got a chance to do this!

And to share it with us...

=)

Whitney Jay said...

hahaha I really enjoyed Tyler's comments and explanation of a blog in a pre-digital world. How fun that you remembered the address and were able to track down the house. I love stories like this.

Darlene said...

37 years ago. Gee what memories. I am sure you must have found it interesting to see the house you lived in when you were first married. I would love to go back and take pictures of all the houses I have lived in. I have a few, but would like to have pictures of them as they look today.

I loved seeing pictures of that beautiful hotel and what fun to be the only one in that place. I can just about imagine the peaceful feeling you must have experienced.

It sounds like something I might have done, right along with crawling back into bed when you went back after breakfast. I loved that you had breakfast all alone.

Lisa said...

That was a good story telling post. I really liked the way you laced it together so beautifully. It almost felt like we were sharing a "secret"

I liked the way your old house looks! It just needs to get updated & some new "life" you know? Fun read.

Mar~ said...

What great old photos! Those are really special. And I think the house is neat and interesting to look at. I can see what it could, or perhaps, did look like. Looks like you had another fun trip.

Anonymous said...

A blog back in 1975 would probably sound like a skin lesion. "You better get that blog removed before it gets cancerous!"

Logan

grandmapeg said...

I at first thought I was reading wrong when you were describing everything you ate for breakfast. I couldn't believe you could eat that much so I'm glad you went on to say it was all small portions. That is nice that you got to go back and see the first house you lived in, but it is kind of sad that it doesn't look like it used to. But it's the memories that counts! Thanks for sharing!

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