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VACATIONS PART TWO

TRACKER

Backstory

The Cranfield Family Wheels were always Chevrolets

Dad wasn't especially materialistic. He and mom were thrifty beyond measure but not because they did not want the latest this-or-that. They paid their bills, kept to a strict budget, and saved not only for the rainy days but for the big ticket items that nowadays people more often than not simply slap onto a credit card.

When we first came across country from Massachusetts to Califonria, dad drove the car shown in the photo below. You can see the top of the cargo trailer poking up from behind the car. [thumbnail] This was a 1940 Chevrolet four door sedan. Steel clad. No aluminum nowheres. This photo was taken of Alaine and me in the still-mostly-dirt side yard of 161 Merrill Place. It was either 1949 or right near the cusp into 1950.

 

I think Cecil probably used a couple of trade-ins and relied on used cars until 1954, when he bought a new Chevrolet, like this one, although it just might have been a sedan and not a wagon. I'll have to rub some memory oil into my scalp and see what I can come up with. However, as an aside I should tell you that I banged the crown of my head pretty good yesterday (Friday) morning. Bled bunches. Edythe (more later) had only some Neosporin, hot water and a gauze pad to patch the thing up with. After cleaning my scalp with good hot water and applying just the right daubing of Neosporin, she hastily and not too neatly folded a 3x3 gauze pad and had me hold it against the wound while she went looking for some tape to keep the thing from getting a-loose. Unfortunately - and let this be a lesson to each and every mom out there - she only had some Scotch tape, so she kinda Scotch taped the pad to my hair. I made it through the day without loosing track of it, and now I've got a pretty nice lump on my melon.

I was getting in my little 91 Mazda 323 and whacked the noggin on the receiving part of the seatbelt system. I won't go into it now except to say that since yesterday I have renewed my loathing of Ralph Nader, not that he ever had much slack from me to begin with - ever.

After having completely redesigned the Chevrolet line for the 1952 model year, GM did it again in 1955. On the left, below, is the spitting image of Dad's 53 wagon, which he replaced in 1955 with the all-new Chevy wagon like the one shown on the right. Dad's was green, though, but otherwise exactly like this one. The only frill was a radio.

 

 

 

It was the 55 wagon that took us on that amazing trip to Yosemite. Once in the park, where speed limits were something like 10 mpg, Lainey and I were once in awhile treated to riding on the lowered tailgate and singing along with the rest of the passengers as we toodled around the incredible natural world, pretty much unfettered and rarely in the company of what could even modestly be described as a crowd.

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Front Story

Cross Country Trip

Continued from Vacations Part One

 

The Automat

Let's see, where was I? Hmm. Oh yeah, we're heading for Massachusetts by way of the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Cedar Rapids, Niagara Falls and New York City.

Once my stitches were in and my head well bandaged, we continued on our way to New York. It had been many years since Cecil had visited and he was disappointed that the double-decker buses were no longer running. (I think they have been brought back as tourist transport, but not as part of the city transit system itself.)

We had our first meal in Manhattan at an Automat.

 

more later

 

 

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SECTIONS

Seeing the USA in our Chevrolet

The Automat

Braintree Five Corners

Amusement Park Without Rides

The Grand Canyon

Cedar Rapids Iowa

Freak Shows

Tiajuana

Side Trips

Pacific Ocean Park

Catalina

The Preacher in the Desert

SOUNDS

MASSACHUSETTS

VIDEOS

THUMBNAILS

SECTIONS FROM

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

Welcome to Gilfoolyland

Yosemite - Let the Fire Fall

The Loudest Sound

Kings Canyon

Trepidation to this Day

The Bump on the Head

Radio City Music Hall