Things are going well at Motel 6

and we are opening new locations. Margaret is helping me as needed (for free). They re-arranged the offices and we have larger quarters. We (meaning Operations) have our own entrance and reception area, and Jim my assistant has his own office.

We had a week with Katrina prior to school starting. I picked her up in Fresno and we drove to Santa Barbara. She is just short of being 16 and I let her practice her driving on the back road in the West Valley. She did quite well, so I came into Santa Barbara via the San Marcos pass (old road). This road is very winding with a lot of switch backs, so I thought it would be good experience. We took it slow and Katrina did fine through the first four, but #5 she froze and didn't straighten the wheel. The road straightened out, but we didn't - so up the wall, and we rolled over on its side. A brand new Ford Galaxie. I was able to get it upright and we drove off. Only light scratches, and both Katrina and I were fine!

As I said, business was good and growing. About three/four weeks before Christmas I was on a return flight (I don't recall from where) and I was listening to the stereo music. "I'll be home for Christmas" was on and I began to think about me and my family. Our family always got together some time for Christmas. I thought about Margaret not being home for Christmas for nine years. It got to me. When I got back to the office I said to Margaret, "I know we can't afford it, but you are 'going home for Christmas". She wanted to write and advise her family, but I wanted it to be a surprise.

We arrived London 9am Friday morning (Christmas was on the Sunday). We rented an auto and proceeded to Llandudno, Wales - approx. 240 miles north west. I could write a book on this trip alone - maybe some other time. We arrived approx. 9pm. Margaret's mother was home and her father came in about 10 minutes later. We had a short visit then he took me to his pub to meet his friends, and seeing as we were there we might as well have a beer. Jolly, jolly. We only had the one. The pub closed at 11pm.
We spent Christmas and a few more days touring the area and showing me the sights and visiting relatives to show me off! I was a big man - a Welsh man is approx. 5'4" to 5'7" and weights 135 to 160 lb. The above photo was taken on the Orme - boy the wind could blow there.


We took a 'memory lane' ride with Margaret's mother and father - the above was taken outside the Church they were married in.

To backtrack a bit - as you know John, Margaret's first husband, was our employee and left us on the break-up. He went to San Francisco and obtained a job with TWA and became a leader of a plane service crew. This crew was good enough that TWA sent the crew to London to demonstrate and train their crews over there. As a result he had visited Margaret's parents just a few weeks prior to our visit. John did well,married a stewardess with TWA and raised a family, retiring in the Bay Area.
Back to our trip. The next stop was Southport, England for a visit with Mair and Norman (Margaret's sister and brother in law). The above photo is taken in front of their house. We had a nice visit, got to know each other and after a couple of days we continued our trip on to Lincoln, where her brother Gerald, wife Kitty and family lived. The following photo was taken in their living room.
Lincoln is where Sherwood Forest is located and no, I didn't meet Robin, nor any of his Merry Men. Gerald was home recovering from an illness. He was doing well, & we enjoyed the family of two sons and a daughter

A couple of days there and off to London (this is Margaret at the Tower of London) for three days. Margaret's cousin and her husband Peter came into town one evening and we all went out to dinner. The rest of the time was seeing what London had to offer which was far more than we could see in three days. A lot of it had to wait for future visits.
We flew over Ireland on the way back. The weather was clear with light clouds and we got some great view from 30,000 feet.

There is so much to share about this trip, and I know I have only touched on it here. This was my first year not to be at my home for Christmas, but I was accepted into a new home and enjoyed it very much. May you always have a home to go for Christmas and love each other very much.


A little add on: Driving in Great Britain 1966: (1) the vehicles were built funny (!) - driver sat on the right side, you shift gears with your left hand, and look left for the rear view mirror. when overtaking a vehicle, to me some vehicles had no drivers (sitting on the wrong side for me). (2) you drove on the wrong side of the road. Entered roundabouts (traffic circles) the wrong way, left side and turn right. They did not believe in stop signs or traffic lights - just roundabouts - LOTS OF THEM. (3) Parking was allowed either side of street in either direction. This was even in downtown London with four lane street. If you could get there, you could park there. (4) I never saw a house with a garage (may have been), so even ones that owned a car parked on the street. Thank God only about 1/3 owned autos or the street would have been blocked. The streets in the residental areas were narrow - approx. 20 feet wide, so you to had to weave through the parked vehicles. The rules were first come had the rightaway. The problem was they applied this to the open full speed highway. If they wanted to pass and you were approaching, they would pull out to pass, and you were expected to slow down and if necessary pull off the road to let them pass. I was forced over onto the shoulder several times. (5) I assumed they thought world war II was still going on! At that time they covered the top 3/4 of the headlights for the blackouts. Now they drove with parking lights only in all cities where there were street lights. In between towns the lead car or truck would use headlights but no one following behind.
Today is different - they still drive on the left side of the road and sit on the right of the car, but otherwise the rules are more like ours.
I have to say that riding in a taxi in London was a hair-raising experience too.

One last story - we were driving from Southport to Lincoln, so to help us out Mair had obtained a route guide from the Auto Club for us to use. About halfway there, we entered this town. We checked the instructions and it told us to veer right where the old well USED TO BE! Thank you Auto Club.