Written on the cardboard slide holder of this photo is "1957 - Curved driveway at home - truck + trailer" which indicates it was the start of the shortest summer trip we ever took.
Probably taken sometime in late May--we usually left before the official end of the school year--it's not evident from this photo, but I was just coming down with chicken pox, a particularly uncomfortable situation as we headed east across the desert toward toward our goal--Arkansas.*
Lured by tales of cheap land that would eventually lead both of Dad's sisters to leave San Diego, this was to be an exploratory trip. However, from our first night in Arkansas which ended in Dad's admission to the Fayetteville hospital due to his first kidney stone attack to the trailer fire closely following a flat tire on the day we fled the state several weeks later,** a series of unfortunate events made it clear that the Fates had decided against any such move on the Curreys' part.***
We were back in San Diego County in July and spent the rest of the summer camping in the Lagunas.**** It was the most "normal" summer vacation I ever had.
[From my personal collection]
*The swamp cooler on the truck's passenger-side window is a clue that we were expecting hot weather ahead.
**Midway through the trip we crossed into Missouri for a pleasant and uneventful visit to Roaring River State Park.
***And Mother and Dad had quickly realized that desirable land in Arkansas wasn't cheap either.
****So far I haven't been able to locate any other photos from the Arkansas trip. Perhaps the curse continues?
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