School bus driver Danielle Nishiguchi and her children Kori and Ginger piled into Grandma's (Sandy Frische) motor home for a road trip this summer.
Their first destination was the Manzanar Internment Camp just south of Lone Pine, Calif., on Highway 395. They picked this stopping point because Danielle's father-in-law was put in an internment camp on the Oregon border years back and they wanted to understand why. Even the children loved finding out all the information and highly recommend we all stop next time we are close to it. I find myself guilty as I have passed the camp lots of times over the past 28 years and I always glance over to the big building, but I never have stopped to go inside. I guess it's like the June Mountain scenic loop, I only just rode around it on the motorcycle because our club chose it for a ride.
Next Danielle and the gang headed for Disneyland. I won't go in to details but you know they had fun even in the 90-degree heat because Sandy said they had great air conditioning in the motor home when they needed a break.
Speaking of heat, the next stop was to the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas where it was a scorching 114 degrees. They were all so happy to be in such a wonderful hotel with great pools to keep them cool.
The next stop I was surprised to hear about was the drive to Hoover Dam. Sandy said that the security was so tight that the officers actually searched every bag and compartment of the motor home before allowing them to drive over.
From there they headed to Kingman, Ariz., to the south entrance of the Grand Canyon. The kids thought this was so great to walk on the skywalk and see all the different colors of the dirt, the muddy water roaring down the canyon and especially the rock formations. When I asked Sandy the highlight of the trip for her, she said having lunch at the Bob's Big Boy in Barstow. Yeah, any of you who grew up in Southern California know what she's talking about. My Aunt Rosalyn got a job at the first Bob's Big Boy, but that's another story.
Farewell to
Steven McCauley
Steven Dean McCauley died on Aug. 4, 2008. He was an active member in the Nevada Wandering Wheels motorcycle club for a long time. I would like to extend prayers to his wife Janice. Steven died at the too-young age of 58.
I have not been to too many funerals in my life but this was the most wonderful service I have ever been to. Steven's favorite color was red so all of the guests were asked to wear red. During the service officiated by Pastor Roy Conover, they had two very large screen displays that played pictures to music of Steven and his friends and family.
At the end of the service we each held a red helium-filled balloon out in the parking lot and as Janice counted to three we all let the float to heaven with Steven. It was so amazing. God bless you, Steven. As one speaker said, "You are up in heaven on an endless bike ride with an endless tank of gas."
n Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.
