Yes, I know... Day 3 was yesterday, but I was literally nodding off at my computer last night about 11pm PST so I had to give up! So it is bright and early here (7:15) and I'm writing this before I even get dressed.
Let's see... Oh yea! We left the motel yesterday morning and went straight to the Chick-fil-A for breakfast! LOL! Then we rode by Mom's grandmother's house... and it's still there and according to her, looks very much the same. The entire neighborhood looks almost the same! Everything is just neat as a pin here in Redlands. So you have a neighborhood that dates back to before the 1940's and everything is tidy and well-kept. Very nice. Of course I took pictures from every angle and again, thank goodness no one came out shooting! We continued riding around the neighborhood for a bit to see what Mom could remember and then it was time to head to the high school for our bus tour.
We actually rode a Redlands school bus for the tour! The first thing that struck me was how narrow the space is between the seats. I actually had to sit sideways. I wasn't the only one noticing that, either! The kids today must be tiny! Like short with no legs! Anyway, before we boarded the bus, we got a great group shot (with MY camera) of the entire group! Then we were off. The lady that did the tour, Dodie, is a fellow graduate who I think actually did all the work to make this reunion weekend happen. She did a great job on the tour... she shared some history of Redlands and showed us some beautiful old homes... Victorian, 3 story, fully restored, painted wonderful colors... On the tour, Mom did recognize some places... but it seems that when the freeway came through, of course, the entire landscape changed, and sadly, some beautiful homes were lost.
There is something here in Redlands, obviously, that I am allergic to. I awoke yesterday morning with full sinus headache. Luckily, I had brought my medicine, but I still wasn't feeling 100% while on the tour. While it was cool and comfortable before the tour, it quickly heated up and the bus got very hot, indeed. By the end of the ride, I wasn't doing too well. I just thought my allergies were gearing up for a bad episode, but Mom thought I had gotten too hot. She was right... after we got off the bus and I got in the air-conditioned car, I began to feel better.
Next stop: SCRAPBOOK STORE!!!! It was heaven, I tell ya! I had fun there. Mom did, too, which is so funny to me because she buys and buys, but she never scrapbooks! Sound familiar to anyone??? LOL Anyway, typically, they did not have a whole lot of California stuff... I know at Memories, we would sell out of the Georgia stuff quickly. But I found some neat papers for Washington DC and Arizona and the Civil War. I did get some California stickers. They had some QuicKutz on clearance, so I had fun there. Overall, a good time was had by all. We will have to be shipping that stuff back home (I certainly don't trust the airline with my scrapbook paper!), but we want to wait and go to the scrapbook store in LA before shipping anything.
We had lunch at Marie Callender's restaurant. Yes, they have actual restaurants out here... seems they are from the area. Alas, we didn't save room for pie, but the lunch was good. Potato and cheese soup... YUM!
We had seen a Goodwill from the freeway, so we hunted it down. Didn't find a thing. There is a Jo-Ann's here so we went there - hoping to find some California items. That was a total bust. Not only did they have very little good scrapbooking items, but the aisles were so packed in there and narrow that two shopping carts could barely pass! There were many aisles that you couldn't even go down cause someone was in it and wasn't moving. Also, the store had ladders or carts of merchandise blocking others. On a busy Saturday! I was ill-tempered when we got out of there! Mom wanted to find postcards, but I don't think Redlands is geared toward tourism. We thought maybe a drug store would have some, so we found a Walgreen's. No luck. Then we found out where a Wal-Mart is, and I actually went in there on a Saturday. Again, a total bust. We gave up and came back to the motel!
I read for a few minutes and then crawled in the bed and took a nap! It was so hot yesterday and it had worn me out with all the getting in and out of the car. When I awoke, it was time to get ready for the reunion.
The reunion was held downtown in a building called The Mitten Building. It's an old, red brick building. We entered and they gave Mom a pretty glass with "RHS Class of 1960 Reunion" engraved on it. Then we had our picture made - I was her date, you know! Then we entered the main room. There was a crowd. The tables were round and beautifully decorated with white tableclothes, mirrors in the center with lit candles and a vase of flowers. There was also dessert already sitting out, along with salad dressings in bowls (including Ranch). We found Freddie (Mom's childhood friend) and her husband, Art (I loved this guy! He is a hoot!) and we chose a place to sit together with the desserts we wanted. (I chose the chocolate cake. And spent the entire evening protecting it from Art! LOL) We tried to mix and mingle, but there are just so many people Mom didn't know. She did find two other friends she has known since 2nd grade. That was nice - it even ended up that they were sitting at our table. We found pictures posted on the back wall - and there was Mom with her 6th grade class at Dunlap Acres Elementary!! She tried to hide her picture from me, but she was front and center! There was also a picture of the graduating seniors from 1960 who were from Yucaipa - there Mom was again. 1960 was the last year that Yucaipa kids were bussed to Redlands High - they got their own high school after that. They also had a HUGE picture of the entire graduating class in their caps and gowns. I found Mom and took a picture - just of that section. She said what she remembers the most is that it took FOREVER for them to get to the "T's"!!
We were served our salads at about 6:30... and our meal at about 7:30. No kidding. Then it was almost 8:30 before they started the program. By then, the bad chair was killing my rear end, and I didn't think the program would ever end! Freddie and I had a good time complaining about it! I told her we needed to be on the committee next time! Mom got to stand up and speak when they asked if this was the first reunion anyone had attended. I don't think she gave the real reason (Daddy), but she just said it was so far. But they had someone there last night from England! The other thing I found funny (which my mother did NOT) was I think everyone thought I'm illegitimate! Her last name is still Tapley, and I had my last name on my name tag - TAPLEY-Matthews. I asked her during dinner if anyone had asked her about a husband, and she said not a soul. LOLOLOL Anyway, as soon as the program was over, Mom was out of there like a shot. It was her bed time!!! We didn't last long after we got back to the motel.
I MUST get dressed now... bacon is calling to Mom, so I will have to post pictures tonight.
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