un souvenir

Last Saturday Dad and I took a ride down the River Road. It was a beautiful day for a scenic drive. We stopped at the town of Locke, an old Chinese settlement, along the way and looked at the interesting buildings. The real reason for the trip, however, was to travel back in time and visit the high school in Rio Vista where I taught from 1970 to 1971. I used to commute from Orangevale to Rio Vista which took about an hour and twenty minutes one way on a good day. (no fog). Part of the ride was along the River Road. As we were driving down the winding road, Dad commented, "I can't believe we let you do this". My sentiments exactly.

We didn't have any difficulty finding the school. I just remembered that it was off the bridge, to the left somewhere and up a hill. Here is what used to be the main entrance. I still remember rushing up those stairs to my box and on to my classroom. Sometimes I made it only a few minutes before the bell rang, but I was never late. This is no longer the main entrance for the school as they share the facility now with a public library. Here is the new main entrance, much smaller. There was apparently more to the building, but it was removed, and a parking lot put in place. I was a little sad to see that the school looked rather worn and tired, but then, it has been thirty-eight years. It happens.

I next was planning to go to my old classroom, and as I looked for it, it was gone. A new structure had been built where my old building used to be. Darn! I was hoping to see that. Here is the view from where my classroom once was.

Below, Madame Bowns, 2008. School starts for me on the 20th, but it won't be here.

Below, Madame Bowns, 1970.

Here is the car that I drove (well, a picture of one like it) that year. 1969 Cougar. Ivy Green. Pretty cool!We got rid of it after that year because it had some major engine problems. Back then, there was no tape or CD player to keep me company during the long commute, but the radio worked fine. On a good day I got to hear, "Jeremiah was a Bull-Frog" at least three or four times.

Thanks for tagging along with me while on my sentimental journey. I loved that year of teaching and was very sad when we made the decision that I couldn't do the drive any longer. It was time for motherhood anyway, a wonderful time of my life.