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+---
+title: Dan's First Big Trip
+---
+
+Big adventures that took us far from home were not a part of my early
+childhood years. We had lots of family events near home with
+grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins and church friends, but
+expensive far away trips were out of our reach. I had no sense of
+deprivation or disappointment because I was just a small child and my
+world in the vicinity of Lakeview was enormous. There was never a lack
+of things to explore and challenging things to do, so life was good.
+
+I remember lots of little trips around the area. Dad loved to shoot guns
+and we often went to shoot jack rabbits at the airport and ground
+squirrels at grandpa Williams' farm. Family hikes in the surrounding
+hills and fishing in the local streams were common.
+
+The first actual vacation trip that I can remember was a family trip to
+Disneyland when we lived in Oregon City. We did lots of things as a
+family to earn some extra money for the event. Because we lived in an
+old farm house where there were still a few surviving trees from the
+original orchards, we were able to gather up a large pile of walnuts
+that had fallen on the ground beneath the trees. Dad placed them on some
+drying racks in the basement until they were dry enough to remove the
+outer skins and then crack the shells to harvest the nuts inside. I
+remember sitting with the family in the basement and cracking those
+walnuts for hours while we listened to music from an old radio. After
+all our efforts to earn extra cash for the trip, I think we managed to
+save up about 76 dollars.
+
+The trip was memorable, but full of boring stuff too. The traveling in
+Old Blue, the family station wagon, seemed endless and I remember being
+stuck in traffic for what seemed forever. We had to stand in line for
+hours to go on a 15-minute ride. I only remember the submarine ride and
+the Matterhorn. The crowds and cars and big city were all a bit
+overwhelming for a young boy from the country. I came back from the
+experience wondering what the big attraction of it was. I'd rather build
+forts in the old prune dryer and catch crawdads in the local stream than
+fight with the crowds in the big city.
+
+A loving, supportive family with lots of siblings and extended family
+were enough to build a world of happiness for me. I never felt that I
+needed to escape from the local village to see the wonders of the world.
+I was content with the simple life of a country boy from the sticks.