June 1977 A Bar Mitzvah (Not in Hays)

My family left Hays soon after the Catholic Indian Congress. It was great to be with them for a couple of weeks. It was totally cosmic to share with them the Catholic Indian Congress and all of what that entailed. It was just fantastic to have them meet all our dear friends in the community and at the mission. It was the trip of a lifetime to go to Glacier National Park with them. Susie and I were totally exhausted from their visit and everything else that transpired in June.

Susie’s cousin was going to be bar mitzvahed toward the end of June. Her parents offered to fly us out to San Francisco for the big event. My first reaction was to tell Susie to go on her own. With my family visiting us in Hays and the Congress, I was so behind on my fieldwork. I thought I should tell Susie to go enjoy her family and I would have some extra time to devote to my research.

As with so many other decisions I’ve made in my life, I finally concluded, ‘screw it.’ I’ve never been to California before and as we were both totally exhausted, it would be a great opportunity to recover. Besides, Susie and I weren’t able to properly celebrate our first wedding anniversary together, i.e., we were sharing a tent with my sister. So, I bit the bullet and went on the excursion to San Francisco.

Our first stop was Ventana Big Sur. The beauty of the place was beyond words to describe. Hopefully, my photographs will do justice to the place. But I have to say that my most vivid memory from the trip was not the natural beauty of the place; it was the sheets on the bed in our room. I had never been on more luxurious sheets in my life or since. I can still picture our room almost fifty years from the experience (and I don’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning).

I have no memory at all what we did on the day we arrived. What I remember is that the next morning, Susie slept in. I got my camera and went out for a hike in the hills and through the woods. It was one of the most amazing walks I’ve ever had. These were the days when I could hike, even up and down hills. When I got to the end of my hike, I saw my father-in-law on the road in the rental car. I tried to share with him the amazing hike I had just experienced.

If you look closely on the bottom right, there is a tipi down there. Do you think they knew I was coming?

Susie's parents and grandmother at the Ventana Resort

Later that day, we made a trip up the coast which was also beautiful.

We passed by a monastery, and I got out of the car to take pictures.

We finally made our way to Sausalito.

Our trip ended with a very sweet bar mitzvah. Mazel tov, Billy (who is now a guy with children and grandchildren).