MARGARET'S TRAVELS

     (After Henry died, Margaret did a little traveling, and wrote articles about her trips.  This, from 1977, was published in the Coulee City News-Standard.)

Vacation highlights

By Margaret Taschereau
     My sister, Pat Vance, and I left here (Coulee City) May 4 for a 4 week vacation/tour visiting relatives and seeing the country.  We flew east from Spokane to North Carolina, began our bus travels, and before we got home had passed through 19 states.
     Hank's brother, Cliff and Amanda Taschereau, and Sam saw us off at Spokane May 5th.  We changed planes in Chicago and on to Atlanta, Ga. and Ashville, N.C.  Spent a day and a half with my Uncle Harry and Betty in Arden, a few miles from Ashville.  The town is beautiful, built on a hill in the Smokies, and lots of trees.  The gardens and flowers seemed two weeks ahead of here.
     Our bus tour began, next night in Augusta, Ga., next day dinner in Savannah and supper in Jacksonville, Fla. and night in Orlando.  Spent the 9th and 10th at Disney World.  A whole busload of us were supposed to have rooms at a Day's Inn the 9th, got there a little before 8:00 pm and nobody had reservations.  Seemed they don't hold reservations after 6 pm.  We all had to go to the more expensive Day's Lodge which circled the Inn.
     Disney World was great, we didn't see anything we disliked.  My first impression was the flowers by the millions.  A great many beds are labeled from different countries, very few are fake.  Another first impression was the cleanliness.  Everything is so pretty people don't seem to litter and if they do it disappears quickly.  The food was good and prices reasonable.
     One of the best exhibits is free, the GM Carrousel of Progress.  It looks Disney, talking manikin family, they stay the same age for 200 years, but their home changes from 1776 to past now.  The one most delightful Disney thing is "It's a Small World".  You ride boats to all the countries and dolls sing in their own languages, "It's a Small World".
     Pat and I only watched in the Space Mountain (she didn't want to go on the ride).  It is a huge dome and the only light is on the ride cars.  The cars zip around in the stars terribly high overhead.  It is the only really scary ride there.
     We visited cousin Dave the next night who lives across a lake from Disney.  He has 4 adopted children and was adding 2 bedrooms to his house.  He took us for a ride under several freeways he had designed.
     From Dave's and Orlando we rode across Florida to Tallahassee for the night.  From there, dinner in Montgomery, Ala. and Nashville for the night.  Next day they routed us to Chicago instead of across to Davenport, Iowa.  We went through Louisville, Indianappolis, Chicago and then Davenport.  Longest ride we had in one day, but we didn't want to stay in Chicago.  Got to Chicago at 5:00 and into the only bad traffic on the trip.
     We spent a day and a half with cousin Dorothy in Bettendorf.  Next stop Kansas City for overnight.  We had seen police in all the airports and bus stations but hadn't thought much about it.  At Kansas City our bus driver pointed out the Travel Lodge, maybe 3 blocks away, nice bright wide streets, but he told us "don't walk".  We got a taxi and at the motel a policeman unlocked the door and locked it again after admitting us.  He also escorted us to our room.
     From Kansas City we went to Dallas TX.  My brother's boy Charles Seaton, lives in Arlington, a Dallas suburb, and works for Bell Helicopter and also teaches some math and economics at the University.  It is fairly new but they have saved most of the trees and it is clean and beautiful.  We took in a Western Outlaws Wax Museum and an Arboretum.
     From there we went to Ft. Worth, Lubbock, Abilene, Clovis, N.M. to Albuquerque.  Albuquerque was one of the prettiest cities we saw.
     From there to Kingman, Arizona and to Las Vegas for the night.  in Las Vegas a big Plaza Hotel is built alongside and over the top of the bus station.  The front and canopy are almost solid lights.  The first huge room is so full of slot machines you have to elbow through.  Not a vacant machine and not a smile anywhere.  The dining room is little and dark, fancy prices.  We didn't look upstairs at any of the other kinds of gambling.
     Then to Reno where Eleanor Manchester met us.  We spent 4 days with her at Lake Tahoe.  Her daughters, Julia Battell of Fairfield, CA, and Barbara Thompson of Sacramento, came up to see us.  Eleanor and Pat took in an afternoon of bingo at Harrahs in Tahoe.
     One afternoon we took in the Museum at Carson City.  It was real interesting, quite a bit of emphasis on mining but also good displays of wild life well done and Indian history.  A small display of wild flowers, too few.
     Sunday we went to Virginia City.  Eleanor had been there about 15 years ago said it was much better then.  There are some good displays and reconstructions, 2 good museums and 2 beautiful churches.  Almost all the other places are full of slot machines and only a little space for displays of the old things.
     From Tahoe to Portland where Clair Seaton picked us up.  We spent a day in Vancouver with them.
     There up the Oregon highway to Umatilla, Pasco and Spokane where we had supper with George and Dorothy Taschereau, picked up the car and home.