For the Spring Break in our senior year of high school, my buddies, Ralph Fairweather, Mike Murray, David Williger, and I decided we wanted to go to San Francisco for our break. I don’t remember why we decided that renting a travel trailer would be a good idea. We didn’t have a lot of money between us, so we thought it would be cheaper to camp rather than stay in hotels and cook some of our meals in the trailer. We found a place where we could rent a 18 foot trailer that would sleep four. Ralph had the biggest car that could pull the trailer, a 1962 Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible.

Planning our trip, we would first drive to Morro Bay and spend the night at the campsite there. Looking on the map, it looked like Portal State Park and campgrounds were close to San Francisco. We thought we could make that our home base and drive into the city every day. We’d spend a few days seeing the sights and then head back home at the end of the week to return the trailer and be ready for school on Monday.

The weeks leading up to Spring break, we were telling anyone who asked, “What are you doing for Spring Break”? “Going to San Francisco, it will be wild”, we’d say. “That’s really cool,” they would reply. Ralph, Mike, and I were going to Chatsworth HS, and Dave was going to Granada Hills HS. It was going to be an exciting trip, six days on our own, no parents, no curfew, no rules.

On the Saturday before we were leaving, we went to the grocery store to buy the food we would need. Picked up the trailer and got a quick lesson on how to hook and unhook it. We drove back to Ralph’s dad’s Enco, “Put A Tiger In Your Tank”, gas station in Canoga Park. We packed up the trailer and left it at the gas station that night. We were planning to get an early start the next morning.

Ralph, Mike, and I had part-time jobs at the gas station. Dave was a waiter at the Howard Johnsons restaurant in Northridge. Mike, Ralph, and I would eat there for the all-you-can-eat fried clams night. We’d sit at the counter when Dave was working, and he would give us free sodas. We all got the week off for our trip.

Sunday morning, our parents dropped us off at the station to head out for our adventure. The top was down, Ralph was driving, Mike was riding shotgun to navigate, with Dave and me in the backseat. The small group of parents and friends to see us off waved goodbye as we headed out of the gas station onto Canoga Avenue heading towrds the Ventura Freeway. Our Spring Vacation adventure had begun.

Flying down the freeway, a sunny day, wind blowing through our hair, radio blasting. We certainly looked like a group of cool guys, except for the 18-foot travel trailer we were pulling. First stop was having lunch at Solvang. We had been told we should stop here as it was a unique place. A reproduction of a Danish village. None of us had ever visited Solvang.

We ordered food and their signature danish pastries for desert they are known for. They were delivered on a three-tier tray with an assortment to choose from. “Do you think the price is for the whole tray”? Dave asked. “Of course”, Ralph replied, “Why would they bring out a full tray to the table?” They were all very tasty, and we ate most of what had been on the tray. Our waitress came back to our table to see how we were doing. “Did you like the pastries?” she asked. Oh yes, we all replied. “Wonderful, I’ll get your check ready”, she said. Then she took out her order book and proceeded to count all the ones we had eaten. The price was not for the full tray. The bill was much more than what our planned budget was, but we didn’t care. This was our Spring Break Adventure, and besides, we were saving money by sleeping in the trailer and cooking most of our meals.

Then we headed off to catch the 101 freeway going north. Top down, radio blasting, wind blowing through our hair, four cool guys in a Cadillac Coupe de Ville convertible. And pulling an 18-foot travel trailer.

We arrived at the campground at Morro Bay a short time later. Unhitched the trailer and set up camp. Then, back in the car for a short drive to see Morro Rock. We walked around it and climbed up part of the rock where the “No Climbing” signs are posted. There were no rules for these cool guys.

We cooked steaks and baked potatoes on the campfire that night. Dave had brought the grill from home, his dad used to BBQ, becasue he said it added good flavor. After dinner, we sat around the campfire and talked about our day’s adventures and plans for what we would do in San Francisco. It had been a long day, and we’re ready to get to sleep so we can get an early start in the morning.

The trailer could be made up of four platform beds. Lights out. It was like the Waltons, “Goodnight Dave”, “Goodnight Mike,” “Goodnight Steve.” It was very quiet in the campground. You could hear the breeze blowing through the pine trees.

“God Dammit”! yelled Ralph. “What happened?” Dave asked. Ralph replied, “There’s a nail sticking out of the bed. I tore a hole in my silk pajamas; they’re ruined.”