I was born and raised in Southern California: Reseda, Torrance, Gardena, and Fullerton. I left in the fall of 1975 and never lived there again, but it’s still “home” when I think of where I came from and who I am now. I don’t go back there much any more since my Dad died in 2016, but my high school 50th reunion provided a reason to get back there at least one more time. So, trailer and truck safely stowed in Lancaster, off I went.
The journey started with a short hop from Harrisburg, PA to Charlotte, NC, then a much longer flight from there to San Diego. I used to fly all the time, for work and for family, but this is only the second time I’ve been on a plane in the last 4-5 years. I still enjoy looking out the window at the clouds and the landforms below me. And there’s nothing that says “home” to me like the approach to the California coast, flying over the basin and range desert lands as they slowly become the coast range, and the browns give way to greens and then to houses and buildings, until finally the airport itself signals the flight’s end.
I stayed the first night in San Diego so I could meet up the next morning with my cousin, Suzy. She must have known I missed my Pacific Ocean shoreline because that’s where we went for a walk while we caught up with each other. I love the Atlantic Ocean, but the Pacific, well, that’s the one I first fell in love with, decades ago.
Then it was time to drive up I5 to Orange County, which was good and bad. The good was seeing all that coastline once I survived the exit traffic from San Diego. The bad was hitting all the OC traffic getting from the coast to Fullerton. Yikes. I learned to drive on SoCal freeways but they’ve grown way, way bigger and more intense in the last fifty years. And having a little Toyota Corolla rental instead of my trusty Ridgeline pickup made me feel even more vulnerable to the darting Teslas and the massive SUVs surrounding me in five and sometimes six lanes of traffic. When I finally pulled into the parking lot of my Fullerton hotel and turned the car off, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Most fun surprise of this trip was finding out there is an actual grove of redwood trees in northern Orange County (Brea). Who woulda thunk that?! My classmate from long ago, Debi, took me up there, a short drive from the hotel and then a nice hike in from the road. What had been hot weather (mid-80s) was a cool and shady 70-something under the canopy of the big trees. Planted in 1975, the same year I left the area, these 241 trees have managed to survive in what is clearly not their native habitat. It’s an amazing bit of nature, and I really enjoyed time with the redwoods in any form (Thanks, Debi!)
The next morning I was on my own, and so I did a bit of exploring around my old high-school stomping grounds in Fullerton. Some places I remembered well, others were clearly new and had replaced once-familiar landmarks. The house I lived in from 8th grade till mid-college survives, although the fron door looks nicer and they’ve painted over the faded pink with a pretty boring beige tone. Good to see the “it’s dying” pine tree (out of frame on the left) still drops needles on the roof 🙂
I walked through the Cal State Fullerton campus, where I spent a year of my academic life, but the only thing I recognized was the library. I worked there, getting a job as page thanks to my mom, who was a student there as well, and was a page supervisor. We had different last names and she made me swear not to call her “Mom” because no one thought she was old enough to have a college student kid. First time I ever called my mother “Margaret” and I still remember how weird that felt.
Saturday was the actual class reunion, which kicked off with a lovely tour of our old high school. Some things had definitely changed: a new gym (we didn’t have any gym back then!), AP classes and a super-techy digital autopsy table (biology would have been *way* more interesting with that toy!), and even a digital driving range and putting green. Some things, however, had not changed, like the rows of lockers.
Our afternoon/evening gathering was hosted by one classmate, with a lovely backyard overlooking a golf course. We had 64 or 68 graduates in my class (depending on who you ask!) and 29 of them made an appearance at the reunion party. It was good to see old classmates (yes, we’re all old!) and talk about how our lives have gone in the 50 years since we graduated and went out into the larger world. I’d been to the 30th reunion but the 50th was more fun: we’d all had enough life changes and challenges that we could appreciate still being here and the opportunity to see our classmates after all these years.
The next day, on my way down to San Diego, I had one more reunion, this time a very fun family one. Those two tall men on either side of the back row used to be smaller than me, back in the day when I took them to San Francisco for an adventure at 13 and 15. Now I’ve got great-nieces (those three up front) and it was fun to see how they’ve grown up since our last meeting. I had a great time and we stretched it out by taking some group selfies (thanks, Hayley, you’re the best selfie-taker, honestly!)
Way too early the next morning, I was back at San Diego airport, looking out the window of my plane waiting for us to back away from the gate and get going. It felt like the time flew by with all the people and places I crammed into those five days. I leaned back in my seat as the plane took off and thought about what a great time I had.
I got into Charlotte early so I switched to an earlier flight into Harrisburg that gave me a window seat to a beautiful sunset aloft.
I’ve traveled a lot in my life. Some trips are pretty rough, with bad hotels and food poisoning. Other times, though, things are pretty near perfect. I got lucky this time – it was so fun to see SoCal again, see classmates and reflect on the decades since I graduated from high school, and celebrate family ties.
I count myself in nothing else so happy as in a soul remembering my good friends.
Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future.
I guess it was a girls’ school you went to? Your Shakespeare quote was the one I used for my final year in high school for the yearbook.
Annie, this was a great post both in word and photos! Reminded me of my SoCal catholic high school days and knowing you when you were so close to family-especially your dad and “the boys”.
Thanks for sharing the sweet moments of reconnecting with high school peers 50 years later and family it’s been forever since you’ve been together just for fun.
I took grew up in SoCal, graduating from Fairfax HS in Winter of 1967, at age 17. I immediately went to Los Angeles City College and onward (not necessarily upward), until I earned a PhD from the University of Colorado, Boulder and then did some post-doctoral training at UCLA and University of Wisconsin, Madison. Although education dominated my life for a long time, I never went to a HS reunion but perhaps by the 60th, I’ll consider it! Thanks for this recent glimpse of your life and the ongoing travel saga you so wonderfully document. I’m still camping, now in a NuCamp Tab 320. Keep on, keeping on…
I love the group pic with your classmates. It’s amazing how they all address aging. My 50th was held last year (postponed 2 years by the pandemic.) I attended and found I still liked a few of the folks while others I could take or leave. However, everyone seemed much friendlier than when I attended the 10-year reunion. Now, most seem just glad to still be here and less picky about who they hang with.
What a wonderful reunion trip, Annie! So glad you got to go and that you had a great time.
Ah, Mary, as my Dad used to say, getting older isn’t for sissies. To watch people pass away, whether family or friends, is hard, never gets easier even as more of them go. I’m sorry to hear about your brother, but yes, merciful that its over for him, having such a devastating illness. I’m also with you on auto-renew, although now they ask for renewals like 6 months ahead of time, what is up with that?! Like I’m too old to look up the expiry date and do the math?!
high school reunion – sweet – I have not been to my h.s. reunions – class of almost 800 – knew some but not most. Our surviving class president (he and his twin were co-pres but the twin died several years ago). I see the names – including the “maiden names” for the women – and think – hum do not remember any of them. That says it all about my high school years – forgettable. College reunion – class of 90 – few in touch now – and last month 2 showed up at Alumni Day. I was not one of the two. Death narrows the list of classmates and colleagues from my past – my colleague/neighbor/ fellow runner last July – and more recently my brother – older by. 2 years – after too long a sad and painful slide into vascular dementia. I am relieved it is over for him and for his children, nieces, nephews – but sad that it had been 4 years plus since we had a meaningful telephone conversation. His wife – my sister-in – law has dementia but denies it – conversations with her are difficult as she repeats herself endlessly. She still drives and scares her children as she is no longer a safe driver. I have many acquaintances here at the “old folks home”. Some are much younger than I am – a few are older – some enjoy good health and are active – going out for meals, to see family who live in the area – having family – including great grandchildren visit. Some are sliding into an inability to care for themselves and will soon be transferred into “supportive living” – the with it phrase for assisted. living. Meanwhile I am working on my taxes – and this is the last year I will do this -I will be turning it over to my older son who visits me 2-3 times a year from the Monterey area in California. I am still paying the bills and working on making sure there are few to pay and making sure none are automatically paid – AAA would love me to continue to belong for decades after I die – read the small print – they really want one to auto renew or sign up for decades – and then charities that also “demand” that I donate again – a sure fire way to make sure I do not donate again! The sun is out and it is unseasonably warm here near the Atlantic Ocean in New Hampshire – leaves are slowly turning color. A beautiful time of here in New England. Time for a walk in the sunshine –