Bridge

 I've always been fascinated with bridges and have many pictures of famous and spectacular ones that we crossed in our travels. So when BRIDGE came up as the Generations challenge word my mind's eye immediately went to a few bridges associated with memorable times in my life. 

Mackinac Bridge, MI
In 1963 we had two babies and I needed a break. We left the kiddos with my Grandma Quist in Wisconsin for a couple of days while we went to Mackinac Island in Michigan and, along the way, cross the Mackinac Bridge. I was pretty much a country girl in 1963. I'd only been in 3 Midwest states, never on a plane. So I didn't know that I would panic at the thought of crossing this 5 mile bridge over the Straits of Mackinac. It was foggy and the bridge looked like it disappeared in midair. I simply could not do it. 

Fortunately, my Jim respected my feelings and we went on to explore the island ( on a bicycle built for two that didn't go well either! ) This is as close as I got to the bridge. For many years I would panic at crossing major bridges and driving beside water. I'm not a swimmer so maybe that was part of my fear. 

Over the years, as we traveled with our growing family, my fear of bridges over water decreased and I could talk my self out of the panicky feelings as we visited places like Royal Gorge in Colorado..the bridge to nowhere!

One of my favorite bridges for it's beauty and for the memories is the Bixby Bridge on California PCH 1. It is at the north end of Big Sur 260 feet above the canyon created by Bixby Creek. 

Bixby Bridge was completed in 1932 and is one of the tallest arch bridges. This view of the bridge is taken from the parking lot of the Rocky Point Restaurant, one of our favorite all time travel destinations. The view from our table was always spectacular. We would order white wine and crab salad. Out of this world. Whenever we arrived here it was lunch time! I can almost hear our glasses clink as we would toast another special time together. 


Lilac Bridge, Escondido, CA
In 2012 Jim was battling cancer. He was getting treatments at a clinic near San Diego. We were living in Hemet in the motorhome at the time so the trip to the clinic was an hour each way on Interstate 15. Twice a day we had this view of the Lilac Bridge. It was completed in 1978 and is one of two wide span arch bridges in San Diego county. Every time we made this drive I would look forward to seeing this bridge. It is an art form to me. It evokes emotion. Why?  It soars, it is awesome, it frames the sky, it is powerful and graceful. The Lilac Bridge gave me good feelings on days I'd rather forget. An engineering marvel and a thing of beauty ....like most bridges.







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite Place

Image
Snow Apple Tree  As I thought about this week's challenge from Generations Cafe my mind wandered to the many beautiful sights I've seen in my 82 years. I've traveled in 47 states and a handful of foreign countries. I've seen the Grand Canyon, the Eiffel Tower, Stonehenge, Lake Louise, the North Woods of Wisconsin and the Sonoran Desert, oceans, rivers, bridges.... I could go on. However, in flipping through photos my eyes landed on this picture and my brain was flooded with memories. I grew up on a 5 acre farmette on Orchard Avenue in Northern Illinois. There were a couple of old apple orchards nearby but on our property there was only this one apple tree...the Snow Apple tree. It's fruit was snowy white inside and deep pink on the outside. It made great applesauce but that's not why I loved it. Look at the tree! So great for climbing.  My friends and I spent many hours in this tree. This is my Mom and me and the shadow of my Dad.  I always think of the song, Oh...
Read more

Military

Image
 This last weekend in May brings Memorial Day in honor of all those who served in the Military to defend our freedom and our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In my research of ancestors I've found many draft registration cards and listings of military assignments. I have found relatives who served in the War for Independence, the Civil War, WW1 and WW11, and Korea, Viet Nam and Desert Storm. I think all of these men, and one woman, survived the wars but were damaged in many ways for life. I think of my uncle Lester who enlisted in the Army at 17 and went off to fight in the bloody battles of Korea. The sights and sounds of battle never left him. He and my uncle Tom, who landed on the bloody beach of Normandy, probably had PTSD although we had no name for it then.  Grandpa Carl Quist enlisted in his early 40's with several children still at home. He was too old for active service so was assigned to ship repair in San Diego. It probably meant a steady paychec...
Read more

Mother's Day - Three Grandmas

Image
Three generations: Clockwise from  lower middle Amanda Caroline Mullins Lovell,  Myrtle May Lovell Lane and  Iva May Lane Quist This picture has always fascinated me. I wonder if it was Mother's Day in Iowa and someone collected these ladies for a formal picture.  Amanda Caroline Mullins Lovell , my 2nd Great Grandma,  was born in Terre Haute, IN in 1839. By 1859 she had moved to Hamilton where she married George Washington Lovell at age 16. George was a farmer and it appears their travels took them to Illinois, then Iowa with George working as a farm laborer. By 1860 they had 6 children.  In 1880 there are 6 teenage and adult children living at home on the farm. It's not clear if they owned the farm. Myrtle May was her 11th child.  No wonder Amanda looks crochety in this picture. Her husband had died in 1885.  The 1900 census shows her the head of household at age 63. She is a widow with one son, James, age 17 living at home. He was born when she...
Read more