CALIFORNIA DREAMING

~

Being “a travel writer
sometimes leads me down
paths that Id ordinarily
never get to take. Last week,
for example, I had the thrill
of a lifetime — even better
than driving the 18-wheeler a
few months ago. I sat in
Howard Hughes’ seat on the
original “Spruce Goose”.

It all began with a phone
call from George McBurnie
of CPAir. “Barb, we're
putting together a group of
Canadian writers and TV
crews to fly down to Los
Angeles to visit the Spruce

Goose. Want to come
along?”
Did I? You'd have thought

I'd just won first prize in the
Provincial!

For any of you who need a
quick jab in the memory
department, the Spruce
Goose is the famous wooden
airplane designed and built
by Howard Hughes during
and following World War IT.
It was intended as a troop
carrier but, with
bureaucratic delays, it
wasn't completed until well
after the war ended. Its one
flight lasted about a minute
and then the flying boat was
sealed away from prying
eyes in its own
“mausoleum”. For over 30
years, the only people to see
the “goose” were a tiny
group of caretakers and
Hughes.

The tour, sponsored by
the W Hotel chain
would” inclu a day in
Disneyland, staying in the
famous Disneyland Hotel,
the grand opening of their
new “Sergeant Preston of the
Yukon” bar (shades of “Rose
Marie’) and two nights
aboard the former ocean
liner “Queen Mary”, now a
floating hotel in Long Beach.
Of course, all these
properties are under the
management of the Wrather
Corp.

I couldn't resist, so, along
with 15 other assorted
writers, TV crews and the
Commissioner of the Yukon,
Doug Bell, and his wife, 1

was off to the “Magic
Kingdom”.
Unlike the rest of the

group who returned home
immediately, I waited in Los
Angeles until Brian joined
me and then we flew to
Arizona for 10 days.

In the next few columns,
prepare for a summary of the
whole thing.

DISNEYLAND! My two
younger kids were green
with envy and informed me
that the whole enterprise
was sadly wasted on an old

WAIKIKI

Al Only

WAIKIKI $429

8 Days 7 Nights At & Hotel

WAIKIKI $549

14 Days Ap & Hotel

LAS VEGAS *199

5 Days 4 Nights Al & Hotel

RENO $159

5 Days 4 Nights Al & Hotel

TORONTO $269

At Only

MAPLE LEAF
TRAVEL

689-7117 _
Reg. Agant 157-3

i?

$339

lady like me. Didn't I think it
was about time I trotted out
my loose change and took
them back? Sorry, kids.

What does a group of 15
adults do when they’re
turned loose on the Magic
Kingdom for a day? They
revert to childhood. Most of
us crammed as many at-
tractions as we could into a
few hours — scampering
from one delight to another
as fast as our middle-aged
feet would move.

trayel-
wise

by Barbara
McCreadie

“The Pirates of the
Caribbean!” I announced.
“That's what I remember the
best and that’s where I'm
starting. Come on, George.”

George looked at me as if
I'd lost what few wits ['d ever
possessed. I think he came
along just to keep me from
getting picked up as the
local looney.

I was delighted with
“Pirates”. Itdasn’t changed a
bit and is still, to me, the
finest thing in the park.
George admitted that it was

really something but said he
felt silly doing “kid things”
without the excuse of

bringing a bunch of kids. I
offered to go steal one for
him — there were lots of
parents around who looked
like they'd never miss one or
two but he gave me

G

another funny
shook his head.

By the end of the af-
ternoon, he was having as
much fun as any 12-year-old
playing hookey from school.
Then I made my big mistake,
“Want to ride the Mat-
terhorn?” I asked. Now, I’m
scared still of anything
remotely resembling a roller
coaster and, the last time ['d
been at Disneyland, I sat
down below shivering until
my family got off the thing.
It never occurred to me that
George would be crazy
enough to risk his life on that
monstrosity.

Next thing I knew, I was

look and

buckled into a safety belt -

and off we went. Sup-
pressing a desire to leap out,
I gritted my teeth and closed
my eyes. Took a firm grip on
the safety bar. Then all hell
broke loose. That rickety
cart took off like a
RUNAWAY TRAIN! Too
scared to scream, the only
thing I remember saying
was, “Holy Hell!”

Behind me, I could hear

George whooping with
laughter. Men! The one time
I opened my eyes, we were
screeching around a corner
and my nose was two inches
from a concrete wall.

“You can get out, now,”
said the attendant. Stupid
woman didn’t realize that my
knees were so weak that
getting out of anything was
more than I could manage.
She finally hauled me up by
my quivering right arm.

My best advice is to send
your kids up the Matterhorn.
Its much too hard on
mothers.

Become
a Friend
of BC's

Children's

Hospital.

Please write to us at—
250 West 59th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C
V5X 1X2

LEATHER HANDBAGS

Beautitully

handmade

in Florence aly ,

Assorted styles designed with special compart

ments = tor
books etc

passports
$59 00 to $170 00

credit cards cheque

$4 1 O° (Mustrated)

Don t forget te

Gulliver s

ask
Gulhvers Vacahon Check List
We have over 500 hard to fad &

any travel agent tor

Or drop in to

um@que Travel acc 68sones in Stock!

922-9650
844 Park Royal North, West Van.

&

_C3- Wednesday, December 30, 1981 - North Shore News

(Free Parking)

New Year Clearance!
Goose Down Quilts

100% cotton cover channelied construction
10 year guarantee

size Sale

Twin _ $134.95 each
Double $179.99 each
Queen $215.99 each
King $233.99 each

Polyester Pillows

Washable, plain with coloured ivory ticking

Size Outstanding Sale Price
Standard S 7.99 each
Queen S 9.99 each
King $11.99 each

Cannon Percale Sheets

No-iron cotton and polyester blend in plain fashion colours of
taffy, navy, wheat, rose, etc.

size Reg. price Sale :
Twin $14.98 $11.99 each

Double $17.98 $14.99 each

Queen $25.98 $20.99 each

King $27.98 $24.99 each

standard

piliow cases $12.99 pair S 9.99 pair

king size

pittow cases $16.99 pair $12.99 pair

‘Rapture’ towels

Beautiful Towels at beautiful prices - plain fashion towels with
piping borders

Size

Regular

Sale

Bath $8 99 $6.99
Hand $5 99 $4 99
Wash $2 99 $2 69

Door Buster Special

Shower curtains
8.99...

European Style
limited quantities
Vinens Galore
DISTRIBUTORS’
NORTH VANCOUVER MoniWee: 8:30 AM-6
120 PEMBERTON AVE.
PHONE 980-2970

-
Thurs /Fri: 9:30 AM-9 PM
JUST BEFORE THE RAILWAY TRACKS

Sat: 9:30 AM-6 PM
Sun: 10 AM-@PM
Phone or mail orders
welcome *
QUALITY WAREHOUSE SALES ©
We reserve the riqnt
fo limit quantities

Custemer Satisfaction
ar Money Cheerfully
RFFUNDED

\