Dear Friends
How does time get away from us? We wanted to write a personal note to each of you long before now. Instead we must now hope that you will not be offended by this effort. The sincerity of the greeting that we offer is no less in this note than if we were to correspond individually with you. A separation by hundreds of miles and many months leads us to miss especially in this season of friendship and good will.
This year of 1963 has been not only a kind one but also an adventurous one for us. Most of you know that we now have a son. Kenneth Andrew was born in April while we were still in Hanover, New Hampshire. (At the time, however, Pat was in Atlantic City at some scientific meetings.)
At the end of July we bid our Dartmouth friends a sad farewell and began our travels to the West Coast. On the way, our longest visit was in Niles and in Sandusky with our parents. We were very happy that we were able to make side trips to Ithaca, Kent, Canton, and Mansfield as well. It was disappointing that we were not able to spend more time in New York and Ohio to visit with more of you; however the pace we set for ourselves was rapid since we still had two thousand miles to go before we “rested.”
From Sandusky our route took us to Madison, Wisconsin for our first stop. The next night we pitched our tent in Jackson, Minnesota. We had planned to camp our way across the continent once we left civilization (west of Chicago). However, we had not thought that we were going to leave civilization so far behind. The area around Kadoka, South Dakota greeted us with a stiff wind and nary a tree in sight. The hard dry ground did not appear that inviting to us Easterners and so, shorn of the true pioneering instincts, we tender-feet frove on to an air-conditioned motel in Rapid City. The third morning out of Ohio gave us welcome relief in the wooded Black Hills. Mount Rushmore was inspiring and to be truthful, was one of the few attractions that we photographed. (Most of the natural wonders of our country are stored in our memories rather than on Pat’s slides.) We spent that night in Sheridan, Wyoming.
Very early the next morning we began our ascent of the Big Horn Mountains. The preceeding day we had wished for some hills to break the monotony of the Great Plains of South Dakota. Now our wish was granted with a true vengeance. Actually, going up was much easier than coming down. The view as you climb this introduction to the Rockies is truly breathtaking. It must also be admitted that the descent is breathtaking too. But Karen did not resort to shutting her eyes. In fact she probably saw more scenery than Pat who was interested in the next hairpin turn.
The beautiful mountains and lakes of Yellowstone Park were viewed with great admiration by both of us. We especially enjoyed the beautiful and numerous trees. (Both of us became “tree happy” on this trip as you can see. Never again will we complain about Ohio being uninteresting.) Debbie liked the bears in “Jellystone”. We’re still not sure that she wasn’t convinced that Yogi Bear was hiding from us and that we should have made special efforts to locate him. That night we stayed in Idaho Falls.
We were determined to get out of the potato state that day and we made it across the line to Ontario, Oregon. “Green Oregon” was far from green until we got to the Cascades. We’re really not sure whether these mountains are as beautiful as travelers say or whether it is just the joy of finally reaching them. But they are impressive. We must confess that when we passed Oregon’s 7800 foot Mount Washington we chuckled about New Hampshire’s “mile high” Mount Washington. Out her the passes are 5000 feet high. However we were happy to take the passes and reach Corvallis the afternoon of the seventh day.
The eighth day brought us to 563 Jefferson Street. This eight room house with its 30 foot living room is more than big enough to keep Karen busy. But it doesn’t prohibit her from going to the business section of the city which is only a block away from our elderly tree-shaded neighborhood. The only disadvantage lies in the lack of playmates for Debbie. However, she is happy with her nursery school friends. (She misses her North Park Street friends and say “hi”.)
Besides doing housework, Karen is able to sing two nights a week. Pat is busy in the lab. He is (for those who haven’t heard and wonder why we made this trip) an assistant professor in the Science Research Institute at Oregon State University. The work so far has been involved primarily with research, although some lecturing will come later. Since Karen escapes from the house by singing, Pat has decided to relax by taking a drawing course one evening a week. So you see, the Camerinos are a busy lot. This is our poor excuse then for the necessity of a “form letter”.
We would like to visit once again with all of you. Perhaps in this shrinking world we shall. If you ever visit this “Great Northwest” we would like to extend our welcome. Until that time you will be in our thoughts. We hope this past year has been a kind one to you; may the coming months bring you an even greater measure of happiness.
