When is a toy dog a boxer? and Wiesbaden I

In January 1968 we came back from Germany. I recall moving out of the apartment at 13 Colorado Straße and spending the night in a group hotel near the airport. I do not remember the location of the hotel since at that age many memories are a blur. From what little I do remember, the hotel had rooms where many people or families could stay and each floor shared a common bathroom. I am sure the older members of the family can help fill in the details. For the younger ones it was an adventure. We stopped over an JFK for what seemed like a long wait. When we took off I remember looking down on the city lights. The next thing I remember I was looking down on city lights and we were landing in San Francisco. I felt a bit cheated out of a fun flying adventure suddenly coming to an end. Now I know just how long the trip west can feel with the time zones.

Since this was years before the 280 freeway was completed, we would likely have driven from SFO to Cupertino on the Bayshore freeway. We may have driven on Lawrence Expressway and entered the neighborhood from there. I do recall years later that every time we would travel to visit Joan, somewhere along the way I would lose track and get my directions exactly 180 degrees turned around. Every time. It was not until much later that I could reason that the house was on the higher side of the street which must be away from the bay to the south. I once drove by the house and looked for the tell-tale curved driveway and there it was, on the exactly wrong side of the street but the logically correct, up-hill side.

Over the years we would visit Armstrong Redwoods regularly. We loved the park and enthusiastically explored among the trees and streams.

We told Joan of our wonderful adventures and urged her to come with us on a visit sometime. The pieces finally fell into place during one visit. We had the usual grand time but Joan was hesitant and said so even during the visit. She later explained that something in the forest had an effect on her and gave her a headache.  I recall being confused by her reaction. Later though on reflection it kind of made sense. The forest has many Redwoods but also has Bay trees an other trees. The bay has a strong smell which could cause her reaction. Another possible cause could be some local variety of mold. Also the Redwood has a high acid content. From another perspective, it is quite dramatic to think how many tons of living wood is suspended above your head which could be stressful to think about. As children we did not appreciate the implications, we were too busy having fun and being amazed.

On one trip we brought along our small dog, Trinket. We kept her on a leash so as not to get lost in the surrounding miles of open land. We set to work playing and exploring and eventually settled around a picnic table for lunch. To secure the dog we attached the leash and proceeded to enjoy lunch with our usual lively conversation. As we ate Trinket (edit: As we ate, Trinket...) was calmly walking around and sniffing. All was well until we were interrupted by the thud of the cardboard box being tugged off the bench and onto the ground… by the attached leash. This caught Trinket completely off guard. All of the dog's fears of being a small animal in a rather large forest must have suddenly come true at once. Scared by the box the dog bolted only to find herself being chased by a wildly galloping and rumbling monster, the formerly inanimate box. Our lunch was interrupted by a sudden YELP, YELP, YELP as she ran wildly in all directions with the box in hot pursuit. When we figured out what had happened we ran to intercept and after a minute were able to catch her and calm her down. Trinket was all confused and shaking and I think her outing was thoroughly ruined. No amount of explaining would convince her it was all an accident and not a devious plot by some wild animals (or worse, humans. I hope she didn't think we did it :(. We tried to make amends by holding her close for the rest of the visit.

Update: Mom, thanks for the details. I checked Google and the hotel is still there. Google also had some photos. One of a woman in front from what looks like the 1960s.
 
 and another wide angle view.


The grounds were indeed covered with snow that night.

Turns out the hotel was 4.3 km from the apartment, closer to down town Wiesbaden.