50s: Southern California Beaches

For several years in a row, Chip and I flew to Santa Barbara for a week in Ojai with Grandad and Granma. Then the rest of the family drove down US 101 to pick us up and continue on south to either Newport Beach or Balboa Island, where we’d have a rented house for a week or two. We’d meet up with the family than had lived next door on Benvenue in Los Altos.

The beach trips were a mix of body surfing, sunburn, parents playing bridge, and beach trip highlights. Balboa island had a waterfront boardwalk, games and rides at the Balboa Pavilion, and a pier from which we’d fish small fish with a drop line. There was another big pier close by on Newport Beach

And with kids pressuring, and parents resisting, we’d dedicate one day to Disneyland in Anaheim. It was always the highlight for me. Disneyland opened in 1955 and promoted itself every week with the very popular Disneyland television show. We grew up with the Disney moves and the animated characters. Disneyland, when we’d go there, was a dream come true. The parents hated it. There was already smog back then in Los Angeles, so there was that. But lines were manageable and the opening rides — the jungle cruise, the autopia, and the railroad were our favorites — had only short lines. Park admission was $1.00 and the rides involved tickets, which varied from $0.35 for the most expensive to $0.10 for the least.