Spoons

We were on our last leg back home traveling down the West coast of Oregon and Northern California. The scenery and the weather always makes a sudden change and it tends to get a bit colder and overcast. It seemed like everyone was in a rush to get home and even Dad was feeling the pressure, but still insisted on taking his time and making methodical stops according to his pace. The pressure must've been intense because we stopped for lunch along the way at a restaurant along the coast and we all had a tense meal, when we left the restaurant and went on our way, about 10 miles down the road from the restaurant Dad and Mom realized that we forgot to pay the bill and stiffed the waitress. Dad considered turning around and paying, feeling a bit guilty since this was something Dad would never intentionally do, Mom was just upset at the whole situation in general and the potential delay seemed to irritate her even further, so Dad reluctantly and silently decided to just keep going. The rest of us kids knew it was wrong and was uncomfortable with this decision, thinking at any moment the police would appear behind us and arrest Dad for theft. But nothing happened and the further we got away the more it seemed we were safe from being caught up with.

We arrived in a section of the Pacific Northwest where there were a lot of Redwood trees and the forest was dense and green. Dad decided to stop for the night at a set of motel cabins by a lake, and everyone, Mom included wholeheartedly approved. This was the first time we stopped at these cabins and for years afterward they became a traditional stop for Dad since they proved to be a surprisingly pleasant and generally happy destination. The cabins themselves were somewhat rustic and primitive, but clean and comfortable, each having a kitchenette and plenty of room. The office area had a small cafe and gift shop selling postcards, fishing tackle and bait and the management was friendly. The office also had one pay phone and Mom and Ted used the opportunity to check in with our families. The decision had been coming for some time now but Mom had already decided she has had enough and made arrangements to fly back home when we got to San Francisco. Ted was also getting tired of the trip and was anxious to meet a girlfriend he made at EST camp right before the trip, so Mom and Ted arranged to fly home in a day or two. I was feeling pressure and conflicted but asked to fly home with Ted and Mom, I think this upset Dad because he was being difficult about agreeing on the arrangements, and continually made fun of Ted for having a girlfriend, but I felt it was best that I fly home with Mom and Ted while Dad drove the rest of the way home with my sisters.

Meanwhile back at the cabin and the lake, Ted and I were enjoying ourselves fishing and running around the cabin area. There was this other kid there traveling with his adult sister and he was attempting to make friends with us, he began to tell us the details of his life and his family indicating that he was with his sister because of some trouble with his parents. Ted pretty much ignored him and concentrated his efforts on fishing, I felt a little guilty and paid attention to the kid. After a while the kid suggested we spy on his sister (who was young and pretty) and if we were lucky we could maybe see her in her underwear. This was definitely a tempting offer but I was cautious, and yet tried to sneak a peek at every opportunity. The sister seemed unaware but unfortunately kept her clothes on the entire time we were spying on her. I think the sister was suspicious of me, and any other kid in the area and called her little brother to come back in the cabin for the evening, the kid sadly protested but finally gave me a pathetic wave goodbye and went back into his cabin.

I went back to fishing with Ted. I was using my new fishing rod and reel I got for my birthday and Ted was using his old and inferior rod and reel. Ted was far more enthusiastic about fishing and determined to catch a fish than I was and I quickly got bored and offered Ted my rod and reel. It was getting dark and I went back to the cabin, when a short time later Ted came back all flustered and upset: he had accidentally dropped my new rod and reel into the lake and it sunk unseen in the murky water. Ted apologized profusely but I wasn't really upset. We went back to the dock he was fishing off of and tried to retrieve it with sticks, but it was no use, the rod and reel were gone. Ted still felt bad about it and tried to compensate by giving me his rod and reel or looking to buy another reel in the cabin office gift shop, but it was late and there was nothing we could do about it. It didn't really matter anyway, that was the last time I was going to go fishing again for a few years, so the rod and reel had already served its purpose.

There was no TV in the cabin, so we all organized a lively game of "Spoons", or sometimes called "Pig". This was a card game that involved multiple players and a set of spoons, you would set out a number of spoons for each player - minus one. When you reached a match with your hand of cards you would quickly grab a spoon, prompting the other players to grab a spoon, leaving one unfortunate player without a spoon, and they were out for the duration. The game would continue until only one spoon was left and the lucky player with the deciding hand would grab the last spoon. This was a game of skill and bluff and would often digress into fury and get somewhat out of hand. Sometimes when silverware wasn't available we would have to use plastic spoons and inevitably they would all get broken and someone would injure themselves on a sharp plastic edge. This time the cabin had an equipped kitchenette so we were able to procure real silverware, but there wasn't enough spoons to go around so we had to improvise and use a couple of forks. Mom participated for a few hands but when the atmosphere got a little feisty she dropped out completely. Dad and the rest of us started to get overly excited and the game was beginning to take on a fever-pitched pace, we were playing on one of the beds the whole time, and during one game suddenly someone grabbed a spoon, and the rest of us lunged for the remaining silverware. Someone grabbed the fork, and one of the tines caught on the sheet, ripping a huge tear in the sheet and part of the mattress underneath. Mom immediately put a stop to the game, causing Dad to react like a punished and defensively guilty child. But that was the end of the game, and the evening festivities.

This was also essentially the end of the trip for Mom, Ted and I that year since a couple of days later we were in San Francisco and catching a flight home.