Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1915-07-27
NOTES BY THE WAYSIDE.

| letter to tell something aDOuG LOS
Angeles.
| was not prepared to find it so
much larger than San Diego: 1t
seems more like an eastern or middle
west city, with suggestion OF sky
scrapers, several of the buildings
being twelve stories high, and the
hustle and hustle and rush and roar
of big city.
For some reason which I've never
heard given, the city did not grow up
around its harbor,~ which is at San
Pedro, several miles away. a
Of course, | took the sightseeing
trolley trips, and was much interested
to note how easily and Systematically
the Pacific Electric railway handled
the thrOngS of tourists. There are
certain windows where you buy your
tickets for certain trips, and certain
gates that you must pass through to
get the right car. For instance, one
gate is labeled in large letters, mt.
Love-" another Catalina Island,
another emission Play" etc. These
gates are not opened until the cars
are standing out there ready. These
trips are personally conducted by
man with a megaphOne, who tells you
all about everything Of interest on
the trips. Sometimes they try TO
wax factious. One day one of them
prOpOunded to us this cOnundrum: {:
why are my two hands like Los
Angeles? Because on the inside are
palms supported by two wrists (tour-
iStSl"
It's no joke that the tourists add
very materially TO the support OF
these Pacific Coast cities. And | can
tell YOU they try to make hay while
the sun Shines" and get every cent
out of us that they can. Every kind
of catch-penny scheme is contriVed.
Everywhere you go, there is some
thing to tempt you to give up your
''cOin of the realm" For one thing,
you are photographed at every turn
of the ros d No group of excursion
lists gets Dy without having to be
herded together somewhere on the
trip for picture. They think that
you will surely want one of your pic
lures when taken on Mt. Lowe, Cata-
lima, coming through the big tree,
WaWOna, or some such other novel
situation.
To give you some idea of the extent
of these trolley trips, there is one
called the "BalloOn Route" which
takes you through eight cities and
ten beaches, with long stops at the
National Soldiers Home, Santa
Monica, RedOndo Beach, MOonStOne
Beach, Ocean Park and Venice. At
the latter | had little chat with
Mrs. j. P. Foss, formerly of Wausau.
1t was on this trip that we were ad-
mitted to the camera obscura at San
ia Monica, and thus shown how tor
pedo boats are managed.
1t was on the "Old Mission" trip
that we were shown through San
Gabriel Mission, one of the very few
remaining historic missions of Cali
fOrnia's first days of civilization, and
still in use. 1t holds within it's walls
the best collection of relics in the
West; books scared by years; frescoes
and works of art of masters long since
gone. We were shown Ramona's
garden, and rude copper baptismal
font hammered out by the Indians,
in which Ramona was baptised AS
we were marched in single file around
it, we were solicited to drop into it,
through slit in its lid, any coin we
were willing to part with. (An illus
tration of one of their catch-penny
schemes l previously mentioned)
Across the street from this mission,
is the theatre building where the
famous emission Play is given, which
is spectacular and historic, dealing
with early mission history of Cali
fornia. The prettiest scene is the
Fiesta, where you see the Indian,
Mexican and Spanish dancing and
merry-making. Some parts of it are
very sad. 1t was here that we saw
the emission Grape Vine," the oldest
in California, planted in 1775. 1t
now covers 5000 square feet, and bore
225,000 punches of grapes last year, or
two tons.
OF course, amusing incidents hap
pened on all the trips. One here was
as follows: An old lady with pencil
in hand was wearily trying to take
down the facts and figures given u.s.
She said querOusly: And they say
this covers 5000 square rods ?" l said ::
"Oh, no, sister, feet; let's not put it
down any bigger than they give it to
us
They were serving US tiny glasses
of grape Juice under its shady punches
at ten cents per. When our guide,
Smacking his lips, said: "ThiS grape
juice was made from grapes grown on
this vine" it was too much for me.
| said: "You ought to be ashamed of
yourself to try to impose on our cred
ulity, to the extent of making us be-
iieve that this juice was made from
grapes grown on this vine. To be
sure. we are Fasteners and tender
| feet but we are not quite so unsO-
phiSticated and gullible as to swallow
everything you hand out to u.s."
Those who stood near enough to
overhear it, gave him the "merry ha-
ha," and he looked discounted. But
quickly collecting himself, he appealed
to the man handing out the stuff to
sustain him in his lying. But this
man had evidently not yet taken the
26th degree in mendacity, and so his
| tongue Glove to the roof of his mouth
at the thought of telling such a
"whopper," and he weakly shook his
head negatively. At this juncture,
a woman standing where she could
see the label on the boxes from which
the bottles of grape juice were being
taken, exclaimed: See. The boxes
are labeled NelC York OF course,
this Juice didn't come from this rine ~
So thus was nailed another false
hood. There is no question but that
the Californians like to stagger US
with their Sights and facts and
figures.
1t is true that California is one big
show place, and its denizens like tC
show it-for a consideration and ol
course, we Fasteners like TO "bt
shown" Everyone is an Easternel
here who doesn't hail from the Pacific
COast.)
) At Pasadena, l went through thu
; famous Busch Gardens. OF all tht
rare flowers, shrubs and trees, tn,
: one that inter 9sted me most was tn,
! ''mOnkey-puzZle tree" which is saiC
: to be the only tree monkey canno
/ climb. Every little while, in sequest
: cred hooks in this garden, one come
upon little groups of figures erectet
r for the benefit of children, such a
r ''Puss in Boots" Cinderella and He
| Doves Little Red Riding Hood ant
: the Wolf" The size and color max
them appear very life like.