The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-10-14
By BILL BECKER

BY BILL BECKER
Los ANGELES ITO an Amer
lean family returning from a year
abroad, the United States is over.
whelming.
Skyscrapers, supermarkets, wa
termelon. pie a la mode. the end.
less cavalcade of huge. powerful
automobiles, the general hustle Of
things being done by people who
apparently delight in getting things
done-ah these fit into a kaleido-
scope, dazzling, bewildering, some
times banal, hardly ever dull.
After junketing by auto around
Europe. the Becker tribe came
back the easy way, in a 1s-hour
flight from Copenhagen to New
York. From there we returned 70
California in the doughty little
Hillman which had taken us 1000
miles through II foreign countries.
We had shipped it across two
weeks before.
Driving down 5th Avenue and
Broadway as a major treat for all
the Beckers during a three-day
stay in New York. But tourists
should be advised that parking
problems make taxis q better bet,
Especially when five can ride as
cheaply as one.
incidentally, our $2O-a-day bud
get was knocked into q cooked
chapeau in New York and Wash
ington. You can't see much in
those towns unless you get right
downtown, which costs money.
Elsewhere in the United States 4
family Of five still can stay under
or close to $40 per diem, we found.
especially in the Midwest.
We arrived in Washington late
at night during a storm. As we
sloshed around a corner into Penn
sylvania Avenue, we saw the food
Lit dome of the Capitol cleaning
through the rain in alabaster
grandeur. Four pairs of hands
clapped spontaneously. Dad, the
driver, applauded inwardly. II was
the prettiest sight since our return.
The Washington agenda included
visits to the Capitol, Lincoln Memo
rial and the White House. The FINN
lily voted the Blue Room moSa dm-
pressive, although the White House
rooms generally seemed tiny AFTER
some of the immense, ornate re-
ception halls in European castles.
The ordered beauty Of Washing
tons parks, boulevards and moau-
ments was reminiscent of Paris.
Heading west, we began to feel
we were almost home when near
Nappanee, Ind, up popped q sign
as indigenous to Western highways
as the Burma Shave legends.
Take the route" it said, t'that
leads to Harold's Club in Reno"
That was the route we took, all
right, but only because California
lay at the other end Of it.
| At Lake Geneva, Wis, shopping
for luncheon supplies in a SUPER
market, we were staggered by row
upon cleaning row Of canned
foods, the solidly packed frozen
food displays, the towering stacks
of soap flakes and detergents. Here
was probably a years supply for
an average European neighbor-
hood.
Coming south through Minnesota
reminded US Of Europe, II only
for place names like New Ulm
and New Prague. While the plumb
ing in these places individually il
better than in their old world coun.
terparts, their charm Is consider
ably more elusive.
Hotels in the corn belt are max
ing their last stand against motels
by offering free lodging for all
kids under IA. Except In the large
cities. though, we stayed at motels
all the way across the country.
The average was 50 a night for
the five of US.
We knew we were West once we
reached the hills of Wyoming and
got a good Cheyenne breakfast un.
der our belts. The grades began
rising steadily, the air became
thinner and the skies were almost
as azure as those Of southern
France.
AS we rolled across the Califor-
mia line west Of Reno, our backseat
roofing section-Karen, Christine
and Marilyn-let 60 with q full.
steam chorus of California. Hers
We Come" Rae shed a tear or
} two, and suddenly little mist an.
peared on my windshield.
The red earth of Grass Valley.
our first stop in California. looked
good enough to kiss.
Comparisons, of course. are dan.
gerous and . matter Of personal
, taste, but. putting 1000 miles Of
travel in Europe against 1000 and
past experience in the United
States, Rae and / think only Paris
. and the south of France have q
shade on California, synthetic
though some parts may be.
The kids? You'd have a tough