California! The promised land! That's how it looked to me as a young girl growing up in St. Charles, Minnesota. Always sunny and warm. We used to always watch the Rose Parade on New Year's Day and every year it would feature these gorgeous flowered floats and beautiful young people in shorts and bathing suits.
Meanwhile, it was snowing like a big dog in Minnesota. No flowers. No shorts and the only bathing suits were worn by those insane people who jumped in a lake on January first to prove some point. Like..."Look how crazy I am!"
My big sister, Louise, was a star student and ended up getting a scholarship to UCLA in the early 70's. She met and married Matt who was a total hunk! I flew out there for the wedding along with my Mom and Dad and it was just as beautiful as I'd always pictured it. They got married at the Beverly Hills Hotel in the fall and we got to cruise all the usual tourist haunts. Grauman's Chinese theater, the Hollywood sign, Disneyland!
The trip was over all too soon and I was back in Minnesota just in time for it to get freezing ass cold for six months. Get me out of here!
I was no brain child and getting a scholarship to college was out of the question for me. I struggled along after I got out of high school, California was always part of my thought process. How can I get out there and enjoy that glamourous life, not to mention the weather.
My Mom knew I was bored with life in the small town of St. Charles and felt bad for me. We had a heart to heart one morning after I'd returned home late from a Friday night date. By now, at 20, I'd had a few boyfriends and was no longer a virgin. My current beau worked at a brewery and we used to joke about him guzzling up the profits right from the tap!
Mom didn't exactly approve of him but knew well enough not to try and stop us from dating.
So she asked me that morning what I wanted out of life. "Where do you want to be in 5 years Linda?" She asked me.
"Anywhere but here." I said before I had a chance to think. I didn't mean to insult her and Dad. After all, St. Charles was their home. But the words were out and she certainly had heard them.
The following week Mom and Louise cooked up this plan to send me out to California for New Years Week! I was going to get to go to the Rose Parade! Me! Live! In person! Was I excited? Oh my god! Yes!
Mom and Dad were planning to send me out on the bus but Matt and Louise were having none of that. Matt was doing quite well in the blossoming real estate business in Los Angeles and they flew me out the day after Christmas. My sister is a nurse and had to work that day so Matt picked me up at the airport.
"Hiya Punkin!" He greeted me when I made it into the airport. he gave me a big hug and helped me with my suitcase.
"Louise sure is lucky." I remember thinking. Matt was such an attractive guy! He was tall and tan and had that wavy brown hair like President Kennedy. Great flashing smile. I know he liked me too. When we first were introduced he went to a lot of trouble to spend time talking with me. He never failed to give me a nice...lingering hug whenever we met. Yes, my sister was lucky to have a great husband like Matt.
Matt drove us to the latest house he and Louise were living in. I say "Latest" because, apparently, they moved about once a year. Matt would find these older homes and fix them up in his spare time. Then he'd put them on the market and make a pile of money on the sale. They were doing real well financially. Even had an "Extra" VW beetle that they let me drive while I was there.
The Rose Parade was just as magical as it appeared on TV when I finally got to see it in person. The three of us went down to Pasadena on New Year's eve and spent the night on the Colorado Blvd. with all the other early arrivals. We partied all night long and were really primed when the parade finally started. California was so cool! The people were really friendly and we had a great time. I couldn't imagine being outside all night like that in St. Charles. No Way!
It was so warm that year that I actually went to the beach...In January! Can you imagine? Matt told me to drive through Topanga Canyon all the way to the coast and there was a nice beach right where the canyon reached the sea. I went there three days in a row and it seemed to get warmer and warmer each time.
My return flight to Minnesota was scheduled for January 9th and so we planned a beach day on the Saturday before as a sort of "Farewell to Linda" picnic. At the last second, my sister got called in to work. It happens when you work in the medical field. I assumed the picnic was off but Matt insisted the two of us could still go. "Louise doesn't mind." He told me. "After all, You're sisters!"
So Matt and I loaded up the VW, his designated "Beach Buggy" and got ready to head out for Malibu. Matt gave me one of Louise's bikinis to wear but I was sure it wouldn't fit. My sister has your stereotypical "Hourglass" figure. Big boobs, tight waist and generous hips. I got stuck with small tits, just a gentle swell really and big nipples. I've always been self conscious about my chest and to wear a bathing suit that showed off how little I have "Upstairs" would be embarrassing.
I politely declined Matt's invitation and instead I just wore bermuda shorts and a tank top. With my little tits I never wear a bra. I knew that Matt could easily look down my shirt dressed as I was but, after all, why would he bother?
Instead of driving through Topanga, which I thought was a pretty neat route to the ocean, Matt took me to Las Virgines Road: Malibu Canyon! It was gorgeous! We went rambling through the hills and then into a long tunnel. When we came out the whole canyon was laid out before us. There was actually some water down below and Matt stopped at a turnout where we could really appreciate the view. With the sun shining and the Pacific as a backdrop, it was quite a sight!
Matt was very attentive to me and the conversation was flowing both ways. He briefly put his arm around me as we took in the view but it was in a friendly kind of way. And, after all, we were friends.