Words and Pictures - A Long Drive

I'll set the scene: It was April 1990. I was 19. I was a student teacher on the trip of a lifetime. I was in the US to combine teaching rounds and touristy stuff. I embarked on a very long drive, in a bus, on a tour titled the Western Wonders. There were 17 other student teachers, a young Japanese couple on their honeymoon and a handful of other older couples. It was 10 days, driving through lots of desert to visit the so-called Western Wonders - The Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Bryce Canyon, Mammoth Lakes, San Francisco, Monterey, Phoenix, Zion National Park and Las Vegas. Did I mention there was lots of driving through endless desert? What do you know and appreciate when you are 19?

I spent 4 weeks teaching a Grade 4 class at Sunnyslope Elementary School, in San Diego. What an education for me that was! I wish I could go back as a confident adult, not a shy teen who knew little about teaching! I had a perm and wore culottes too!