SunFlower Galería

Favorite Places


 Happy Times!

My Mom (Betty) was not a bad cook - if you leave out the one time she put way too much salt on the Thanksgiving turkey and dressing. But it was only one time! She made a few good dishes like Chicken & Rice spiced with Saffron. Her Seafood Cioppino was to die for! She made Crab Cioppino on special occasions. When our school friends came over for dinner, she would put together a great Taco Bar with Rootbeer Floats.


Dad's Grandfather (William Charles Kirsten) lived in a very small house near the San Joaquin River possibly at Dad's Point. I vaguely remember meeting him and I do remember that he was absolutely the BEST cook in the world! But after many years, he decided that he was tired of cooking the turkeys and preparing all of our holiday dinners. So he decided that my Mom should take this over! Of course Mom freaked out because she was not known for her culinary expertise. But huge surprise! Mom prepared a delightfully tasty Thanksgiving Dinner that year and the job was hers from then on.


Sometimes on Monday nights when Dad was working late in the San Francisco office and wouldn't get home until after midnight, Mom would order Chinese Takeout and we would eat dinner on tv trays in front of the TV while we watched cartoons!! And she would let one us kids stay up past our 9pm bedtime. We would play a game like Cootie or Mr. Potato Head and we would have a little glass of a liqueur drink like a Grasshopper. It was lots of fun!


The only time I remember Dad cooking was on the evenings of Halloween. Every year he would make his specialty - Hot Dogs and sauerkraut. We - us kids - were chomping at the bit to get out to Tricker or Treat! So Hot Dogs were perfect.


Frequently after work on Friday nights, we would go downtown to the Pioneer Tamale Cafe. Besides the phenomenal food, a really nice lady named Barbara was always there to greet us and serve us that phenomenal food.


On Sundays when football games were on TV, Mom would pile us kids into the station wagon and drive for hours exploring the history-rich Gold Rush countryside around Stockton...stopping at various interesting spots and Drive-Ins along the way for hamburgers and snacks. I especially loved it when we were out exploring in the Autumn. The leaves were all colors of red, orange and yellow - gorgeous!



Sometimes when Dad was with us, we would have dinner at a Chinese Restaurant in Lodi. This restaurant was near some train tracks. We always had a big table in a corner with a curtain making it private. The Chinese food was great!



Vintage Restaurants in the Stockton Area

Page 1


A & W
Black Angus
Captain's Table
Costanzas
Eddie's Coffee Shop
El Rancho Motel
Fosters Freeze
Giant Orange
Henry's Rollin' Pin
Ye Olde Hoosier Inn
House of Murphy's
The Islander
Konrads

Page 2


Lyon's
McDonald's
On Lock Sam
Pioneer Tamale Cafe
Pollardville
Red Top Burger
Risso's
Shadows
Sno-White Drive-In
Steak House
Stockton Joe's
Webb's Bakery & Deli
Gong Lee Minnie's



We Had Lots of Good Times!

Page 1


Pixie Woods
Louis Park
Oak Park
Victory Park
Haggin Museum
Lodi Lake
Micke Grove
Bill's Birthday Party

Page 2


Gold Rush Country - Columbia
Lake Tahoe
Frontier Village
Santa's Village
Santa Cruz Boardwalk
Pacific Ocean Park
Knott's Berry Farm
Disneyland