A Tale of Two Houses

Here is the old photo of our house on Point Loma ,San Diego..just a little typical 1950s home..nothing real special but it sure was in my memories......the front two windows are the two bedrooms, behind them was a hallway with the one bathroom on the left, following the hall ,
you would come into the living room..there was a large picture window on the right with the front door..to the left was the small kitchen with a little spot for the kitchen table.....it probably had only about 1100 sq. ft. and was very typical of the time..it did have a very large backyard.

We had a wonderful view of the entire San Diego area that was below as Point Loma is high on a hillside.....I remember Mama washing clothes out in the garage with a wringer washer, and me making mud pies in the side yard where there was no grass...Dad's constant battle with gophers.. He also went deep sea fishing and I have photos of the fish he brought home. Mostly blue fin tuna..sometimes he would take his catch to the cannery and bring home a box of canned tuna......
walking to the elementary school when I started kindergarden which is about a mile away....Mom would walk with me and meet me half way back....

The 50s was a wonderful time for kids.........it was fairly safe and a innocent time..also for a young military family there were so many things that were free! The San Diego zoo was free, tours of the navy ships was free, Cabrillo National Park (that I mentioned yesterday) was free, watching the speed boat races (free)...even going to Disneyland for the first time (1955) was free! and also Knotts Berry Farm..if you wanted to go on a ride, you could buy tickets.

Dad and Mom took me out to the navy ship tours on a regular basis...they were docked and open to the public..I think they still are...I've been on destroyers, the Eisenhower aircraft carrier, battleships, and several submarines......
My grandparents would visit, aunts and uncles, my two great aunts, and I remember watching them play cards at the kitchen table, mostly pinochle which I have yet to learn......there are really too many memories to post but needless to say, that little house had alot of love.

I was really a little nervous to see the house again, after all these years....a little tearful, but when I saw it, was I surprised....


and yes, this is the same house...all I can figure is the old house is mostly gone but this one has the same footprint....the front bedrooms are now combined and its a living room, the breezeway is gone..I looked the house up on Zillow and it still has 2 bedrooms but they added a second bathroom..and its still only 1100 sq. ft. but the biggest surprise was the house value..
my folks paid 9,000 for the house in 1954..its now worth (drumroll) $678,000......also another surprise is that the house that is across the street from this one (the little girl there at the time and I were friends) (still a 1950s style house, no remodel) is worth close to the same...all the remodel didn't help the value....
I hope the family who lives there now are as happy as we were....I kinda have doubts about that though....life today is too complicated...and I don't think their little girl (if they have one) has fun making mud pies.



Before I go today, I wanted to mention that my friend Nancy is having a giveaway on her blog, Inside Nana's Head.
I am not going to tell you what she is giving away...find out for yourself..but I will say she calls it, a marketing giveway..as a hint.......I think you will like it......