On our way into Montalvo we drove through a residential section of newer fancy houses. Suddenly on our right was the name of a street I recognized ... Audrey Smith Drive. I knewI was somewhere near to a very special place... my Great Aunt Audrey's house. As a ten year old I went there once for a very memorable family reunion. It seemed like there were 20-30 people there, many who I did not know at the time. I do remember what a great time we had swimming in the pool and eating watermelon. As the decades (yes, decades!) passed I came to know my mother's first cousins. I knew that one of them, Peggy, now lived in Audrey's house and hoped I could find it but it had been 52 years since I'd been there. Ted and I drove up and down Montalvo Drive looking for something familiar. I figured it had to be near Audrey Smith Dr and it was probably off of Montalvo. Up and down we drove. I called Jane in Sunnyvale, asking for the name of Audrey's street. She couldn't remember. I thought the name "Hill Drive" rang a bell so we turned on it and found nothing but newer houses, surrounded by grape vines, neatly trimmed and waiting for spring. Finally I called my mother who was vacationing in Hawaii. "Yes," she said, "Hill Drive is correct." She gave me the address just as I spotted a familiar driveway. She also gave me Peggy's phone number. Luckily she and her husband and her grandaughter were there. We had a nice visit and I loved seeing the spot where we had had such a happy time. It looked exactly the same... and in a world of nothing but change... that constancy was a relief. Hope you enjoy a peek at this happy spot.
