Got the news that my oldest son and his family will be here for Thanksgiving week. I can hardly wait. So I’m in a bit of a dither. Besides Disneyland, where do I take them? They’ll be here from the Sunday before Turkey Day to the Monday after.

With the list the grandkids have, we’ll never get off the freeways. They want to see surfers and a California mission. My 11-year-old grandson has heard of the tar pits and wants to go see that, and his sister – my 10-year-old granddaughter – is bringing her ukulele so we can play some duets.

My oldest sister will have her pool heated, but I also have one of those. Maybe a tour of a movie studio here in the SCV … well, that is just about anyplace here in the SCV.

I shall run them out to Mentryville, too.

The 4-year-old granddaughter is going to be a handful, as always. She’ll explore with all of us. I was also thinking: They live in the “flyover flatlands” of the Midwest. So a drive in the mountains might be good, too. They haven’t seen mountains like our mountains.

It all y’all have any ideas, I’d appreciate some input here. I do know my daughter-in-law wants to go to the Getty – with the kids.

Not long after I got my license enabling me to drive, my cousin visited from Colorado. He was supportive of his home state but did ask what we could do one evening. I remarked we could do a lot.

Early the next morning we drove to Big Bear in the dark, and he got in a couple of runs on rented skis and I tried, too. It was still morning, and the drive to Disneyland was about an hour. In those days, you could buy a cheap general-admission ticket and then get tickets for rides inside the park. So in we went and rode the train and I think the bobsleds. All of this so far was to show my cousin what could be done in a day in Southern California.

We left Disneyland and headed due west. My old Packard had two boards strapped to the roof, and we went to, I think, Huntington Beach. A couple of waves in the cold water and back in the car. Once we stopped shivering and got on some dry clothes, it was back to the San Diego Freeway heading north. Darkness had settled in as we pulled into the driveway, but our mission was accomplished. I had shown what could be done on a typical California winter day.

I only heard one complaint. The snow at Big Bear was not good powder. I’ll take that hit for our state. I’ll bet even back then, it was machine-made snow.

I was at their place last Christmas, so they know what snow is. I hope they get a chance to see the mountains around our valley capped with the white stuff. Sure is beautiful when that happens.

There is one thing that always amazes me. Driving back east, the view is often limited to short vistas that you can see between the tall trees. Then you come west, and views stretching 50 miles are not uncommon. Just driving up I-5 or even on the 14, a 50-mile view is common. Plus, I can show them the San Andreas Fault line while I’m driving there.

Mr. Renly – Grandpa Puppy’s puppy.

I forgot about Vasquez Rocks and Hart Park and Heritage Junction and the Dam site (St. Francis Dam, that is), and fresh oranges and avocados just off the tree. I know that if we go see the California Soaring ride and the California Adventure Park, they might recognize many of the sights that ride shows.

You know, I think Grandpa Puppy (that’s me because I have a dog) is getting a little excited. I hope they are as excited.

There is so much to see here in Southern California. Just the other day I was thinking of some of the places I’ve never been and was surprised at just how long the list was. I’m sure I missed a lot, too.

Now as usual, you’ve a couple-three ways you can let me know some of your ideas for my grands and me.

1. Comment below this article.

2. Send me an email at the address below.

3. Write it on a new, crisp $20 or $50 bill and send it to the address shown for SCVNews or SCVTV. Either way, I’ll get the ideas and maybe some money to help pay for that Disney experience.

What the heck – so I pay forever on the credit card. Grandkids are too much fun not to splurge once in a while.

Darryl Manzer grew up in the Pico Canyon oil town of Mentryville in the 1960s and attended Hart High School. After a career in the U.S. Navy he returned to live in the Santa Clarita Valley. He can be reached at dmanzer@scvhistory.com. His older commentaries are archived at DManzer.com; his newer commentaries can be accessed [here]. Watch his walking tour of Mentryville [here].