300+ miles
16 mpg
$0: Uncle Wally and Aunt Linda’s driveway, Yerington, NV

I wish there were some magic that would’ve made the seemingly simple drive from Kennedy Meadows to Nevada easier. Even though they had cleared Highway 108 over Sonora Pass (fires), it’s not a road meant for 23-foot Airstreams.

I had done it before with my 19-foot trailer, but my previous Touareg had a 4×4 low gear transfer case. I knew better than to try it this time around.

So, instead of a 91-mile trip, I had to take the long way, back West out to Sonora, up to Placerville, and over the pass(es) on Highway 50.

But the goal was worth it. My nephew had never met my aunt and uncle, I wanted him to see them in person, and hear their story.

Beginning with this story.

My Aunt Linda met “Mr. Blue” in the mid-1970s, and soon became his magic assistant, “Linda Lovely”.

On April 1, 1977, they were married at a magic show at UC Santa Cruz.

“Mr. Blue” levitated “Linda Lovely”, draped in a sheet, and made her disappear. There are no photos of this part of the wedding, but I imagine it was something like this.

She then came down the aisle from the back of the theatre, dressed in a wedding gown, and they were married on stage.

I hope I’m not breaking the magician’s oath by revealing that she says it was no easy task to change into that wedding dress as she ran around to the theatre’s front entrance.

Thankfully, my mom is meticulous with descriptions on the backs of photos.

Can any of us consider that we have lived a life well-lived until we can count both a mortician and a juggler/unicyclist among our close friends?

Growing up, this story seemed perfectly normal to me.

They lived in my hometown, just a few miles away. When I visited, doves cooed upstairs, where they stored their magic props.

Uncle Wally’s collection of puzzles eventually grew so large, he built a shop in which to store them.

(Yes, that is a sarcophagus behind him)

“Linda Lovely” still has her Carol Merrill skills, and artfully applied the Nevada sticker to my travel map.

Thank you for continuing to share the magic.