Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, October 1948 Duke was discharged, he was a happy fellow. The Army issued him a voucher for rail-transport from New Jersey to his home-state, California, but he had his discharge money and decided we should get a used car and drive West. He became the proud owner of a 1930�s Cadillac Touring Car, impressive, with running-board and back seating area as big as some living-rooms. I didn�t know anything about cars or actually what he spent on it, it was all new. I knew that Uncle Fritz, back in Frankfurt, always had big, impressive automobiles, so I took this for routine. So off we went, cruising around in that monster car, made it to Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where the car gave up the ghost. The bitter lesson: used car dealers setting up business adjacent to an Army base full of eager, na�ve brand-new civilians are predators. We had checked into a small hotel, trying to think what to do next. The people in the hotel were so nice, they fell in love with Joann, gave her balloons, and that evening the owner gave us two movie tickets and baby-sat Joann, so we could have at least a little relief from our worries. Next day, Duke went to the garage, the mechanic said the Caddy was definitely a basket case, but he had an old, 1934 Chevy, slated for the wrecking-yard, but operable, that he�d give us, it needed a quart of oil every hundred miles, but otherwise was running good. Duke took the deal, and we were off, going West. It was possible to get used oil by the gallons for maybe a quarter, sometimes it was free, so every hundred miles we pulled over and Duke put some oil in "Old Betsy". Motels and fast food joints were not available then, we stayed in "cabins", usually less than a dollar a night, they were not particularly nice, but gave us a chance to sleep, clean up, wash the diapers. Picked up bread and lunch-meat or cheese in grocery stores. Joann ate whatever we had, she was nine months old and a good eater. The memorable part of the trip got us to St. Louis and onto Route 66. One night, in the Ozarks, we had a cabin with a wood-stove. The proprietors invited us to have dinner with them, they made sure the stove was well stocked , wanted us to stay a couple more days, because they were going squirrel hunting and we should experience how good the stew would be, but we were in somewhat of a hurry to go and face Duke�s parents, so we declined. I remember a motel in New Mexico which had a roadside attraction: cages full of rattlesnakes, I didn�t sleep very well that night. That old Chevy kept chugging along, in retrospect I believe it was the ideal car for the trip, I didn�t know enough about Duke�s regular driving habits, this vehicle couldn�t be pushed too hard, we had to stop every hundred miles, had a chance to walk around, do diaper changes, look at the ever-changing scenery, I realized that this was a BIG country. People were friendly, we always had our evening meal in a diner, each was different, menus were more regional. Route 66 was a major highway, but it meandered, most of the time one lane each way, through little towns and villages. Scenery got more spectacular, the Desert of New Mexico and Arizona and then the winding mountain road to Flagstaff, awesome! Entered California late at night, at Needles and, money running short, decided to go on to Calimesa, where Duke�s parents lived. We hit a desert sand-storm, high wind pushing at the car, sand getting between one�s teeth, into one�s eyes, I put a clean cloth over Joann�s face to protect her a little. Duke kept apologizing, telling me California wasn�t always like this. I cherish the memory of that road-trip, it was a vacation before "real" life started, almost like eating dessert first, and it can�t ever be repeated the way it was then. Arrived at Duke�s parent�s place after midnight - and another story began.

I live on the north shore of Long Island and most of the previously healthy white pines here have turned brown on their south side after hurricane Sandy. I initially suspected salt spray, but I'm 10 miles north of the ocean. Can salt spray reach that far? One of the guys at a local nursery said it could be due to root shear, the fine roots torn by the wind buffeting. Anyone have any thoughts about this?

Out of the 43 grasses growing in the yard I would say there are very few that look "bad" this time of year. Even with the limited snow fall we have received this winter the grasses in there varied stages of butter / vanilla / beige / tan and some red hues mixed in everything is just plain cool to look at. With snow sitting atop the grasses the colors I mentioned become even more pronounced as the snow divides the colors from each other. Our grasses include Miscanthus, Pennisetum, Panicum, Stipa, Calamagrostis, Eragrostis, Festuca, Schizachyrium, Koleria, Deschampsia, and Helictotrichon. Sure some are less attractive than others but again w/ snow cover (if we ever get any) the grasses take on a different character than just brown and dead looking. Jake

Eastern White Pines are very intolerant to direct salt spray. There are other pines to plant that are more tolerant such as the Austrian Pine. Spruces are probably better at tolerating the conditions you describe. As you said, Eastern Red Cedar is an excellent choice. Just about any other Juniper will work, too. Crabapples and especially Hawthorns should work. These would give you blooms, and fruit for interest. The latter would also give you thorns unfortunately. Just about anything with thorns will grow well in the conditions you describe, though. Anything in the Elm family should work. The wood is cross-grained so it's very resistant to splitting. The related Zelkova is a tree that I've seen in the situations you describe and they are doing fine. They have nice fall color. Even though they aren't native, Ginkgos will survive just about anything you throw at them. Their unusual leaves create a lot of interest. They are the best for brilliant yellow fall color. I don't live right on the water but I do live within view of the ocean and oaks are everywhere particularly members of the red oak family. I would suggest a scarlet oak for your situation. They love terrible soil and have great fall color. You can buy your average run of the mill red oak at Home Depot or Lowe's for a very cheap price. Bur Oak is another good choice but they are harder to find. The other tree prevalent in my area is the tupelo or black gum tree. While normally associated with wet soil. They are very adaptable to dry, infertile, sandy soil. They have wood that is cross-grained like elms so they absolutely will not break in the wind. They have great fall color. Sweet gums would probably work for you if you can handle the spiky gumballs that they drop. Fall color is excellent. I've seen Larch trees near the ocean around here especially in Plymouth and they do just fine. Honeylocusts would probably do OK. The Kentucky coffeetree is not common here but I have seen some around and they do just fine. They would be very tolerant of the conditions you describe. Their long pods are interesting but messy.