1635 Granville
Los Angeles 25, Calif.

July 21, 1945

Dear Joey,

Here it is, exactly one week since we got back to Los Angeles. We're still happy and thankful that we could relocate.

Well, I guess I better tell you about my trip. Last Friday, all the kids at Manzanar were telling me good bye and everything else I just couldn't believe that I really was getting out of that [illegible] camp after those three dragging long years. I went to the ball game and then to the show at Manzanar for my last day there. I saw "The Texan", a very educational American history movie but I wasn't very interested, about the 1/4 of the show, I started to get excited to go out of camp. Gee, I could feel my heart beat. I felt real excited and the more I felt my heart beat, I got all the more excited. Each beat felt as though someone was sticking a pitch fork in me. After the show I came home and ate some dinner that Aoki san had brought over. It was late but it tasted pretty good. I went to the shower around 11:30 and when I got in bed, it was exactly one. I couldn't sleep for some time because of the excitement that some

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how I did fall asleep. It was five o'clock in the morning when we all got up and got our things together and were all ready to go. Mr. Oka, Utaka Matsumoto's uncle, made our breakfast and lunch for us. We went to the block office and the special bus picked us up at 6:30am. We made rounds to all of the blocks and picked up all the people who were going out [illegible] that day. Gee, was it a funny feeling. The bus dropped us off at the police station and then Yoshiko Ishi took a couple of pictures of us when we were just ready to get on the bus. But the bus isn't showing. We're standing in front of a car. The MP called our names and the bus tickets were punched. We were then on the Duland Stage. We were the first to get on the bus. At 7:20 the bus pulled out on the highway and off we were our first stop at Lone Pine was to get gasoline. Then we made a 20 minute stop at Olancha which is a few miles away from Lone Pine. We ate ice cream there.

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I took notes on the trip but it really wasn't worth it. Gee, I looked at my notes after we got home and all I had was mountains, swamps, desert cactus, and more [illegible]. About 10 to 11:00 am, we made a stop at Mohave. It was [illegible] good there but there were [illegible] many servicemen in that town. We ate out lunch there and then pulled out at 11:15 and then made a stop for gas at 11:20. It was on the highway again and boy was it boring. About 1:10 we made a stop at a little place and got ice cold orange juice. It was good. Then after going in rounds and rounds of hills like Sepulveda highway in San Fernando and going through a lot of towns and under lots of bridges. We went through Lan Caster and San Bernadino and Burbank and then to L.A. Boy, we could see the city hall in the foggy like

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sky. It was really cool in L.A. compared to what it had been in the desert. The small [illegible] street and New China town [illegible] be seen. Then we pulled [illegible] the back of the Union Station. We waited for 1 1/2 to get [illegible] taxi after we got on the taxi, we headed directly to the [illegible]. Then to Wilshire Boulevard. The cab driver was very friendly and talked to me and made me feel at home. Gosh, are there a lot of colored people in Los Angeles. The taxi was a 1939 buick and it reminded me of Mr. Varius car. The driver was going so fast that I had to see what the speed was on the speedometer. When I looked, the thing wasn't working at all. The driver was very rough and he tried to beat the signals and pass everybody up. Gosh, was it a jerky ride. I thought the darn gear was going to fall off any minute.

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After [illegible] Wilshire and then [illegible] up to Santa Monica we were [illegible]. We could [illegible] and Smith's place and [illegible] looked fairly neat. We [illegible] to [illegible] of the [illegible] exactly [illegible] not very [illegible] driven a [illegible] the driver [illegible] at the first sight of our place [illegible] mess. It was about [illegible] home but you could tell because the weather was so darn funny. We looked at the lawn and it was really a mess. Kind of awful. Then we got the key from Odaharas place and then took a peek at the house. It was neat alright but everything seemed to have aged a bit oh well, the place is okay now I can't expect the place to be perfect. After some people returned and found their places empty as ever so I must

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not complain. The yard was quite weedy, too. Mom has cut most of them all down. The [illegible] she did is fine. She [illegible] to get the vegetables [illegible] and we can eat more [illegible] After taking a peek at our [illegible] I went over to Odaharas and [illegible] everything else [illegible] good. Delicious [illegible]. That night after [illegible] and chatting with the Odaharas, Odahara san took mom and pop over to the Nishigawas place to get blankets and sheets so we could sleep at night. I went with them but I dropped over to the Clavelots place. Boy was I greeted happily. Mrs. Clavelot kissed me and hugged me. I guess she was pretty glad to see me. At least she made me feel at home! Then I chatted with her and then Mom & Pop came. Then a few minutes chat and then we went home. We had no electricity so we had to use candles. We went to sleep really early because the candle light flickered so

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much. We all slept on the floor and it was pretty hard to sleep. The beds were not worth sleeping on because the mattresses had shiko all over them so we had them outside. In fact they are still outside. Not clean and stink our place. We still sleep on the floor. On Sunday morning we ate breakfast over at the Odaharas place. Then mom & I went over to Roberts and bought our lunch. Time went by so fast that it was lunch. The Odaharas invited us over and we had fish lunch which I did not care for. I borrowed their bike after lunch and then I went over to [illegible] place. I called her and she didn't even know me. I didn't remember what she looked like so we both were rubbing our hands against our foreheads. Gosh, she was 5'4", Glamorous and all.

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The day passed by fast and then it was time to eat. I forgot what we ate but it was good. On Monday, I got a little invitation by post card by the Y.W.C.A. in Los Angeles. They are having a party. I refused because it's so far and there to go to Figuron

Once a day I go and bang on the piano. I can imagine if you were here, we'd both be fighting for it! Maybe we've grown old enough not to fight, huh!!! Oh, Mr. Boulton came over to our place the day we arrived and brought all the money and books. He sure has aged now. His hair is nice and white. He said he went after us at the Hollywood Station and the Bus Terminal but we got off at the Union Station so you can tell how it feels when we missed him and he missed us.

Well, I'll quit now and tell you more in the next letter. It's lonesome so please write me a lot.

Mas