"Diary of my great trip 'West' from June 1937 to August 1938. At the time we left I was 14, Mabel 10, Milton 17, Mama 51, Papa 49, and Ivan 21." So begins Adella's diary of her family's fourteen-month adventure from northern Indiana to southern California and back in a Trotwood trailer nicknamed, "Apple Dumpling." On the way, they see presidential faces being carved at Mt. Rushmore, meet grizzly bears at Yellowstone, and gaze up in awe at giant Sequoias. Adella spends her sophomore year at Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, where she must adjust to a different climate and culture. At the end of the school year, the family travels back home, visiting canyons and monuments along the way. "Apple Dumpling" is a delightfully intimate view of life in the 1930's, with humor and insight.
