text and images britt-arnhild
Before leaving Norway, I downloaded Jack London´s complete work, and I am reading Valley of the Mood. In the guesthouse in Elk Grove, Jane has found a lot of interesting books for me which she wants me to read. Among them is "I Married Adventure" by Osa Johnsen. Osa was the wife of Martin Johnson, Martin took part in Jack London´s Shark-adventure, and Martin and Osa continued to travel.
Our 10 days´roadtrip started yesterday, and one of our first destinations was Valley of the Moon, og Jack London State Park.
We had a walk in Jack London´s cabin, where he lived while waiting for The Wolf House to be built. Oh my, how I would have loved to live there for a day, a week, a months........books and writing desks everywhere. This is how I hope paradice will be......(God, can you hear me.....;-))
We walked over the the museum, which is in the huge house Jack London´s wife built after he died. I went around in the gift shop looking at Jack London´s book, bought a biography about Osa and Martin Johnsen........and then met one of the volunteers who opened a closed rope and took us"behind the scenes", into the pantry and the kitchen of Charmian London, Jack London´s wife.
Charmian continued to live on the land, and in the huge house she built, for 40 years after Jack died. The house had a dininroom with the most wonderful view, an amazingly small kitchen from where she made food for a long line of guests. And a first floor with a huge room containing collections from all over the world.
I wonder what it must have been to live here. Alone. Far from neighbours, widowed too early, with more memories than most people collects in a lifetime.
I am curious.
I want to learn more about this woman.
Why didn´t she travel alone?
How was her life after Jack died.
The volunteer we met said that she must have been a remarcable woman, in her mind actually more interetsing than Jack himself.
Why didn´t the bookstore have any books about her?
My curiosity is awakened :-)
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Lanny, you should take gopod care of Jane, or else you will lose her to the voluteers at Jack London´s State Park :-)
