West from Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco, 1915

In 1915, Laura Ingalls Wilder traveled by train from her home in Missouri to San Francisco. Laura's westward journey to visit her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, coincided with a spectacular event taking place in that city - the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It was a great world's fair celebrating the completion of the Panama Canal, and Laura was amazed by the attractions that had been gathered there from all over the world. Her husband, Almanzo, was unable to leave their farm, and it was Laura's daily letters that gave him the chance to see what she saw on her magnificent visit to California. These letters allow the reader to experience Laura's adventures and her intimate thoughts as she shared with her husband the events of her exciting sojourn. It's a fascinating insight into the heart and mind of the author who would later go on to write the classic Little House books.