California, Here We Come! – I Love Lucy episode 110, season 4, originally aired 1/10/1955
Preparing for their trip to California, Lucy has managed to plot the trip and hit all of the travel spots that everyone wants to visit on the way. It requires traveling through New York three times on their way to Chicago, however (a wonderful visual prop is the zig-zag route on the map of the U.S.A.). Ethel gives Lucy a wonderful, ‘clownish’ letter from her mother. Who thinks Ricky Ricardo’s name is Mickey Richardson, and couldn’t find their address in the phone book. The long and short of it is, she’s coming for a visit, and more than that, she insists on coming along to Hollywood.
Hurt feelings all around …
Ricky loses his temper when he hears, and begins yelling at Lucy in their bedroom. Ethel walks in and hears Ricky complaining about how Lucy invited the ‘tag along’ Mertzes along and now her mother, and why couldn’t they go alone? Ethel tells Fred, and they both come in with hurt feelings, informing the Ricardos that they are no longer interested in coming. Mrs. McGillicuddy tries to smooth things over, and everyone is going … and they’re leaving early in the morning, at 6:00 a.m.
Packing the car
A very comedic moment follows, with Ricky and Fred trying to pack the car, while Lucy, Ethel and Mrs. McGillicuddy start bringing down everything except the kitchen sink down, stacking it behind the boys, so they don’t see the massive pile until they’ve finished packing the suitcases. After a comic ‘take’ from Ricky, Fred tries packing all of the remaining items with rope. It’s a very funny visual scene, with the front, rear and side of the car piled deep with boxes and other items, including a guitar. Ricky then gets the brilliant idea of sending their items ahead, leaving them with only 1 problem. Mrs. McGillicuddy announces that she gets car sick, and doesn’t want to go on a two week car trip. Instead, she volunteers to fly out with Little Ricky, leaving Ricky, Lucy, Fred and Ethel to drive out, singing “California, Here We Come“.
California, Here we Come! is available on DVD as part of the I Love Lucy season 4 DVD collection.
Quotes from I Love Lucy – California, Here We Come!
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) [Lucy’s mother send her letter to Ethel, since she can’t remember Lucy’s married name]: She really figures things out, bless her little bird brain.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Well, like mother, like …
Mrs. McGillicuddy: You didn’t know that I could write, did you?
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): No, I didn’t even know you could read…
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) [hitting Ricky on the arm]: Ricky!
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Ethel heard you!
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): How could Ethel have heard me?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): How could she have not heard you, with your big mouth and her big ears?
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Nothing’s the matter. Go ahead and have a nice trip. And don’t forget to drop a line to Mr. and Mrs. Fred Horninsky. Or as we are more commonly known, the Tag-Along Mertzes.
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Bon voyage!