PB

I remember ships... lots of ships. My mother would never fly, so when we moved to Brasil in the late 50s, we took a ship. The trip took 2 1/2 weeks - and it was amazing. It was an Argentine freighter (the Rio Tunyan) that carried sixty passengers - in style. Fellow passengers included the Ambassador from the Argentine and a famous actress (I just can't remember who she was now). There was a movie theatre, two dining rooms ablaze with crystal chandeliers and miles of while linen, a library, a ballroom, two swimming pools and several bars. Lunch was served on deck... amazing steaks, lobster salads and the like. I remember passengers throwing little bits of their leftover lunches out over the water where the flying fish were leaping. Small children inder the age of eight were all looked after during the day by 'nannies' and they ate their meals in the gaily decorated children's dining room. We all dressed for dinner (I was eight, so I got to eat with the adults) and had fabulous meals.... our watier was charming and it was from him that I learned the beginnings of Portuguese. By the time I left the ship in Santos I had quite a vocabulary... mostly food related. <BR> <BR>We made this trip, on the same ship, several times and then it was on to Europe in winter of 1963 on the old Queen Mary. Every return to the US for vacation (every two years) was on a different ship... I think I've been on every Holland-American ship that existed at the time ! Traveling by ship is still my favorite, but they are so far and few between. "Cruising" just ain't the same ! My mother finally did fly, and at the age of 78, finds it an appalling way to travel. And in this day and age, I agree 100 %. <BR> <BR>PB <BR> <BR> <BR>

nancy

Walking onto the tarmac to board the planes. <BR>All dressed up, dress, maryjane shoes, navy sailor coat, little gloves. <BR>(And yes, the time of girdles when I got old enough for stockings and too old for navy sailor coats) <BR> <BR>My grandfather had to fly for business when planes first became "commericial" <BR>and my grandmother and other grandfather use to take ocean liners to Europe and South America in the 1920' and 1930's. <BR>Their stories were fairytales of times gone by. <BR>

hans

One of the earliest travel memories I have (I was 3 yrs old in 1961) is of pulling away from the gate in Nurnberg and seeing all the scores of people at the gate waving goodbye with white hankerchiefs to their family/friends on the plane. <BR>

Tony Hughes

I think I'm a little young for this but anyways... <BR> <BR>Sally, those pictures are great but why not in colour? <BR> <BR>To Sally, Neal and anyone else who travelled anywhere in the Southern States from the 1930's to 1960's - there is a great book called 'Dixie before Disney', all about the roadside diversions, restaurants and motels of the time in the South, a great read even fomr someone like me who didn't experience it first hand but I'm sure it would be interesting for you older folks.

s.fowler

Thanks Tony! It was quite a trip <BR> <BR>Re color film -- not a clue -- I know my parents took color slides -- maybe my brownie hawkeye camera could only take b&w? Maybe color print film was too expensive?? The mists of the ages are obscuring the answer....

ja

I never got into a passenger plane prior to 1975, but I remember when my mother and grandmother flew to Winnipeg in 1964 for my aunt's nursing grad at St. Boniface - there was turbulence on the flight home, and my grandmother ended up with hot coffee spilled on her SILK travelling dress!<BR>ja

carolyn

My first big trip was from Louisville to Honolulu in 1954. I was 18 and joining my husband who had just been transferred from Korea to Schofield Barracks. The flight took 24 hours with transfers in Chicago and San Francisco. I was airsick until the layover in SF, and the man seated beside me very kindly took up the arms of the seats between us and found another spot after I used the bag so that I could lie down. Wonder why? <BR><BR>We came home by troop ship a year later with a two-month-old baby. Couldn't share a cabin since he didn't have enough rank, so I was in one with three other wives plus the baby. The ship had washers for the cloth diapers but no dryers, so we had to wade through wet baby laundry strung up across the middle of the cabin. I did have disposable diapers for the plane ride from SF home, but they disintegrated on contact. Then the airline sent one suitcase on to New York--the one with all the cloth diapers in it. Baby ended up in Grandma's tea towels until the next day. <BR><BR>Funny, I don't feel that old; but it sure was another time.

Duke

Top it.

Mimi

Topping<BR>Thanks for your beautiful memories!

Tony Hughes

Spain, the late 1970's. Familie Hughes on the annual pilgrimage to burn our pinky-white skin. Constant bleating from myself and my sister meant Dad hired an orange jeep for the duration of the trip. One of those plastic-bodied things where you got the option of a windshield or rear screen - not both. Cut to Dad attempting to turn around on a small country road but unable to engage reverse gear. Cars barreling along towards us on either side as me and my sis screamed. Some dude ended up getting out of his car and showing dad how to get it into reverse.<BR><BR>The family holiday thing really ended for me in 1981, when Dad had pulled over to the side on a Dutch freeway to check the map. For some reason he looked in his rear-view mirror only to see an 18-wheel semi heading straight for us (the driver had fallen asleep). Dad had about 3 seconds to react - not enough time to alert mum (sleeping in front, head resting on window and nearest to oncoming truck) and me and sis (asleep in back). I never knew what hit us - all I remember is someone screaming and wondering why our car only had one side left, never realising the truck had shaved 18 inches off its width. End of trip.

Mary Jayne

This post really does bring back memories. I do remember flying in the 50's when it was a pleasure, even with the 3 children in tow and of course it was smaller planes from the part of the country I come from (Upper Michigan) so they had what we called the Oop bags and they were somewhat necessary on those small planes for the faint at heart. Also, before the flights, we used to drive to Florida with 3 children, of course in the family station wagon, children in the back, to sleep, play games, (use the potty chairs if one in training) and their best memories they speak of often are how they used to crayon a message on a sheet of paper stating HELP, WE ARE BEING KIDNAPPED and hold it up to the back window of the wagon and folks would honk their horns and LAUGH as we expected. Wow, you would NEVER do anything like that now. However after the 4th child arrived, we went to flying as it was too long a trip, otherwise. Now, just being older folks and everyone is flying, it isn't the pleasure it used to be, now sort of a chore and even more now with the security. However it is somewhat of a pleasure to at least not having folks take advantage of the situation, bringing everything on the plane but the kitchen sink. Enough memories for today. Enjoy traveling, wherever you are.

xxx

Topping for Lana from a fellow Traveler.

topper

brilliant.

sandi

Sally - LOVE your pictures! <BR><BR>My family always took vacations in the hottest part of the summer, in a green Country Squire station wagon with faux wood panels. I'm the youngest of 4 siblings, so there was never a dull moments in the car. I can remember in the late 60's we drove to Mexico, from Dallas where my brother bought a leather bull-whip. OUCH! I think I still have marks. Thise brothers can be ruthless when the parents aren't watching. I have the greatest photo of the oldest, my sister, with a huge sombrero next to the 2nd oldest which was the brother with the whip. The 2nd to the youngest, another brother had a serape draped across his shoulder and myself with a straw purse and a doll. Those were the days!

will

My first trip to an international destination, other than Mexico, came in 1967, and it was an all expense paid trip to boot. I flew on a wonderful chartered 707 from Seattle heading to the mysterious far east. Anyone want to guess where I was headed and who was footing the bill?

Sally

My first trip to Europe was in 1966- My brother and I worked a year after college graduation to pay for it -$1000 for my share of three months of travel- alternating several days of camping with a hotel or pensione costing $2 a night.We traveled with his college roommate and his sister.<BR><BR>I flew Icelandic- a 17 hour prop jet trip- my first flight.I came back home during an airline strike; I went to the airport prepared to camp out there for several days but was lucky enough to get stand-by on the last flight out before everything shut down. I remember sitting between a nun missionary on leave from Africa and an atheist who couldn't resist pleasantly teasing her. I was entertained all the way back by their conversations. Also one of my college classmates happened to also be on that flight and on the same bus I took from New York to Nashville several days later.<BR><BR>My brother bought a small BMW with a door in the front for $300 in Germany- that cheap, we later realized , because it had no brakes. We learned how to say. "Can you fix our brakes in five different languages?"<BR><BR>We ate picnics for lunch- bread, cheese, ham, fruit, and wine, delicious pastries in the afternoon, and dinner at inexpensive restraunts. Cheese and fruit were always served after every meal. It was quite a challenge for us to peel each piece of fruit using a knife and fork as was the custom in Europe then.For one night in each country, we also ate at the most expensive restraunt we could find. In Portugal it was very exciting to eat a six course dinner with a waiter standing behind each person's chair the whole meal.Not to mention, all the pieces of silverware at each place. We also enjoyed trying the different beers, wines , and liquers- quite an education for young people from a dry county in Nashville, Tennessee.<BR><BR>It was still the custom to put your shoes outside the hotel room door every night, and the next morning they would be there - all shiny and polished.<BR><BR>People did dress up more then, even college students. Women only wore skirts there, not pants, and of course, you had to have your head covered to go into a church.<BR><BR>I remember taking two fairly large suitcases- one of which was stolen. Our car was broken into while we attended an opera at the Baths of Caracalla! Then I had the interesting challenge of buying hair brush, tooth brush, skirt and blouse, etc. in Italian- mostly using sign language.<BR><BR>One of our memorable experiences was visting Monaco. At the time my uncle was married to Grace Kelly's first cousin, and he told us to go see her. My brother and I went to the palace, saw all the guards, and simply couldn't figure out how to arrange to see her. Should we hand the guard a note to her or what? Later Princess Grace told my uncle that she would have been glad to see us. Missed opportunity! However, that night we, dressed in our Sunday best and sitting on the back row, went to the Monaco Centennial celebration, a ballet with Margaret Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev. There , we saw Princess Grace and many beautifully dressed jet- setters, including Hollywood stars.<BR><BR>During that era of much letter writng, I wrote probably 40 letters and postcards to my parents and the young man I was engaged to. It is great to have that record of my first trip. Our first stop in each city was always at the American Express so we could pick up our mail- very important to me , because I was newly engaged shortly before our trip!<BR><BR>I tell my children and young friends to try to travel before you get married or too involved in a career. It is a lot easier to travel before you have children. Our next trip to Europe was in 1994 after our youngest child was in college!And we have been back once or twice a year since then.<BR><BR>No more camping; now we stay in rooms with bathrooms ensuite. But we had just as good a time then as we do now!<BR><BR>

Sharon

I remember the days when walking the lovely streets of Waikiki in the early 70's and actually being able to see the ocean with swaying palm trees during a good part of our long walk down the main street--now forget it there's just one hotel after another. Being on the East Coast now it's hard to travel so far, but the Big Island of Hawaii is still mostly what we think of when we dream of Hawaii.

Ryn

Dressing up and driving 3 hours to the airport to meet my aunts whenever they visited from New York. We would all walk out to the fence, gloved hands holding our hats on against the prop wash, and wait for her to come down the steps. Then we would chat for awhile until the porter brought the luggage cart up to the gate, and Dad would take her suitcase and tip the porter. Back into the terminal to visit the ladies room to tidy up before leaving; I remember clearly that Moisant Field had pay toilets in those days, it was a dime for the token.

Elizabeth

My first flight was on Southwest Airlines in the early 70's. I remember getting dressed up in my little Florence Eiseman dress and wearing Mary Jane's. I remember the ride to Love Field in Dallas (before DFW. My father was telling us what to expect on the trip. The Stewardesses (sp)I really remember because of the white go-go boots and the short shorts. I remember they had long curly hair. They were very nice to my sisters and I and I remember at the end of the trip my father told us to thank them and the pilots. Anyway times have changed....

xxxx

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