Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Adventure begins...

Joe & I married on December 13, 1952. He was stationed in Chaumont, France and I had the opportunity to go. I cruised on the SS United States to Le Harve in March of 1953. My parents, brother and grandfather drove me to the New York Port. Here I was, a small town girl going far away to a distant land and I was excited and scared. Luckily for me, there was a girl in my stateroom from Berlin, N.J. which was a couple of miles from home. We became instant friends. On deck were an assortment of young adults so we clustered together and had a good time. Charlie Carson, a guy from Belfast had an accordian and with another friend entertained us in the lounge. We also played hide-n-seek on the top deck much to the dismay of the crew as we would hide in the supply closets.

Joe came on board at LeHarve. I was so happy to see him! We spent two days in Paris seeing all the sights then took the train to Chaumont. The train reminded me of the one on the Orient Express with a corridor going along one side and doors opening to seats facing each other. We ate in the dinning car and the waiter kept putting my spoon in my coffee cup and I would take it out. This went one for a while and then he finally told me that it kept the coffee from spilling as the train clittity-clacked down the tracks!

Finally, we came to Chaumont. Joe left me with the luggage to get the car. As I was sitting on one of my suitcases, a Frenchman passed me and "blew a bunny" in my face. He turned around, smiled and said "pardon"............ !

How did you feel when you first traveled alone?

17 comments:

Sarah Durham said...

Oh love to read this Granny! Joe will like the "blowing a bunny" comment.
The first time I ever traveled alone (well, sort of..Jordan was with me) was when Jordan and I went to visit Carmina in North Carolina. I remember being a little nervous to fly without mom and dad but also very excited. It made me feel very "grown up"!!

Gigi said...

I can't remember the first time I traveled alone. Maybe riding the Greyhound bus from Abilene to Clovis to visit my friend Mona when we were in high school. I was a little worried about some of the characters on the bus with me but mostly bored with the long trip. Not nearly as much fun as your ship travels!

Betty said...

When you were 7 months old, you flew back to the states with your dad and me, don't you remember? LOL!

Gigi said...

But I wasn't "alone." :)

Betty said...

That's true! LOL!

Kathi said...

Love hearing the romantic story, Mom! The first time I traveled "alone" was when I went on the ski trip in Germany to Chimsee. It was with my sixth grade class, so my classmates and teacher were with me, but I'd never been away from home. I was so scared and homesick when I first got there. Anne Travis was my roommate- the girl who gave me "Poochie"- we later changed her name to Pepper. I remember sitting in this huge dining room and the staff serving us heaping bowls of PEA soup. It was the first time I ever had pea soup, and I liked it. Still do actually! The trip turned out to be wonderful, but I was scared every night when the lights went out. If Anne hadn't been there, I would've been petrified. Jane always kept me "safe" at home even though I drove her insane- I could not sleep alone...

Gigi said...

You didn't drive me insane. :) I think I kinda liked sleeping together for all those years.

I did go on a bus trip to see "The Nutcracker" ballet somewhere in Germany when I was in 5th or 6th grade. I can remember really wanting to go but none of my friends went and I felt really weird by myself. Awkward or something. :)

I love pea soup, too.

Betty said...

Was it the Nutcracker or Swan Lake? I went to Frankfurt with some group - maybe it was yours.

Kathi said...

Mr. Morgan took us to see the opera, Carmen, when we lived in Germany, but we didn't spend the night or anything. It was my first exposure to "stage," and I was enthralled!

Suzassippi said...

My first time to travel totally alone, with no one with me at all, was when I went to Milwaukee in 1982. J was a baby and his dad and he bid me goodbye at the airport and I got on a plane alone and went to a big city all alone, not knowing a single person who would be there. I was able to navigate from the airport to the hotel right down town. I discovered the workshop did not start until the following evening, so I had a whole day to site see in MIlwaukee. I got a bus map and headed out on a city bus for the first time. I remember talking to one elderly man at the bus stop (since I had a big ole camera, he asked me where I was from :) and how funny I thought it was about him talking about all those northerners coming down here from Canada. :) He told me a lot about the history of the Blatz Beer Brewery.

Gigi said...

Oh yeah, it was definitely "Swan Lake," not "The Nutcracker." But I was thinking I went by myself. How weird is that? Were you there, too?

Betty said...

Yes and we didn't know hardly any people. But it was beautiful!

Susan, you are so brave. It must be the social worker in you. I know Jane talks easily to strangers also. :)

Gigi said...

SO I guess I was not alone on that trip, either. LOL I was thinking I went by myself but now I do seem to remember talking you into going with me so I could go; maybe we had to have a parent with us or something. Wow, my memory is getting terrible. :)

Betty said...

Speaking of trips, didn't you go on a scout trip across Germany and staying in hostels? I can't remember your leader's name.

Gigi said...

Yes, we did go traveling with the Scouts, rode the train, stayed in hostels. Really had a great time. Of course, we were not really alone since we had adult chaperones. Can't remember the leader's name but we called her something mean that I won't repeat on a family blog. Plus I am ashamed of myself for being mean. :)

Kathi said...

Her name was Mrs. Stroud! She initialed everything with a double "S," and it reminded me of a duck. I remember the song you and Cindy Shaver and others made up about her, but I won't repeat it either. :) It was to the tune of "Strangers in the Night," and it was pretty funny. Mrs. Stroud's daughter, Susan, was my friend. I went on those trips, too. I loved going to the hostels which were sometimes in old castles. We met some British boys on one- remember, Jane? I wrote letters for quite a while to one of them. I don't remember his real name, but we called him "Grampa" because he used a walking stick on the hikes. I always talk to people I don't know, too, though I wouldn't have when I was a kid.

Betty said...

Yes, Mrs. Stroud. Can't remember her first name. Maybe I should do a whole thing on scouting.