My parents liked to travel. First by car and later by RV. They bought several RVs, the first one in1985 and later a 25-foot Allegro motor home with a car caddy attached so that they could use the car for shorter trips wherever they camped. Mom spent a lot of time putting photos that she took into albums and labeling them. She also kept travel journals with details of their trips. As the family historian, I inherited all of this material.
For several years, I have wondered what to do with these items. They take up a fair amount of space. The photos are largely meaningless to me except for those few that included my parents. I finally decided to write blog entries covering their travels and to select a few photos for each blog. Then I will feel better about disposing of the physical items.
This entry covers their travels from 1980 through 1985, which includes trips before they retired and bought the motor home.
The first trip in Mom’s journal was a trip to New Hampshire to visit Bob & Marty Alexander and their family in September 1980; Bob was their nephew. They visited the coast and drive with Marty to the White Mountains. From there, they visited Cape Ann, MA, and went through Salem and Plymouth to Cape Cod. Next, they went to Newport, Rhode Island, and viewed some of the cottages of “the wealthy summer inhabitants.” The America Cup Race was sailing by, so they watched some of that. The next day, they toured Boston, including the Old North Church, Paul Revere’s House, Old Ironsides, and Quincy Market. After that, they spent a morning at Mystic Harbor, Connecticut, before driving to Wilmington, Delaware, to stay with Bob & Dorothy Wysong; Dorothy was their niece. Dorothy drove them around nearby Pennsylvania Dutch country. They headed home through the Delmarva Peninsula and over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Mom wrote: “It was a good trip but not long enough to see New England.” She noted that they toured all the capitol buildings in the states they drove through.
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| Jean & Jack at the White Mountains, NH |
In October 1890, the bridge club spent a weekend at Pipe Stem State Park, West Virginia, even though a blizzard had come through. They drove through Hinton, WV, on the way home. Over the years, bridge club couples included Robert & Sarah Shelton, Bill & Doris Nifong, Bob & Nancy Boyles, and others—all members of Burkhead United Methodist Church. Mom did not mention who attended these trips.
Pictures from 1980 included:
- Mom, Dad, and Jason Alexander at Bob & Marty’s house, NH.
- Mom & Marty, NH.
- The White Mountains, NH.
- Mom & Dad under a sign for the Old Man of the Mountains, NH.
- The water at Cape Ann, MA.
- Old Ironsides, Boston, MA.
- The harbor at Old Mystic, CT
In Feb 1981, they spent a long weekend at The Islander Motel (probably in Ocean Isle, NC). One night they ate Alaskan crab legs at Camp Lejeune. In Sep 1981, Mom & Dad went to Atlantic Beach, NC, for Labor Day weekend. They dug through a pile of clam and scallop shells and found a perfect Lion’s Paw. Also that month, they spent a week in the mountains of NC. They visited Mt. Mitchell—on a clear day!; Biltmore House & Gardens; Looking Glass Falls; Connestee Falls, where they visited the lot they owned; Whitewater Falls; Toxaway Falls; Cashiers; Bridal Veil Falls, under which cars can drive; Dry Falls, under which they walked; Cullasaja; Franklin; Andrews; Highlands; Robbinsville; Silva; Dillsboro, where they ate at The Jarrett House, “Best food ever!”; Western Carolina University; Nantahala Gorge; Fontana Village; and Fontana Lake. In Oct 1981, the bridge club spent the weekend at Cherry Grove Beach, SC, where they shopped at Waccamaw and ate at Slug’s Restaurant.
On November 20, 1981, Mom wrote that Dad started having severe back pain. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital on Nov 29, had surgery on Dec 29, and came home on Jan 30, 1982. As of April, he was still recuperating and had trouble with his left foot. (He was not able to lift his foot and ended up wearing a drop foot brace.)
November 4-6, 1982, the bridge club went to Cherry Grove Beach, SC. They ate at Slug’s and at Plantation House. Slug’s was Slug’s Ribs Restaurant located in Myrtle Beach and The Plantation House was likely located in Pawley’s Island.
May 1-3, 1982, they went to the World’s Fair in Knoxville, TN, with Bob & Nancy Boyles. They stayed at the Lambuth Inn at Lake Junaluska, NC. This was Dad’s first big outing since his surgery.
Dec 11-18, 1982, they flew to Phoenix, Arizona, for Graham’s graduation from the Arizona Graduate School of International Management (AGSIM). They stayed at AGSIM and ate at a Thai restaurant; ate breakfast on campus; and set out in Graham’s car to go north. They visited Montezuma’s Castle and Montezuma’s well and drove through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff.
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| Jean & Jack near Phoenix |
From Flagstaff, they visited Walnut Creek Canyon Petrified Forest; the Painted Desert; Sunset Crater, which had lava fields and over 500 craters; Wupatki Indian ruins; and the Grand Canyon, where they spent a night at the Bright Angel Lodge. They ate “an elegant breakfast” in the El Tovar Hotel; finished touring the Grand Canyon; admired the ponderosa pines and aspen forests; and stayed in Cottonwood for a night, where they visited the Tuzigoot National Monument. They continued through Clarksdale, a copper mining town, to the ghost town of Jerome, AZ. They returned to Phoenix for dinner at the Rusty Nail, a country western restaurant with dancing. On Friday, they toured Phoenix, the State Capitol Building, and the Heard Museum in the morning and attended Graham’s graduation in the afternoon on the lawn and meeting his friends. They “had an elegant dinner at the Rusty Pelican” and attended the graduation dance at the Scottsdale Hilton.
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| The Painted Desert |
Mom wrote: “On Saturday we flew back & had to come down to earth & go back to work. But it was one of the trips I will never forget.”
Dec 24-26, 1982, they spent Christmas “with Nancy & Rex for the first time Jack & I have been away.” On the way up, they visited Ruth & Bill Finke and Eleanor & Marcellus Mullins; Ruth & Eleanor were Mom’s sisters. On the way back they visited dad’s family in Fairfield, VA.
Pictures from 1982 included:
- Montezuma National Monument, AZ.
- Mom & Dad beside a cactus near Phoenix, AZ.
- Oak Creek Canyon, AZ.
- Mom by Indian structure at Walnut Creek Canyon, AZ.
- Painted Desert, AZ.
- Craters and mountains near Sunset Carters National Monument, AZ.
- Wupatki National Monument, AZ.
- Grand Canyon, AZ.
- An Aspen grove, AZ.
- Tuzigoot National Monument, AZ.
- View of copper waste field near Tuzigoot, AZ.
- Scenic view from Jerome, AZ.
From Oct 13-15, 1983, the bridge club went to Powderhorn Mountain in Watauga, Co, NC, where it poured rain all three days. They toured a cheese making plant in West Jefferson and saw their former minister Mr. Barnett & his wife.
On Feb 4, 1984, they left for a week in Florida, stopping in Starke, FL, for the first night. They rode in glass bottomed boats twice in Silver Springs, took a jungle cruise, and toured an antique car museum before continuing to Orlanda. They dined at Lili Marlene’s in the Church Street Station area. The booths were old church pews, chandeliers were from Europe, and the telephone booths were confessionals from a church in Europe. They also went to the Cheyenne Saloon, Rosy O’Gradys, and a pub playing 1940s music where they danced. On Monday, they went to Epcot Center, where Mom liked “The Land,” “Imagination,” and the wrap around films; France, China, and Canada were mentioned. On Tuesday & Wednesday, they went to the Magic Kingdom, rode the indoor roller coaster twice, and rode the boat over to Discovery Island—Mom enjoyed seeing the exotic birds there. Thursday, they toured Cypress Gardens and spent the night at the Sebring Hotel, where the next morning they agreed to a tour and sales presentation. They spent Friday night in Cocoa, FL, and got up early Saturday to see the space shuttle come in. On the way home, they visited Daytona Beach and drove on the beach for a short distance.
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| Jean at the Magic Kingdom |
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| Jack at Cypress Gardens |
May 26-28, 1984, Mom & Dad used the Kiger’s house on Harker’s Island for a getaway. They took the passenger ferry to Cape Lookout, ate dinner in Beaufort, drove to the end of Cedar Island, and went to Morehead City for Mom’s first meal at the Sanitary Restaurant.
From October 18-21, 1984, the bridge club went to Emerald Isle, NC.
Pictures from 1984 included:
- Silver Springs, FL, sign.
- Mom at the Magic Kingdom with the castle in the background.
- The parade at Disney World.
- Flamingos on Discovery Island.
- A tree at Cypress Gardens.
- Dad in front of a fountain at Cypress Gardens.
- Houses at New Castle, DE.
- Landscaping at Winterthur, Greenwood Gardens, and Longwood Gardens.
- Cape May, NJ, lighthouse
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