Judy and I went to Colorado Springs on our honeymoon. We were without a clue about travel. I'd been out of the state only once, when I was about ten years old. My aunt and grandmother took me and my sister to Port Isabel, Texas, for a vacation trip for some reason. One thing I remember is that there was a sign outside town that read, "One Road In, the Same Road Out." That's no longer true, as you can see on this map. There's a road to South Padre Island, now, a prime Spring Break location, and the town has undergone a lot of development.There wasn't a lot to do in Port Isabel at the time I was there, however. When we left, we spent part of the day across the border in Matamoros. It was quite exotic to a little guy like me. I bought a small dagger in a leather scabbard at the market there. I thought I still had the knife, but maybe not. I couldn't find it when I looked for it a while back.
Judy had never been to Mexico, but her high school class went to New Orleans for several days for the senior trip. My senior trip was one day in Austin, Texas.
But I have digressed, as usual. What I was going to say what that we had no idea about trips. I thought, and maybe I got this from my father, that you started out, drove until you ran out of gas, and then stopped. I learned pretty quickly that Judy needed to stop more frequently than once a day, but that was okay. I could do that.
My cluelessness extended to the fact that I didn't know about making reservations. I thought you just found a motel and checked in. That was no problem the first and second nights of the trip. It became a problem in Colorado Springs, however, because the weekend of our wedding also turned out to be the weekend of the Air Force Academy graduation. The first two places I stopped were full. At the second one, the desk clerk said, "You're not going to find anything along here. You might find something at the other end of town." So off we went to the other end of town, not quite panicky, and eventually we found something. It was The Dravo Manor, which was pretty upscale for a motel, it seemed to me. There was a vacancy, though, so naturally I took it. Judy always claimed that I almost had a stroke when I discovered the price of the room -- eighteen dollars a day. That was a considerable sum in 1965, but somehow I survived the shock.
11 comments:
And now you're a seasoned international globetrotter.
Some Army buddies and I decided to go to Lexington, Kentucky, one weekend to see the famous strip show. Little did we know it was the weekend of the Kentucky Derby. No room at the inn and we spent the night at the bus station, which was also packed.
I love these pieces about you and Judy. Thanks for writing them.
As mentioned, we took a belated honeymoon to London in April of 1971. (Jackie was on Easter break from her first year of teaching.) We had a reservation at the Alma, a B&B in Earls Court, which was a lot farther from Central London than I'd expected. It was cold that weekend, and Monday was Easter Monday Bank Holiday so everything was closed. Finally on Tuesday we were able to buy sweaters.
The Alma was a funny place. All the girls working there were like Eastern European versions of Manuel on FAWLTY TOWERS, nice but not very helpful.
We did everything in that week or ten days - Tower of London, the museums, Windsor Castle, you name it, plus several shows including THE MOUSETRAP (then running about 16 years).
Jeff
Love these stories of you and Judy! Clearly it was a Trip of Discovery!
Great memories, Bill. Ginger and I eloped in 1961 and didn't really have much of a honeymoon, until my R&R from Vietnam. We spent a lovely week in Hawaii. Unfortunately, I had to return to Vietnam after the 7 days (sigh).
What a great personal post! Thanks for allowing us a glimpse. Yet, this makes me homesick for Texas.
Thanks for sharing this, Bill. I remember when we looked at where Detroit was (we were in NJ then) it seemed like so far away. We thought we stay here for a year or two and that was 45 years ago this month.
Let me join the chorus of those who are grateful to read these autobiographical vignettes.
My ex Donna and I took our first trip together to Hawaii; the beachside guest house in Kailua we rented from a fellow Punahou graduate (she advertised in the alumni magazine) was very pleasant, indeed. Our last trip together was to the anarchist gathering/UnConvention in Chicago in 1996, simultaneous with the Democratic Party convention; that trip was mostly good, if a little fraught...I drove us to Chicago from the DC suburbs, and the return trip was in one leg. About 700 miles. The 400 or so mile trip each way back and forth from Barre, VT for my aunt's funeral this year felt a bit longer, driving on my own and sitting in the jams around NYC, particularly southbound.
Well, we did take a bus trip together from her new home in Seattle to Portland, in 1997 I believe...where among other things I scored some very inexpensive fiction magazines (most remarkably a VG copy of an UNKNOWN WORLDS issue for $6).
Bill, thanks for sharing your lovely memories.
Great story! I don't think reservations were nearly as important back in the day as they are now (unless, of course, you roll into town the same day as a major event--as in your case). I remember when we were kids (late sixties/early seventies), my parents would pile us in the car and we'd go to Atlanta or (after Disney World opened) to Orlando and we were always able to find a place. Back in Disney World's early days, Orlando was still a rather sleepy residential area; we'd generally stay in Kissimee. We also did a lot of camping and I don't think my folks ever called ahead for a spot. Can't imagine leaving the house today without knowing where I'm sleeping tonight!
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