Chris' and Paul's Trip to Vermont

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Viewed: 5/11/2024 Occurred: 9/21/1969 Posted: 5/5/2024	Page Views: 2369
Topics: #Places #Cross-Country #Travel
All about my very first multi-state trip — without parents!

In mid-September, 1969, in accordance with the plan we'd made during my visit to him, my friend Chris and I carefully saved our money until, in September, 1969, we were ready to make the journey of a lifetime (so far!): From Florida all the way up to Vermont (where I had lived as a kid) and back again.

When Chris first came to St. Joseph Academy, he had called himself by his first name, John; so that's what I called him, too. However, his full name was John Christopher Palmes, and for some reason at home he was called Chris. As so many kids do, he had decided to experiment with using his other name when he transferred to a new school. But as I spent more time with him in the context of his family, I found myself calling him Chris as well. And so, that is how I will refer to him for the remainder of this memoir.

The reason we had mid-September available to us for a trip, is that a) Chris wasn't going to school in the fall; and b) I was to attend an electronics school that didn't start until mid-October. The reason we had to wait until mid-September is that I was working as a lifeguard at the Ponce de Leon Motor Lodge and that was when that seasonal job ended.

Our means of transportation was to be my new car! I hadn't previously owned a car, ever; but with $1200 from my school loan, I was able to buy one. It turned out to be a white 1966 Plymouth Valiant with red interior. My monthly payments were $32.38. I was now ready to go.

To Fort Lauderdale, Florida

I had never driven all the way to south Florida, but Chris had and insisted it could be done in ten hours. (This was before the completion of Interstate 95, so the route was mostly US-1, complete with traffic lights and going through the main street of every darn town along the way.) I said goodbye to Mom and Gramma and threw my suitcase and camping gear into the trunk and was off.

Along the way I passed a ramshackle building that looked so bad I was amazed it still stood at all. I got a photo of it, and spent the next hundred miles trying to come up with a humorous caption for it. I finally did.

As it turned out, I was to see many buildings on this trip far more dilapidated than that one.

The sun set over the Everglades shortly before I arrived at the Palmeses'.

These are (virtually) all the original photos from 1969. They were taken mostly on Kodak Ektachrome film, which I preferred over Kodachrome for its brighter, more saturated colors. (These days, photos taken with an iPhone more resemble Kodachrome, while photos taken with a Samsung look more like Ektachrome.)

Of course, old color photos, even slides (especially slides!) fade and discolor with time. But I've been able to digitize the original photos, and then used a suite of aritifical intelligence tools as well as conventional digital techniques to freshen them so they look like they were taken yesterday! (With a Samsung!)

There are a very few images here either taken from the web, or generated by AI. But I think you'll be able to spot those if you care.

St Augustine to Hardeeville

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 9/23/1969 Posted: 5/5/2024	Page Views: 114
Topics: #Places #Cross-Country #Travel #Florida #Georgia #Hardeeville #SouthCarolina
From Florida to South Carolina in six hours!

And so, in the morning, we got into my Valiant and headed north. In 1969, the southeastern seacoast was largely undeveloped; so we drove for hours without seeing any sign of man other than the pavement, with only the occasional city for punctuation.

Hardeeville to Currituck, North Carolina

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 9/24/1969 Posted: 5/5/2024	Page Views: 121
Topics: #Places #Cross-Country #Travel #SouthCarolina #NorthCarolina #Currituck #NorthCarolina;SouthoftheBorder
We only crossed one state, but…smoke bombs!

In the morning, we awoke early enough, though we were still pretty groggy. By morning's light, the room was a mess. We wanted to make an early start. We each took showers, then stowed our gear back in the car. By then we were exhausted again, and decided that maybe a little nap wouldn't hurt. We slept until the room maid knocked on our door several hours later.

Currituck to Parsippany

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 9/24/1969 Posted: 5/5/2024	Page Views: 126
Topics: #Places #Cross-Country #Travel #NorthCarolina #Currituck #Parsippany #NewJersey
I get to visit relatives I barely know.

We were able to board the ferry without incident but now we had a new issue: We were starving. (We were 18 years old, remember!) Food was not sold on the ferry, and the trip would be 45 minutes with no guarantee of a restaurant at its end.

A Day in Mount Tabor

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 9/24/1969 Posted: 5/5/2024	Page Views: 134
Topics: #Places #Cross-Country #MountTabor #Parsippany #NewJersey
Visiting with relatives is awesome!

We were awakened in shock by two falling bodies, which turned out to be those of John and Betty Ann's youngest, Craig and Suzie, jumping off the banister and right on top of us! Suzie literally landed on Chris' stomach, knocking the breath out of him for a moment.

Mt Tabor to Concord

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 9/24/1969 Posted: 5/5/2024	Page Views: 134
Topics: #Places #Cross-Country #Travel #MtTabor #Parsippany #NewJersey #NewYork #Harlem #Vermont
Finally, we get to Vermont, after a brief side trip to Harlem.

Even at 18, the idea of being in New York City—self-styled Capital of the World—didn't appeal to me. When I found that our best route to Vermont would only pass through the northern part of Manhattan, I wasn't disappointed.

A Day of Victory

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 9/24/1969 Posted: 5/5/2024	Page Views: 127
Topics: #Places #Cross-Country #Victory #Vermont
Making new memories of old.

I awoke early, and had eggs ready for Chris when he awoke. It didn't take long to strike camp and stow our gear, and then we proceeded slowly, with frequent pauses for That's the store that Mrs. Carpenter, our bus driver, worked at! and That's the school I went to for the start of second grade!

Victory to Darien

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 9/24/1969 Posted: 5/5/2024	Page Views: 130
Topics: #Places #Cross-Country #Travel #Victory #Vermont #Darien #Connecticut
On our return trip we visit more relatives (Chris's, this time).

After thanking and saying goodbye to the owners, we returned to Gallup Mills to make a left-hand turn, which would take us over Burke Mountain and to Lyndonville, home of my 2nd-grade teacher. Just past Gallup Mills, however, was the road up to an abandoned radar installation that had been very much in operation in 1960, the height of the Cold War. Now, however, the road was all but choked off by eight years' growth of pine and underbrush.

Darien to Luray

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 9/30/1969 Posted: 5/5/2024	Page Views: 134
Topics: #Places #Cross-Country #Travel #Darien #Connecticut #Virginia #Luray
And the heavens opened up, and we nearly drowned.

It takes about 6 hours to get to Luray, Virginia, from Darien, Connecticut, and we left early so we would be able to get there while the caverns were still open—and, if not, we could tour them first thing in the morning, as long as we could find a nearby place to camp. Preferably, for free.

Luray to Atkinson

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 9/30/1969 Posted: 5/5/2024	Page Views: 129
Topics: #Places #Cross-Country #Travel #Luray #Virginia #NorthCarolina #Atkinson
Climbing up a fire tower for the view, and late deja vu.

North Carolina's Coastal Plains, which make up 45% of the state, took up about 85% of today's travels. But the Coastal Plains actually look so much like Florida that I wasn't motivated to take any photos. I was probably too tired, as well. But that didn't stop me from, on a whim, pulling into the parking lot of a North Carolina Division of Forest Resources fire tower.

Atkinson to St Augustine

By: Paul S. Cilwa	Occurred: 10/2/1969 Posted: 5/5/2024	Page Views: 132
Topics: #Places #Cross-Country #Travel #NorthCarolina #SouthCarolina #Georgia #St.Augustine #Florida
Getting back home is the best part of any trip.

I awakened to the smell of eggs being scrambled. (It's the butter!) Chris had awakened ahead of me and started in on breakfast.