For Week 20 of Amy Johnson Crow”s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” series, the theme was “Travel.” This prompted me to go in search of any documentation I had for early travel in my own life. And you know what? I am so fortunate that I have it!
At just the tender age of a few weeks old, my parents traveled from our home in New York, down to Eastern North Carolina for a family reunion on my father’s side of the family. Here I am in my father’s arms down in Fort Barnwell, North Carolina – this reunion was likely held in late July 1975 so I know I was probably not even a month old yet.
Then, as I was talking to my mother, she shared with me her memory of her first travel — a trip from New York also down to Eastern North Carolina (Plymouth, NC) to visit her maternal grandparents. She was about 4 or 5 years old and she remembers walking with her grandfather at night, looking up at the moon, and thinking that the moon was following her because it was always there. You see, my mom was from Brooklyn, New York – lots of buildings – she surmises that perhaps she didn’t see the moon very much for all of them being in the way – haha! She also remembers him taking her to the store and buying her a Moon Pie – and oh my – she still loves Moon Pies to this day!
Encouraged by my conversation with her, I then asked my father for some of his early travel memories. He shared that he remembers going on field trips in school to the beach, namely, Atlantic Beach is one that comes to mind. But, his first trips out of the state were up to New York to stay with his father for the summers during high school. He would work with his dad then use part of his earnings to buy school clothes for the next year – you couldn’t tell him nothin’ – he thought he was city slick!!
The morning I did this – having the opportunity to connect with my parents about some of their early travel memories – it was so rewarding!
If you are reading this – what are some of your early travel experiences? Do you have pictures or documentation to go along with it?