Where on Earth Are We?

By David Mallory and Pauline Mallory

Do you like to travel? Do you want to travel the 50 USA states and/or the seven continents of the world? Join us for some of our travel adventures from the comfort of your home. It might inspire you to travel to some places we've enjoyed - from the Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada to the Himalayas in Tibet, or maybe see the penguins of the Antarctic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728369181

David Mallory

Dave and Pauline were married in Vermont in 1984. Since then, they’ve enjoyed fishing, cross country skiing, snowshoe-ing and traveling together. After retiring from their Vermont jobs and their part-time Army jobs, they moved to the West Coast of Florida where they were able to focus more on fish-ing and traveling.

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Copyright © 2020 David Mallory. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-7283-6917-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6916-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-6918-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020914370

Published by AuthorHouse 09/11/2020

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This book is

dedicated to our long-time friend Richard Crocker. He married Pauline and me and suggested, more than once that I should write this book. I hope it meets his expectations. Who do I thank? Pauline, who put up with my desires to go to strange places, most of which turned out to be great. Bob Hinkley, who edited my first two books and tried to do this one, but just wore out before I could finish it for him. Rest in peace, Bob. Helen-Anne Cafferty, Steve Nicholas, both of whom gave it a try and my nephew, Jeff Fountain who gave editing a try also. But mostly Pauline, who was able to finish it up for me. Bless you, honey! Finally, all the many people I traveled with. Many were good friends; some became friends on trips, but all were fun and patient with me. Thank you all.

CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1    Hawaii

Chapter 2    Lake Willoughby

Chapter 3    West Coast Honeymoon

Chapter 4    40Th Army Band In Washington

Chapter 5    West Coast With My Parents

Chapter 6    Hunting In Vermont

Chapter 7    Cancun, Mexico

Chapter 8    Key West

Chapter 9    Aruba

Chapter 10    Barbados

Chapter 11    Hunting In Idaho

Chapter 12    Aruba

Chapter 13    Cancun

Chapter 14    Carnival Cruise To The Bahamas

Chapter 15    Cross Country Skiing In Lincoln Nh

Chapter 16    Mount Washington, Nh

Chapter 17    Cayman Brac

Chapter 18    Bonaire

Chapter 19    Chibougamau, Quebec

Chapter 20    Army Navy Game 2001

Chapter 21    Bonaire

Chapter 22    Cruise In The Western Caribbean

Chapter 23    Key West

Chapter 24    Outer Banks, North Carolina

Chapter 25    Panama Canal And Southern Caribbean

Chapter 26    Cruise In The Baltics

Chapter 27    Minnesota

Chapter 28    Yellowstone Park In The Winter

Chapter 29    Fishing In Ketchikan Alaska

Chapter 30    Germany To Spain By Car

Chapter 31    The Ice Hotel In Quebec City

Chapter 32    Maine

Chapter 33    Alaska

Chapter 34    China And Tibet

Chapter 35    Arlington, Washington And New York

Chapter 36    San Diego And The Panama Canal

Chapter 37    Caribbean X2

Chapter 38    Australia, New Zealand And Fiji

Chapter 39    Grand Canyon

Chapter 40    Caribbean

Chapter 41    Ireland

Chapter 42    Rhine And Moselle River Cruise

Chapter 43    Caribbean X2

Chapter 44    Mediterranean Cruise

Chapter 45    Africa

Chapter 46    South America And The Antarctic

Afterword

About The Author

PREFACE

Travel is the only thing that you can buy that makes you richer. Anonymous

This is a record of the travels of David and Pauline Mallory over a period of more than 30 years. It is mostly in chronological order and if we did more than one trip a year, they are in the same chapter. If they were long trips, they will have their own chapter. How did we get to be travelers? Good question, but I have no idea. We both grew up in non-traveling families. I think the desire was there with my parents but not the money. I was born just after Pearl Harbor was attacked and both my parents worked for meager wages. Dad was a meat cutter at Grand Union and Mom worked as a proofreader for George Little Press, both in Burlington, Vermont. Later Dad took a job at the University of Vermont, creating the Medical Photography Department, earning $13 a week. Mom stopped working shortly after I was born to take care of me, and in 1947, my sister Maureen.

So, did we have money for travel? No. However, when Dad became a Registered Biological Photographer, the only one in New England, he was allowed to go to a convention every year in different parts of the country. In 1949 the convention was in Boston; Dad was able to take Mom and me along. We ate at Durgin Park and went to a Red Sox game against the Browns. We were lucky enough to see Satchel Page and Ted Williams play and witnessed a triple play against the Red Sox.

The following year they took me to Washington, D.C. I climbed the Washington Monument, went to a ballgame - the Senators this time - and met our senators and representative from Vermont. They were nice guys in those days, and honest!

In 1952 we took a big trip to Florida to visit Dad’s brother and family. My five-year old sister Maureen was with us. My uncle and aunt had two boys and a girl, a little younger than me, so we spent a lot of time playing in their backyard. Dad and Uncle Howard took me fishing, my first time in salt water, and we started a tradition of keeping track of all the fish we caught. We skipped a few years but got serious in 1959 and never stopped. I still keep track. These were all great trips and maybe helped nurture an interest in traveling. The only other trip I took with my parents was to EXPO 67 in Montreal for the World’s Fair.

Pauline Wojciak was born during the Korean War and grew up in Minneapolis, so we were both War Babies. Her family didn’t have much money either. Her dad was a chauffeur and caretaker for the president of Northern States Power, the local electric company. Her mom cleaned houses, and eventually went to work for Sears, Roebuck and Company. Long trips were infrequent, but in 1954, the Wojciaks traveled to North and South Dakota. Pauline, her older sister Judy, Grandma Elliott, and her parents, went to the Badlands near Rapid City, SD. The Badlands is a National Park, almost 250,000 acres of prairie, eroded buttes, spires and gullies. It is a very interesting park geologically. From Minnesota to the Badlands they traveled through Wall, SD, home of Wall Drug, a very famous tourist trap. It was a drug store established in 1931 by a couple who thought they wanted to settle there. The store did not do very well after the Depression but they turned the place around by offering free water to all the thirsty people driving across the plains. It worked! The place grew by leaps and bounds and was one of the big attractions when touring that part of the country. The Wojciaks stopped there, and four-year-old Pauline fell in love with an old Indian on the front porch - a real live one! Every time they got out of the car as they toured, Pauline would say, "Aren’t we lucky Judy?’ Unfortunately, shortly after, Pauline came down with the flu so the rest of the trip wasn’t as much fun for her.

Mom and Dad Wojciak bought a five-person tent, then a camping trailer, and eventually a camp in Northern Minnesota. Vacations during her growing up years were mostly camping and fishing every summer around the state. In 1966, Pauline, with her parents, drove across Canada on the way to see cousins in Portland, Oregon. Judy had gotten married so she didn’t go. Pauline got sick on this trip also, but it didn’t interfere with the traveling. They went to Crater Lake, Mount Hood, Mount Rainier and the Pacific Ocean. This was where Pauline fell in love with the ocean and all the sea creatures. Later, Pauline moved to Northern Virginia with her first husband and continued camping around the area in that region. When we were on our honeymoon, Pauline took me to many of those places she loved so well.

That’s all the traveling we did in our young lives. I was able to go to Florida many times by driving a car down for my grandfather’s friend. While I was in college, I also worked for a wealthy family in Palm Beach, FL. Did these few trips that we both took cause the wanderlust that we still share today? I guess getting our feet wet, the desire to see other places, and a sense of adventure was enough to make us want to see more wonderful destinations. Read on to see where we have been.

CHAPTER

1

Hawaii

Off we go into the Wild Blue Yonder

In 1965 I joined the National Guard in Vermont so I could finish my college education. I had a high draft number and Vietnam was starting to heat up. I joined as a medic because I had been in premed at the University of Vermont for two years, so I knew how to dissect a frog, but not much else. Later I switched to economics, which would prove to be a good move. My thought was to serve my six-year obligation and get out. However, I was assigned as a driver for a major who encouraged me to attend Officer Candidate School. He brought me to all the meetings and tried to get me interested. However, after seeing how the system worked in the National Guard, I made up my mind to stay as an enlisted soldier. I became a driver in an M-48 tank, moved on to a gunner on a 90mm howitzer, and finally, to the 40th Army Band where I stayed until I retired in 2002 as the First Sergeant of the band.

Pauline was also serving her country. She joined the Woman’s Army Corps (WAC) in Virginia in 1974 before there was ROTC for women. She received a direct commission (as an officer and a gentleman) and after attending the Woman’s Officer Orientation Course at Fort McClellan, AL, she was assigned as a company commander in the First WAC (Basic Training) Battalion at Ft Belvoir, VA. Later, the WAC corps was dissolved and she was assigned to the Military Police Branch. After she moved to Vermont, she continued in the Army Reserves as a training officer, MP platoon commander, and instructor. After all the downsizing and with her unit located in Connecticut, she retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1999.

Why do I tell you all this? Because, dear readers, our first trip together was an Air Force Recruiter’s incentive trip to Hawaii.

Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth NH is about 4 hours from Jericho, VT. I knew an Air National Guard pilot whose parents lived near mine in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. I would call the base to see when he had a mission to Eglin AF Base near Fort Walton; when he did, I would drive over and ride in a KC-135 tanker to Florida with him. We would refuel some jet fighters on the way. I could lie on the boom operator’s couch and watch the refueling process and take pictures. Since the pilot had a full-time job with American Airlines, he would fly to Florida on Friday and come back Sunday night. I did that three or four times and got a chance to visit my parents. All this was before I met Pauline.

In May of 1982 I flew from Burlington to Anchorage, Alaska in a C-141 transport with Steve Nicholas. We spent ten days touring and fishing while staying at Elmendorf AF Base. On our way to Alaska, we stopped in Minot ND overnight. We were watching TV with a group of the Air National Guard guys when the announcer said that the Pope had been shot. Steve said to all of us, Why would anybody shoot the Pope when Howard Cosell is still alive! He got a big laugh from that one. At the end of our stay the technicians from our plane gave us a large wooden crate which we filled with dry ice and the halibut we had caught.

In September of 1982, I heard about an incentive flight to Hawaii for NH National Guard people to thank them for their service. They filled the KC-135 except for three seats. I asked my new girlfriend (Pauline) if she wanted to go with Steve and me. She did! After a battle with one of her school principals, she finally was able to go - but they took away two days from her retirement. The three of us drove to Portsmouth after work and stayed at the airbase. We were up early and quickly got to the office to get on the flight manifest. We paid $10 each, which included lunch, and boarded the plane.

The KC-135 tanker was first put into service in 1956. It was basically the same as the Boeing 707 passenger plane. The AF version was a big metal tube with web seats along the side and room for pallets of gear in the middle on the upper deck. The lower deck was all JP-4 jet fuel. They had been upgraded many times and expected to be used until about 2040. They had set up two rows of three regular passenger seats for the crew or other officers who were on the flight. The rest of us sat in the web seats along the inside wall of the plane. The flight to Honolulu was scheduled as a four-day trip from Thursday over the weekend. This included a refueling mission over the mid-west and a quick stop in Salt Lake City to drop off the people who wanted to ski.

We were ready to go! The four big engines revved up and we started moving down the runway. All of a sudden, all four engines started making a terrific noise but nobody, except us, seemed concerned. Up we went after a long run down the runway. What they told us later was that these engines have a water injector that is used when they are carrying a big load - 670 gallons of water are injected into each engine which increases the power by about 30%.

After our initial shock we relaxed and waited for our refueling mission which we hoped we could watch from the boomer’s couch. About 15 minutes into our flight, the loadmaster came and looked out the small window on our side and shook his head. Not a good sign. He walked back to the cockpit and we felt the plane turning. Since it was very noisy and there was no PA system, he came back and told us we had lost an engine and they had to go out over the ocean to dump fuel because they were way too heavy to land and we would blow the tires. They dumped fuel over the ocean and headed back to the airport. There was a crosswind so the pilot had to point the nose into the wind and crabbed onto the runway because of the missing engine. He did a great job and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

Well, there we were at the AF Base with a broken plane. I figured we would drive home and forget the trip. However, the loadmaster told us to stay because they would replace the engine and they would take off again. Sure enough, in about two hours we boarded up again and off we went. Same noisy engines (except one) but we were pros now. No sweat! It occurred to me that it was the people that must be the heavy load, because the refueling mission had been canceled. They flew straight to Salt Lake City and dropped off the skiers. It was too late to go to Hawaii so we had dinner at a cafe (no drinks in Salt Lake City except at private clubs) and went to bed.

We were up at 4:00 AM and off to the airport with an easy flight to Hickam AF Base on the island of Oahu. Steve and I checked into our hotel and smuggled Pauline in with us. Steve got in with a bunch of Air Force Recruiter drinkers and wobbled into our room at Hawaiian dinner time. Pauline and I took a short nap while he had been socializing. We talked Steve into going to dinner with us, but we kept losing him as he staggered into different stores on the way. I had told him to dress up a bit so he put on his dress shorts.

We found a great Hawaiian restaurant where we were encouraged to try the native food which included poi, a staple made from ground taro roots. We decided it was more like ground lava. Ugh!

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Dave and Pauline Hawaii 1982

On our only full day in Hawaii we went to the airport and boarded a small plane for a tour of the four main islands. The tour started on Oahu and flew to the Big Island (Hawaii) and toured around Hilo. Then it flew over Kilauea volcano, which continually erupts, on our way to Maui. In Maui, we took a van tour to Hana, a beautiful area along the coast with many waterfalls and wonderful views. Then back to the airport for a flight to Kauai. On this island, we took a boat up a river to the Fern Grotto, a famous wedding place. Many famous people have traveled up this river, listening to The Hawaiian Wedding Song, and had the wedding ceremony performed there. I broke into a cold sweat. So, picture this. I was there with a woman I had known for four months and hadn’t talked marriage with her and I’m wondering, What is she thinking? (She sure wasn’t thinking about marriage!) Don’t say a word! We listened to the beautiful singers and got back on the boat, returned to the plane and flew the last leg of our tour back to Oahu. That was the "Readers Digest" version of Hawaii.

A number of years before, my Mom and Dad went to Hawaii and saw the Don Ho Show. They raved about it so I said to Pauline, Let’s go! Steve had no interest. Don Ho was a former Air Force pilot and had been doing these shows since the 1960’s. He had a number of bestselling recordings, but the best one was Tiny Bubbles which he sang at the end. It was a fun show with dancers, lights, a fire eater, and even a volcano.

We had to be at Hickam Field early Sunday morning for the flight back to NH. The AF people in charge of scheduling were pretty nasty. They said the National Guard people were low priority and any active duty service people could get on our plane first and, if there was any room, all of us (about 40) could get on. Our loadmaster, an AF sergeant, went to the desk and showed them his manifest with all our names and said, This is the list of people I will allow on my plane! That was the end of the argument.

We found out later the loadmaster was in charge of the plane until the pilot took over at takeoff--no questions. That shut up the desk guys. We went aboard, flew to Salt Lake City, picked up the skiers and had an uneventful flight back to Portsmouth. The three of us jumped in my truck and drove back to Vermont. We had seen and done quite a bit in a very short time and were exhausted, but we’d had a great time. Thinking about the trip after, I figured I had dodged three bullets: losing an engine, a scary encounter at the wedding grotto, and almost being left in Hawaii.

CHAPTER

2

Lake Willoughby

Hiking is just walking where it’s OK to pee

Both Pauline and I had been in a bad marriage. We both had been single for about five years and weren’t sure if we wanted to try the jump again. We shared a love of cross-country skiing, hiking, snow shoeing, fishing, music, Army service, and each other. We continued to date and talk about the future. She was renting from a friend and I had bought out my ex-wife and rented out bedrooms in my house to various friends.

When my ex-wife Ann moved out, she took our German Shepherd, Duffy, with her because we had gotten Duffy from her sister. Since I lived on seven acres with roommates coming and going, I wanted a dog. Land Air was a motorcycle shop in Essex Junction and they had a Doberman guard dog that had lost a hind leg when he was hit by a car. After that he lost his taste for guarding motorcycles. The owner asked if I wanted him. I thought he would be a good guard dog at my place in the country. His name was Baron but many of my friends called him Tripod. He didn’t care at all as long as we fed him and let him chase squirrels. He loved to run around my property and if I didn’t watch him, he would run up to my neighbors, Roger and Carole Maeder, to visit his brother, about 1½ miles through the woods.

One day I got a call from Ann, my former wife, asking if I wanted Duffy back. I told her I had gotten a dog but I would try it anyway because I loved Duffy. Ann told me where she lived so that I could pick up the dog. Duffy had gotten very fat in the short time Ann had her because she was penned up in the city and didn’t get any exercise. Duffy was a spayed female and Baron was a neutered male so they got along fine. It was happy days for both of them. I later found out Ann had to get rid of Duffy because the dog bit her boyfriend. I think that was because Duffy missed me. Duffy became my buddy again and she soon lost her extra weight because she was able to run around the property and chase squirrels. She loved to go for rides and often went ice fishing with me.

Pauline and I hiked often and we hiked Mount Mansfield (4393 feet) and Camels Hump (4083 feet), some of the Long Trail that runs from Massachusetts to Quebec, and loved a short trail in Groton State Forest where we would bring dinner and watch the sunset. We went fishing in my boat for bass and lake trout and also fished through the ice for northern pike and perch. We went to concerts, movies and out to dinner. I was honest with her and told her I might never get married again because of the bad experience in the first marriage. She was OK with that at the time because her marriage hadn’t been good either. I wondered if things would change. They did!

One early fall day, we decided to drive to Lake Willoughby to hike the trail on Mount Pisgah. It was a beautiful day and as soon as Duffy saw us putting on our hiking boots, she went and stood by the truck. She was getting old for a big dog and had the beginnings of hip dysplasia, but she wasn’t going to stay home while Pauline and I were out having fun. Baron usually stayed home to guard the house.

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Pulpit Rock Pauline and Duffy 1983

Lake Willoughby was located in northern Vermont nestled between two mountains. It was over 300 feet deep, very cold and famous for big lake trout. One spring I caught a lake trout over 18 pounds there. Mount Pisgah had a trail about 2½ miles to the top with a beautiful overlook called Pulpit Rock, about 650 feet overhanging the lake. We parked our truck and the three of us started up the trail. Since this was one of her first hikes with Pauline, Duffy made it clear immediately that she would be between Pauline and me. She would not let Pauline be next to me.

The trail offered a few beautiful vistas looking at the White Mountains in New Hampshire, Lake Memphremagog and Jay Peak in northern Vermont. We brought a small pack with some water and snacks which we enjoyed on our way down, stopping at Pulpit Rock to enjoy the view. When we reached the bottom about noon, I looked over at Mount Hor on the west side of the lake and decided to try that one also. The area where the lake is located, between the two mountains, was known as Willoughby Gap.

Even though the three of us were a little tired after hiking five miles, we wanted to see what the other mountain offered for views. I drove around the lake to the west side, parked the truck and started up the trail. It wasn’t quite as steep as Mount Pisgah but didn’t offer the views that we had enjoyed on the other side. We had to peer through the trees to see the lake and to get the views. There were more rest stops on this side because it was another five miles. It was starting to wear on the three of us and Duffy wasn’t quite so insistent about being next to me. We were all very tired after finishing our hike. It was about 1½ hours to my home in Jericho so we stopped at a snack bar in Barton for dinner and a creamy. Duffy enjoyed a few snacks also. This hike was fairly typical of what we did that year. Our hikes were on foot during the warmer times, with cross country skiing and snow shoeing in the winter.

We were both skeptical of marriage because of our past experiences, but were willing to get to know each other and negotiate the future. Finally, about the beginning of 1984, Pauline gave me the word. If we weren’t going to get married, she was going to move on. I thought for a few minutes (I had been having similar thoughts), looked her in the eye and said, I guess we should either shit or get off the pot. Pauline has never forgotten that romantic proposal!

CHAPTER

3

West Coast Honeymoon

Marriage is like the Army, everyone complains, but you’d be surprised how many re-enlist.

Since Pauline accepted my wonderful proposal we had to get down to business and plan a wedding date as well as the honeymoon. We talked to my friend Reverend Richard Crocker, who had performed my first wedding, and asked if he would try again to make it stick this time. Pauline thought she could get everything ready by May and decided May 19 would be the perfect time. Richard was happy to try again and we were also. Bobby and Patty Lamoth, who I knew from high school, did four sessions of marriage counseling and we talked about all the potential problems that they could think of. We were older and wiser and hoped to avoid the pitfalls so many people fall into. The decision was made to get married in the Congregational Church in Underhill where Richard was the pastor. Since I am a Catholic, I had to go along with the plan with the hope of working out the details with Pauline and the Catholic Church so we could marry in the Catholic Church later. I’m happy to report that, after some trying times for Pauline, that did happen later.

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Happy Newlyweds 1984

Our next chores were to plan the reception and the honeymoon. Pauline had some good friends in Grand Isle who had a huge farmhouse and were happy to host the reception. Because we were both tied to our Army drill schedules and her school schedule, the honeymoon date was set for the middle of August. As I mentioned previously, Pauline had been to the west coast with her parents when she was younger and she thought that area would be a good place to go. I agreed.

The rehearsal dinner was at Ho Ho’s restaurant in Essex Junction. Bonson and Vivian Ho were very good friends who were happy to host the dinner. They served us a wonderful meal--one of many over the years, and a good time was had by all. The wedding itself was a joy. We had 45 guests at the church ceremony and they all drove the 30 miles (about 45 minutes) from Underhill to Grand Isle for the reception. Some carried the cake, others food or drinks, and some carried other friends so they would have room to park. Tom Marx, my business partner, did his best man thing again. Moe Villemaire sang, Linda Welch played the organ, Chuck Mander played the trumpet and Bob Hinkley was an usher. All four were in the 40th Army Band with me.

It was a good thing the reception was in a big old farmhouse because it poured rain all afternoon. Pauline borrowed tables from the local school and had everything set up outside, but we never used them because of the rain. The tables were pulled onto the large porch and the buffet set up out there. Everybody helped clean up. When all was done, a few of us sat around and went over the day’s activities and all the fun we had. Pauline ate the fruit from the spiked punch and became quite tipsy. The plan was to go out to a nice restaurant for dinner, and go to Tom Marx’s house on Lake Champlain in Shelburne, VT to spend our first night together. On the way home from the reception, Pauline talked and talked and talked. She couldn’t decide what to wear for a nice dinner out, so we wore jeans and went to Joe’s Snack Bar in Jericho for our wedding dinner. We continued that tradition every year after as long as our home was in Jericho.

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Pauline and Friend 1984

Pauline planned our honeymoon; this was when I found out what a great trip planner she was. We flew to Seattle, rented a car, woke up the next morning to a beautiful day and decided to take advantage of our good weather to drive to Mount Rainier. The beautiful alpine meadow at the base of the mountain was called Paradise because it inspired James Longmire’s wife to say, "This must be what paradise looks like!’ We found a vantage point where the beauty of the snow-capped mountain was at its best. On the way back to Seattle, Pauline heard on the car radio that the New York Yankees were playing the Mariners at the Kingdome in Seattle. We hurried back and watched Dave Winfield and the Yankees defeat the Mariners.

Up bright and early the next morning to find another beautiful day. We went to the space needle for a gorgeous view of Seattle and Mount Rainier. Pauline saw a miniature golf place so that was our next stop and she fell in love with a huge pink elephant on the golf course.

Mount St. Helens blew up in 1980. Because the road had been cleared, we were able to drive up to see what was left in 1984. The devastation was amazing. Everything had been blown down. There were many trucks, one after another, carrying loads of logs that could be salvaged and used.

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DRIVE-THRU REDWOOD - 1984

We drove by Multnomah Falls, the second highest in the US, on our way from Mount St. Helens to Crater Lake. Pauline insisted on stopping at Crater Lake even though I thought it was just a hole filled with water. It turned out to be one of the most spectacular views I had ever seen. We had a picture of the lake hanging in our home for over thirty years.

Driving south again we stopped at the Valley View Vineyards where they served us wonderful samples of both red and white wine and we bought a bottle to enjoy that evening.

On to the redwoods. All I could say was, WOW! These trees are huge. I drove down the Avenue of the Giants where the road goes right through one of the trees.

One tree was 3500 years old and had a seven-foot circumference. We also saw the world’s tallest tree at 367 feet. The road continued down the California coast and we stopped at Fort Bragg for some fishing. We both caught fish but it wasn’t very good fishing: small red snapper and a few other bottom fish.

I called my father’s brother, Howard, in Sacramento and he got some of my relatives together for a reunion: my aunt and uncle, two of their kids and wives and their kids. My uncle bought pizza for all of us and we had a fun reunion. I hadn’t seen any of them since about 1960. It was a great ending to our honeymoon. We had driven 1,780 miles, saw some wonderful scenery, some long-lost relatives, and really enjoyed our first big trip together.

Trip #2 1984

Tom’s Birthday in London

The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage

Tom Marx, my business partner, and I have celebrated our birthdays together for many years. The first years we went to Bove’s Restaurant in Burlington; however, when Tom turned 50 in 1984, he wanted to expand our horizons, and expand we did. We had purchased our first tree farm in 1966 and another a few years later, purchased land and gas stations from Phillips 66 in 1972, and were now employed working for other people. I was a salesman for Champlain Oil Company, and Tom drove trucks for Pizzagalli Construction Company. Tom thought London would be a good place to celebrate his birthday. The plan was to fly over on Friday after work, tour on Saturday, have his birthday dinner that night and fly home on Sunday. We wanted to fly at least one way on the Concorde, but it cost as much for one person to fly one way as it did for both of us to fly on a commercial airline round trip.

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Palace Guard London

Tom made our reservations, but upon arrival at the Burlington airport, People’s Express had canceled our flight to Newark. What to do!?!? Tom called Frank Donahue at Pizzagalli Construction on the off chance a friend of his might be flying somewhere near New York City that night. They were! What a coincidence. They had a flight going to White Plains, New York, so we hopped on their little plane and they dropped us off at Newark.

We arrived in time to catch our flight to London, toured the city during the day, had Tom’s birthday dinner at a very fancy restaurant, went to bed, got up early Sunday, flew home and went back to work on Monday. I have heard of whirlwind vacations, but this one took the cake!

CHAPTER

4

40th Army Band in Washington

Congress: the world’s most expensive adult day care center.

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Gen Edwards, Sen Leahy, Verne and Dave

Pauline and I continued to do our two jobs each. She was teaching music near our home in Jericho and was the Military Police commander in the VT National Guard. I was still a salesman at Champlain Oil and the First Sergeant of the VT 40th Army Band. I had worked long enough at Champlain Oil to earn three weeks of vacation, but we were limited by school vacations and Army drills as to when we could take our trips. After much hassle, I had earned the right to substitute non-important holidays like President’s day or Martin Luther King Day, etc. for days when people didn’t work, such as the day after Thanksgiving. This gave us a little more flexibility in planning trips.

I usually did one week of my Army training in late February. The band went to Vermont High Schools around the state and played concerts for the students and teachers. The plan was to interest some of the students in the Armed Forces while spreading good will. The band also did two or three evening concerts in various towns for the community throughout the year. In 1985 our Congressional delegation invited the band to Washington, DC. We stayed at Fort Meade, Maryland and played concerts on the steps of the Capitol, at the Ellipse (a park next to the White House), and at Fort Meade. While we were on the Capitol steps, our two Senators, Stafford and Leahy, and our lone Representative, Jeffords, joined us for a photo opportunity. After the concert Senator Leahy hosted a reception for us in the Capitol. We also were the guests of the Marine Band for their Friday Night Parade, a very moving experience. The last day, we attended a concert by the US Army Band. Back to Vermont on our bus early the next day.

Trip #2 1985

Minnesota

What state has the smallest drinks? Mini-soda!

Pauline’s Army Reserve two weeks of annual training was usually in mid-summer. She was sent off to different forts around the country, but the last ten years were in Dover, DE to teach Army classes. Because of this, we had to do some creative planning in order to satisfy our employers and the Army, but still do our traveling.

Pauline and I thought we should go to her home state, Minnesota, so I could see her parent’s home and meet her friends and relatives. The first part of August was available. When the time finally rolled around, we were ready to travel. Vermont to Minnesota didn’t have any good airline connections. We flew to Chicago and on to Minneapolis. Pauline’s parents couldn’t have been nicer and treated me like a long-lost friend; they didn’t know me very well yet! We