Going to Neverland in 1976

In 1976, a bicentennial year, my parents, brother and I packed up the old blue Chevy and headed off on our first real vacation. We drove north with no air conditioning or seat belts because back then no one buckled up. In fact, if my memory serves me well, my father actually took a switch blade and cut the dirty hanging things right off. My mother had to look pretty for her trip, so before leaving the house she washed her hair and put her rollers on and then wrapped her head with a scarf. I don't know if it was a cultural thing or if it was a trend at that time, but she would go out into the street with those pink, purple and green rollers in her head all the time, so of course, I thought it was perfectly normal. I, on the other hand, preferred the natural look since my hair was so curly anyway.

Because we had no air conditioning in the car and it was so unbearably hot, we welcomed the wind in our face with open arms. First, we stopped in Naples, rented a room at a Howard Johnson with a huge pool. It may not have actually been huge but for a kid it sure was big. After a swim in the pool, a nap and dinner, we anxiously went to bed in anticipation without a clue as to where my parents would take us the following day. My brother and I grew up in strict household. Our parents expected us to obey and remain silent and for the better part of our young lives I suppose we did just that, so of course we did not dare ask Father where we were going. In the morning, we were ordered to get our swimsuits on and grab the beach bags as we drove to a beautiful white sandy beach with tons of trees along the shore. In my eyes, it was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen. The crystal clear water housed dozens of small fish that my brother and I swore we would catch. Years later my husband, the kids and I returned to that same strip of beach, but this time found multi-million dollar homes now occupied that sandy shore. The beach as I knew it was no more, but I can see it again anytime I want in the 8 mm film that I still keep of that vacation.

From Naples we drove north and then east to Orlando. There we entered another world: Walt Disney's. Unlike today, where a person just pays a fee and rides anything at anytime, back then we purchased booklets. The booklets contained coupons for different rides, and I may be wrong, but I don't remember riding the same ride twice. Oh, how I remember the parades, the castle, the pirates and the tree house. Voyaging through It's a Small World I thought my heart would jump out of my body with excitement. But then, I road the most incredible ride; it was like no ride I would ever experience again in my life. I had read the story, seen the movie and watched the play, but no one could have ever prepared me for "The Ride." I sat next to my mother in our very own boat, and my brother sat with my father in the boat behind us. Then, we set sail into a land filled with adventure, magical pirates, a flying boy and a man eating crocodile. I was on my way to see the one and only Peter Pan. The ride probably only lasted a few minutes for my mother,but I was on it for days, at least it felt that way. I looked up at the sky and yelled in amazement, "look the stars." Then, a few seconds later I leaned over the side of my flying vessel and yelled, "look at all the cars down there." My mother reprimanded me and reminded me that everyone could hear me. She said I had to contain my joy, and so I whispered, "Dad did you see him?" Every corner of that humongous room sprinkled me with magic that day. And yes, still years later I found myself still believing in fairies, fairy tales and magical places where all my dreams would come true. I guess it's all Peter's fault that I am a romantic...

I have never forgotten that trip, the places we visited or my mother walking around Disney World and Sea World with rollers in her head, a sleeveless blouse, shorts and sandals. Amazingly, even my father wore shorts on that trip. He smiled a lot and seemed to enjoy himself almost as much as we did. He was happy...We were all happy.