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My first trip by Susan Davis

Writer's picture: Susan DavisSusan Davis

Friday, May 8, 1970, I climbed aboard the same bus I had visited last year.

That bus was the first diesel bus to travel to Mexico on Mexitour '69. Some friends and I had gone to meet the buses when they returned from their adventure to Mexico. I was impressed by the interior of the bus...there were the regular seats in the front, but half-way back were flat couch-type seats that converted into beds, under which were storage compartments for clothes. There was a concession stand behind the front seats where we could get a Coke and a snack. Since there was no bathroom on the bus, it was unwise to drink too many while traveling…

On our trip to Stone Mountain in 1970 was to the dedication of the monument. There were about 26 of us on board, many of whom were friends and classmates. Our camp site that night was a church near the mountain (which actually isn’t a mountain but one of the largest exposed pieces of granite in the world.) Girls, at that time, hadn’t taken over the cooking, so our expert male chefs (I say that with a tad of sarcasm…) prepared a gourmet meal of canned ravioli, green beans, with an unknown green drink with a lovely lime flavor…this meal, and previous ones, may have prompted the powers that be that women needed to take over the culinary aspects of future trips! On the exterior, the bus had a built-in rail that ran along above the windows. The guys would thread one side of a large tarpaulin that stretched the length of the bus and the opposite side pulled out, held up with poles. The guys slept under that on old army cots and the girls inside in the bunks. It was comfortable enough…when one is in junior high, the fun outweighed the lack of luxury! I remember having to wash up and brush teeth in the nearby gas station restroom.

The next day, after a breakfast that was forgettable, we headed to Stone Mountain. There were over 10,000 people there, all clamoring for position to see the ceremony and dignitaries who would preside over the event. Everyone was situated on the giant lawn in front of Jefferson Davis (to whom I am distantly related), Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson in the largest bas-relief carving in the world.

There was a roped off area in front of us where “special” people were allowed only. However, an official looking gentleman came over to where we were standing and asked if some of us wanted in. We hesitated, at first, but at the urging of Mrs. Register, our VJHS history teacher and chaperone, we quickly ducked under the ropes and followed the man to a designated area.

We heard a big helicopter flying overhead and landing behind the stage in front of us. It was carrying Vice President Spiro Agnew (President Nixon was slated to appear, but was unable to attend.) A few minutes later, Agnew, along with a few Secret Service, strode down the roped off path, behind which we anxiously waited for him to pass. He came right over to where we were. He shook Sheree Valenti's hand and I reached out and touched his sleeve as he did so. Dang, that was cool! I mean, how many kids get to say they got to touch a vice president! I don’t remember much else about that day, but I do remember that I was hooked on this travel thing!

Robert Winter III had taken Danny Adams' and my pictures several weeks before at the junior high and told us about the Adventuretours Club. As the time for the trip approached, Sheree had been bugging me to go on a trip and, at the urging of my Daddy (he had helped Robert out several times in the past with air conditioning on the buses and such), I decided it sounded like fun! So I went...and went some more...and over the next 15 years became a "staff" member, then chaperone, then board of trustee member.

It was because of my travels to Mexico that I studied Spanish in college and became a teacher. When exchange students started coming to Valdosta, I had the opportunity to meet many young people from many countries, mostly Mexico. I also hosted 6 girls from Mexico (2 of whom were the daughters of Alfonso Ruiz, our first exchange student and later, Mexico Action Trav'lers coordinator). My life has been much richer knowing all of these wonderful people, none of whom I would have ever met if not for Adventuretours! And all of this because a couple of young men, Robert Winter III, Lucian and Lewis Holtzendorff, had a dream and worked hard to fulfill it!


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