Dear Cha-Wel-Dor-Sue:

Why would anyone entertain a trip to Europe within a week of returning from a month's vacation in Florida in the spring of 1986? The Americans had just bombed Libya, and people were canceling their plans for vacations in Europe. Despite the fact that the odds of one being injured by a terrorist were less than one in a million, a mass hysteria seemed to pervade all of America and many people had altered their plans for their vacations. Even my wife Pat had cold feet and wanted to forego our trip! If necessary, I would have gone alone. Our trip deserves an explanation.

It all began with a telephone call from Keller and Betty Doss, informing us of a "Dream" trip to Europe being conducted by Josef Paulke, General Manager of the Shady Oaks Country Club of Fort Worth, Texas. We were invited to join them and their friends and the trip excited us so much that we signed on immediately. It was a tourist dream, combining a flight to Europe on the Concorde, one or two nightly stays in the finest and most elegant hotels in London, Cologne, Baden Baden, Lucerne, Milan, and Venice, a trip on the Super Deluxe Orient Express (Venice, Simplon, Orient Express) from Venice to London, and finally, a five day transAtlantic voyage on the largest ship afloat in the world, the QE2, from Southampton, England, to New York City. A fantastic trip at an unbelievable low price of $4,400.00 per person! Our only extra expenses were for meals, although in a few instances, Continental breakfasts were provided in the hotels and all food on both the train and the ship was included in our overall fee, and for the purchase of personal items. Only ten people, including our escort guide or courier,were to be on the trip, and our companions proved to be a most compatible group. Frankly, I believe that Pat and I were the only financial peasants among the group, as no one else seemed to have any financial concerns.

A trip on the Concorde is something to be really enjoyed and not read about, for words alone are inadequate to describe the experience. The plane itself is a beautifully designed "needle" with a typical Delta wing design and four rear engines. Inside, the seats are generous in size and no one felt closely confined. It seats 100 passengers and the galleys and storage areas are so efficiently placed that they are unobtrusive. Service is impeccable and an attendant is more or less constantly available. Champagne was served both before boarding and immediately after boarding.

Laurent Perrier Grand Siec Cuvee champagne was served. The takeoff was uneventful, with a rapid sub-sonic ascent. As soon as we passed Nantucket Island, the supersonic engines were fired and the airship vibrated for a brief period of time. We rapidly rose from an elevation of 29,000 feet to 60,000 feet and our air speed gradually increased to 1,380 miles per hour or Mach II, which is the equivalent of twice the speed of sound. It was also interesting that our outside temperature and elevation and speed were constantly monitored on a screen in the front of the plane and we were aware at all times of the conditions of the flight. It is interesting that while flying at Mach II, the plane seemed to be relatively quiet and we were totally unaware of our great speed. Many of the passengers attached their ear phones and listened to the several programs that were available for their entertainment. Cocktails of all kinds, various beers, several wines, a variety of liquors, and several brandies were all available for the asking and the three part dinner was memorable. The champagne was followed by a variety of delicate canapes or hors d'oeuvres and then we were given the choice of an entre-cote or shrimp scampi and then finally, a choice of some unparalleled desserts. Our landing at Heathrow Airport was uneventful. A flight on the Concorde, finally, is an experience to be savored, for it is elegance blended with exquisite standards completely in keeping with the ultimate!

An interesting event occurred as we were lining up to check in at the Concorde Lounge, when one of our fellow passengers discovered that he had left his passport at home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This meant that he could not accompany us, but he did manage to call his home and have his elderly mother find the passport, deliver it to the TWA Counter at Tulsa and arrange for it to be flown immediately to the TWA Counter at Kennedy Airport. He was also successful in getting the Concorde people to honor his ticket on the following day. If this had not been possible, he would have had to pay $2300.00 for a regular ticket. He was able to catch the Concorde on the very next day and met us the next day at the Hyde Park Hotel, which is a five star hotel on Knightsbridge, just a block away from Harrod's famous department store.

On the morning following our arrival in London, Pat and I made a beeline for Harrod's, as we understood it to be the finest store in the world, bar none! We were not disappointed and I must say I have never been in a store of its kind anywhere in the world. The store is commodious and occupies virtually a full block and is at least five or six stories high. Everything is extraordinarily well organized and I was most impressed with their food, meat and vegetable section, the likes of which I have never seen in a store of that kind. We also wandered about the area in general, acquainting ourselves with the general area and Hyde Park in particular.

Part of the time spent in London included a Red Bus twotiered ride to the very end of the city, or to that section known as "The City of London" or the financial area. We wandered by St. Paul's Cathedral and up Fleet Street and finally decided to have dinner at the "Ye olde Cheshire Cheese" pub where Samuel Johnson and Boswell dined so frequently. Johnson's home is just a stone's throw away and in an alley just off Fleet Street.

Some of our friends attended a theater performance but we were happy to return to our room to enjoy some Taylor's Port Wine, and some Original Crafts Pale Cream Sherry and some Balantine's "Scotch", and to watch on TV the gala performance at Covent Garden of Queen Elizabeth's 60th birthday. It was quite a celebration!

After a couple of days in London, we returned to Heathrow Airport to make a one hour flight on British Airways to Cologne, Germany, and en route, enjoyed a "snack" that served as our breakfast. Security at all the airports was very good, although I do not believe that our checked luggage was x-rayed or examined. Our carry-on luggage was scrupulously examined.

Although Pat and I had briefly visited Cologne on our four day Rhine River Cruise in 1983, and although we felt that we had some idea of the beauty of the city and its magnificent cathedral, we were not prepared for the real beauty of the city, its restored waterfront and its reconstructed "Old City". The city appeared immaculate and quite unlike most American cities. We stayed at Cologne's only four star hotel, the Ernest Excelsior Hotel, situated at the Cathedral Plaza and near the Barnhof or Railroad Station. Cologne was 90% destroyed by Allied bombing and nary a sign remains of the devastation. It is also interesting that from the years 50 B.C. to 400 A.D., Cologne was an important Roman City, ruled by Claudius and his wife Agrappina, and today, there is a beautiful Roman-German Museum housing many of the archaeological sculptures of that period. Several of the ancient walls and art works are exhibited. Some of the ancient city walls and gates and towers are still well preserved.

While in Cologne, we attended a performance of Carmen at the relatively modern Opera House. It was completely sold out and proved to be a great evening for all of us.

Josef, the General Manager of the Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth, was, as I said, our tour guide, and had arranged for us to visit his sister's home for a "Barbecue". This word is hardly appropriate, for she had a hearty dinner prepared for us, beginning with champagne, and we also had some of the local beer which is called Kostel Beer. She had also prepared a fine salad, a tender filet mignon and a beautiful rich dessert. Their home was a demonstration of German efficiency in that a great number of conveniences were built in and a maximum use was made of all available space. Josef's brother-in-law, an insurance broker, was kind enough to conduct us on a walking tour of the "Old Town", and later entertained us in his ultra-modern home.

In the rear of the home was a small garden which was a model of landscape design. It is also of interest that they had living with them a girl from Alabama, USA, who was an Exchange Student for a semester.

The next part of our trip was a bus-oriented tour and began in Cologne, driving us down along the west coast of the Rhine to Boppapoor, passing en route the cities of Bonn, the capital of Western Germany, and also Remagen, with its famous bridge and its epic story in World War II. We boarded a Rhine River cruise boat and cruised up the Rhine to Rudesshein. This enabled us to see one of the most important parts of the Rhine River, namely the many castles and the Lorelei. We passed many small towns and innumerable vineyards and also passed by the mouth of the Mosel River. The bus trip from Rudesshein to Baden Baden was through a beautiful countryside with manicured farms in the process of being planted. We also passed several atomic plants, some of which are not operational, in contrast to France, where over 60% of the energy is atomic-generated.

Baden Baden is an old charming town of international renown which houses innumerable spas, many ornate hotels, and a casino considered to be the most beautiful in all of Europe. The city itself is essentially a walking city, with narrow streets, exquisite shops and boutiques, and walking paths through beautiful manicured parks. Beautiful spring flowers were everywhere. There were also many churches of different affiliations. It was obvious that years ago, the nobility, the aristocracy and the wealthy of the continent would come to this area to take the "cure" by bathing several times a day in the thermal waters at a temperature of 68° Fahrenheit. A leisurely life- style must have existed for there seemed to be very little else to do. To be sure, good conversation, card games, and hiking probably constituted most of their activities, and in the evening, "gaming" came into vogue. At first, gambling was outlawed and was done surreptitiously but later on, it became a very reputable and honorable institution.

Pat and I took a tour of the casino in the morning and were shown through the various rooms, many of which were reminiscent of the glory of Versailles. The game of roulette is the most popular pastime but blackjack and baccarat are also played. Dice, or craps, are not permitted. Four croupiers preside at each table and it is an exciting experience to watch them perform. Each man has his assigned tasks and one sits in a chair high above all the others at one end of the table and observes every movement made by everyone. The quiet efficiency of the game is most impressive. We were told that the croupiers were paid out of the tips contributed by the winners and did not receive a salary. Everyone who wins anything of consequence must tip or else all operations at the game table cease. A tip brings smiles to all the croupiers, especially a generous one. Pat loves to dabble at the tables and usually manages to break even, something that has never happened to me. I am beaten before I play my first chip or place a bet on a horse. That night, we had dinner in the casino restaurant and enjoyed white asparagus andwiener schnitzel (breaded veal), as well as my customary glass of Konigsbacher Eeer and Pat's Dienhard white wine.

After leaving Baden Baden after a beautiful two day stay at the Bascherhoff, we drove southward and crossed the border at Basil, Switzerland, the head of the Rhine River, and perhaps the most industrialized city in Switzerland. It certainly is the center of the pharmaceutical industry throughout the world. Pat and I had previously been to Basel with Walter and Yvonne Pilpel, where we had had dinner with Willy and Esther Schneider, friends of the Nutmeg Camera Club of East Hartford.

Our next stop was a two day stay at the beautiful Palace Hotel on Lake Lucerne in Lucerne, Switzerland. It is a city that Pat and I had visited on our A.R.R.P. Rhine River Cruise several years ago. At that time, we stayed in a first class hotel, the Hotel Metropole, which was situated in the heart of the town, next to the railroad station. It was so centrally located that we could walk to anything within a few minutes. The Palace Hotel, however, is situated along the western border of the lake and actually overlooks the lake itself. It was a pleasant walk into the center of town and especially to Bucherer's, the famous jewelry establishment in that city. The city itself is not large and is only 800 years old, with a Medieval Old Town and with Baroque and Renaissance buildings and sculptured monuments. On our previous trip, escorted by a most knowledgeable Englishwoman as our guide, we did see all the high points in the city itself and on this occasion, did not feel the need to do so again. We did, however, see the Chapel Bridge with its water tower built in 1833, the Jesuit and Franciscan churches dating back to the early 1300's, the Hofkirche with its twin gothic towers (rebuilt three times), the Lions Monument and the Musegg Wall, remnants of the Old Walled City.

We had only a few hours of shopping, as the day, Saturday, was largely spent. Pat visited the Geiger Jacket Shop and acquired a few purchases that were beautiful.

Sunday in Lucerne was to be an uneventful day and since I decided not to read the Bible, I elected to continue my reading in Vinegar Joe Stiwelly's biography. I felt that it would serve to give me an honest and authentic description of the Sino-USA relations during World War II. The "McCarthy Era" has taught me that we are the peons or serfs of the media, and I am thinking specifically of Mr. Henry R. Luce and his articles in both Life and Time Magazine, which completely distorted the reality of the situation in China. Today, I believe I am more sophisticated, and can take a more enlightened and rational point of view with regard to our international relations. Today, I look at the situation in Nicaragua and Angola in a more enlightened manner and know that there are two sides of the issue and that each has its own honest story to tell. Today, it is my feeling that the American tradition of one side being completely right and the other side being completely wrong is erroneous and that one must come to one's own conclusion based upon one's own experience and one's own knowledgeable of world events.

Rather than do the reading that I had contemplated, I learned that there was a Transport Museum, just down the promenade from our hotel and that it was the largest in the world. As it turned out, we spent some six hours seeing the exhibits! Many of the exhibits are hands-on learning types of experience, i.e., operating a short wave radio, toying with computers, driving high speed road races using simulators, and landing planes at an airport. There are three theaters, much like there are in the Air Space Museum in Washington, D.C. One was the Cosmorama, which illustrates man's venture into outer space and highlighted the accomplishments of both Russia and the United States. Two, there was a beautiful Planetarium which endeavored to trace the history of the earth since the early milliseconds of the "Big Bang", and showing a bit of Haley's comet. Lastly, there was the Swissorama, which was a 360° projection in the round, showing typical scenes from all over Switzerland. Finally, we visited the Hans Erni Museum of Art, and while I admired some of his 300 works of art, I was most impressed by the design of the building itself and its vast open areas and display areas for every conceivable type or work of art. Were I ever to endow a museum, it would have to be a replica of this one. Were it to be built in Hartford, our citizens eyes would indeed be opened in astonishment. I was particularly impressed with the theater in the Art museum, both sides of which consisted of murals painted by Erni, in which he portrays the greatest thinkers of mankind, our philosophers, scientists, artists, ecclesiastics, etc., and in a fascinating chronological manner. Tomorrow, we would be off in our bus for Milan, where, unfortunately, there was no scheduled opera at LaScala.

The drive from Lucerne to Milan through the Swiss and Italian Alps was beautiful, passing through both the Arlberg and the Brenner Pass tunnels, and subsequently past Lake Magiorri, Lugano, and Lake Como to Milan. In our brief half-day stay in this city, we visited the famous Cathedral and also the theatrical and musical Museum of LaScala. Unfortunately, we arrived a day early for Aida was scheduled on the day of our departure. We used the subway to get about and were housed in the elegant Excelsior Gallia Hotel, again a five star hotel. There is much more to see in Milan and perhaps some day, we shall return there, as much of the finest jewelry in Italy is fabricated in that city.

Milan is an interesting city and along with Turin is the most industrialized in Italy. However, its Duoma or Cathedral, is exquisitely beautiful and the LaScala Opera House is perhaps the most renown in the world. We visited its Museum, entered one of its boxes on the third tier, and admired its six tier series of boxes. We also wandered through the Galleria, the oldest shopping center in the world (late 1800's) and also walked the Via Monte Napoleon, where all the exquisite boutiques of Italy are centered and comparable to those on Fifth Avenue in New York or Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. The prices were equivalent to those at the Trump Tower in New York City.

On our only night in Milan, Pat and I parted company. She was tired from walking and wanted dinner at the five star Excelsior Hotel Gallia Restaurant. At times, I seem to forget that my energy seems limitless and I opted for what I believed to be an English Pub, but it was closed for the evening. I then wandered and looked in at least half a dozen small, quaint, and charming Italian ristorantes where no tourist or~perhaps rarely a tourist is seen. I dined alone and had the best dinner so far in Europe at a fraction of what it would have cost me to dine at the five star dining room in our hotel. Perhaps I was too lazy to change my clothes for dinner but I really believed I wanted the experience of seeking out the off the tourist path dining rooms, family-oriented, and with excellent food at almost immoderate prices.

The drive from Milan to Venice was one we had previously done and we passed through the Soave Wine District and Verona, both of which we had previously visited, and the entire trip took about three hours.

This was our third visit to Venice and to this very unique city situated on a series of islands in the Adriatic Sea. At one time, the Venetian merchants ruled the Mediterranean Ocean and it was from this site that Marco Polo began his long overland trip to China. Today, it is no different than it was on our previous trips, except that we spent an hour or more getting a water taxi from the Tour Bus parking area. It seemed as though there were more than 200 tour busses from all over Europe that had crowded this parking area and everyone was looking for an auto-taxi to take them to their respective hotels. Again, we were housed in an elegant five star hotel called the Bauer Gruenwald. Previously, we had stayed at the five star Danieli. These,together with the Grande Hotel, are the three finest in Venice. The chances are that on any subsequent visit to Venice, we will not be staying at such prestigious hotels, as they are extremely expensive for ordinary travel.

Venice is still entrancing, with crowds filling St. Marco's Plaza, wandering through the Doge's Palace, and traveling hither and yon by gondolas. All of this was past history for us and we merely settled for some window-shopping and reminiscing. In the evening, we dined on the canal in the hotel restaurant and watched the illuminated water craft pass by and all in all, had a great evening. It was a fitting climax for the day in Venice and a prelude for tomorrow's unique experience on the Venice Simplon, or Orient Express. This is no regular train but one specifically designed for the adventurous traveler who wants to bask in the magnificence of train travel years ago and for those who today can afford $850.00 per person for 36 hours of train travel. Fortunately, we were on a specially created and chartered tour at Social Security rates.

The Orient Express leaves from the mainland and so, we had to water-taxi to the Railroad Station and at 10:55 A.M., we promptly took off for Verona, Innsbruck, etc., and etc., until we finally arrived at Boulougne, France. It was there that we had to ferry across the English Channel and then we joined the English Section of the Orient Express, formerly called the "Golden Arrow". Each car on the Orient Express is an individual entity with its own history and decor and there were several dining rooms, all of which were different. The lounge or bar car with its continual piano-playing artist was always crowded. Drinks were rather expensive but most of us had prepared for this by bringing along our own "hard stuff" and having a preliminary drink or two in our own compartments. The women on the train were all extremely well groomed and in the evening, virtually all of the men were in black tie and formal attire. I took a fair number of pictures to record this portion of our trip and to record some of the decor and ambience. I also bought a book which is devoted entirely to the story of the Orient Express Train.

The evening's dinner was good, save for the chicken entree, and the waiter did not hesitate to apologize for the chef's misadventure. Apparently, he was a "new chef''. However, the hors d'oeuvres and the desserts were perfect and I entertained with a bottle of Tavel Rose Wine which proved popular. As I said, all of the ladies were elegantly groomed and one of our group wore her head dress or head band adorned with what I believe must have been zircons.

Though our compartment was small compared to that which we enjoyed on the Trans-Siberian Express, they were nonetheless sufficiently organized and met all of our needs. We only brought along those essentials that we needed and sent along our remainder of our clothing in our luggage which accompanied us in a separate railroad car. Despite the motion of the train, a combination of 30 mg of Dalmane and 50 mg of Benadryl served to provide me with a very restful night's sleep. In the morning at 7:30, a Continental breakfast was served in our compartment and promptly at 9 o'clock, we rolled into Paris, where some of our fellow travelers dis-entrained, and others, who had taken a two day stay over in Paris, re-entrained. As usual, the train was fully occupied.

A brunch was served between 10 and 11 in the morning in order to get it out of the way for Customs inspection. It was more or less casual and routine and no problems were encountered. Later in the day, we passed through two customs inspections at Boulougne, France and at Folkestone, England. Our brunch consisted of an egg omelet with salmon, two half broiled lobster tails and a baked potato filled with a delightful cheese and herb assortment. Finally, a supreme dessert with rich sauces was served and coffee was had in the lounge car. The trip from Paris to the coast was ideal, providing us with many beautiful views of the French countryside and farms, all of which appeared to be well cared for and probably very productive.

Our final full day in London was interesting. Pat had her own interests and I had mine and we went our separate ways for most of the day. For me, a morning spent in the Visitors Gallery in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords was an absolute must and proved most interesting. On a previous visit to London, I had thoroughly enjoyed a similar experience by visiting the Judicial Civil Chambers and also Old Bailey's, where criminal cases were heard. On this occasion, I was up early and was the first in line in the queue to be admitted to the Houses of Parliament. I had always admired the beauty of the Gothic architecture of the Parliament Buildings but I had always only viewed them from the outside. On previous occasions, the queues were so long that any attempts to see Parliament in action was fruitless. One enters into a large Rotunda, the North Wing of which consists of the House of Commons and the South Wing of which consists of the House of Lords. I first visited the House of Commons and thought that it was magnificent but I was a little disappointed to see so few members in the chambers. It is interesting that the program or the agenda for the day's discussions are published in advance and there are no deviations, except by special privilege. I won't trouble you with the matters that were discussed but it seemed to me that great care was given in the discussion of each of the subjects. The House of Lords is grandeur beyond words and the chamber was full of Barons and Baronesses. One of the subjects discussed was the effect of adulterated Italian wine being permitted to be sold in Great Britain and this subject was thoroughly discussed. The leading discusser and the one who presents the Government side of the issue was a Baroness and she impressed me tremendously. She had obviously done her homework thoroughly and was well acquainted with all of the scientific aspects of wine manufacture and wine adulteration. This chamber far surpasses the House of Commons in its elegance.

Later, I returned to the Hyde Park Hotel, revisited Harrod's and then took a combination of a bus, a subway or tube, and a train to "Lavender Hill" to visit the shop that magicians from all over the world use as the source of most of their illusions material. Naturally, I bought a small trick or two to be used at home sometime.

Our last night in London was spent at the English Royal Opera House, formerly the Sadler-Wells Opera Company, and we enjoyed an English production of Strauss' Die Fledermouse. On the previous evening, some of our friends elected to hear "Tosca" at the Covent Garden, but that was not anything that I would have particularly enjoyed. The performance of Die Fledermouse surpassed anything that I had ever seen or heard in the theater before, and the cast, the settings, the costumes and the dancing and particularly the liberties taken with humor, all added up to the most delightful and entertaining evening in my life in the theater. When I saw the Hartt School of Music's production of Die Fledermouse for public television, I thought that it was great and probably unsurpassable, but now, I am convinced that I have seen the best production of it that could possibly be made. I am sorry that a video tape using the American VHF system was not available.

We were originally scheduled to take a cab from Hyde Park to Southampton but the mass of luggage prompted one of our enterprising and generous fellow companions to arrange for a bus to take us all to Southampton together, an hour and a half ride. This was contrary to custom, as buses are not permitted to park even for a moment in front of the prestigious Hyde Park Hotel. We arrived at Southampton and it was interesting watching the logistics of boarding 1,650 passengers and approximately 4,000 to 5,000 pieces of luggage. The British, however, were well organized and except for brief waits for passport control, "VAT" refunds, and security checks, we were soon on board the second largest ship afloat today. If my memory serves me correct, perhaps the rebuilt Ille DeFrance and the present day Norway may be larger than the QE2. It is a floating city, some thirteen stories high, with five dining rooms, every imaginable amenity, a beautiful theater, several dance floors, a bank and shopping boutiques and on the last day of our voyage, a duty free shop. It takes about two days to find yourself around the ship and to learn which staircases take you to which areas of activity. There are at least five or six sets of staircases and several sets of elevators which make vertical movement very simple for the more elderly and handicapped. The food itself, so far as I was concerned, was unsurpassed, and there was always a wide choice of selections available. Except for the motion of the ship, and it was minimal throughout our entire voyage, it would be the equal of a six star hotel!

Pat had been informed of the "Golden Door Spa" and had made arrangements for a massage, aerobodics training and for a hairdo and a facial, etc. She decided that for once in her life, she was going to live it up to the hilt. I settled for several sessions at the Computer Center and a learning session at the Gaming Tables. We planned to see several movies and did so and particularly enjoyed "The White Knight". The "Jewel Of The Nile" was a disappointment, but I did enjoy the revival of "The Bengal Lancers". There were also several floor shows to be seen and some of our group scheduled dancing lessons. Golfdriving, table tennis instruction, and some skeet shooting were available on the Aft Deck. Among our own group, we each played host for an evening for a private little get-together with cocktails prior to dinner and this gave us a chance to get better acquainted with one another. I must say, as I dictate this letter, we were most fortunate in having in our group a variety of personalities, all of which proved interesting and some quite entertaining indeed.

On several of the mornings, I was up quite early and took a brisk walk on the Upper, or Boat Deck, and five trips around it would constitute one mile. I don't believe I succeeded in making a mile on any of the mornings because the wind on the Starboard side was such that one had to lean forward to make any headway. However, it was invigorating and prompted a good appetite for breakfast each morning.

On every trip, there is a Captain's Party and Commodore Ridley's party was the usual success. There was champagne and canapes everywhere and the variety of appetizers, soups, fish courses, entrees,desserts and cheeses seemed endless and proved too exciting to resist. Apparently, the only way to lose weight on the QE2 is to become sick or to suffer from continual nausea and no one seemed to suffer from this affliction on our trip.

On our fourth day, the Captain announced that icebergs had been sighted and that it would be necessary for us to deviate from our scheduled course and travel some 400 to 500 miles southward. This meant that instead of landing in New York, we were scheduled to land some 24 hours late in Baltimore, Maryland. This posed all sorts of problems for virtually everybody on board. Most of the passengers were scheduled to land in New York and many had already made ongoing arrangements for their travel from New York to their homes. All of this had to be revised and the Cunard Line was most cooperative and helpful. Buses by the dozen were arranged to pick up the passengers and the luggage for those who intended to go to New York City and all of the airline tickets for those who were destined to fly out of New York had to be altered so that they could depart from Baltimore, Maryland. This was no great hardship for us, as we were able then to fly directly from Baltimore, Maryland, nonstop to Hartford, Connecticut. The deviation in the course of the ship, however, disappointed a great many people as for them, the pleasure of coming into New York Harbor with its Statue of Liberty to greet them and the tallest buildings in the world, proved to be a great disappointment.

In conclusion, I can only say that if anyone ever has the opportunity to take a combination trip of this kind, one should make every effort and sacrifice to do it.

Now that I am at home, I will set about getting my chores done and start planning for some further travel. It has been said that no man is old who is still making plans for tomorrow.

With Love,

Dad

CEJ/ngb

T7/31/86