FIRST TRIP 

In the spring of 1976, I took my 1st trip abroad to Freeport, Bahamas with my sister J. We stayed at the Grand Palace Resort. The trip did not cost us much because J had a friend who worked for a travel agency. There was a last-minute cancellation, and he called to offer us the trip. I believe we only had to pay the taxes. Grand Bahamas Island was so beautiful, and the people were very friendly. I got to meet so many nice people. We spent most of our time around the pool during the day and would go out dancing at night. There was one night, we went to the Casino. Of course, I was underage, only 17. Still, they didn’t ask for identification, and I could enjoy the craziness of others gambling.  We didn’t have the money to gamble, so we just walked around watching everyone else. There was one incident that happened that I now look back on and think about how it could have turned out badly. My sister, who took drugs, decided to buy cannabis in the bathroom. I thought we were only going to the bathroom, but I was shocked when I heard her doing the exchange! I gave her crap afterwards, reminding her she was the BIG sister. The one good thing was that even though she smoked, she would offer it to me but never force me or make me feel bad about not accepting her offer. I was grateful for that! 

One person we met in the hotel lobby was Dwight. He worked for a travel excursion company that flew people to different Islands. I hit it off with him. He could see that I was very interested in travelling and friendly.

Dwight was also a bodybuilder and held the title of Mr. Bahamas. He competed, was very successful, and had the title from 1972 to 1976. He represented the Bahamas at the Mr. World Bodybuilding Competition (later changed to Mr. Universe) in 1978, placing 4th in New York City. He has been considered the best Bodybuilder in the Bahamas for many years. He has pioneered the sport for all who have come after him. He was a very friendly and fun person to be around. One night, we went out for dinner and then danced the night away.  

After spending time in Freeport we took a small plane to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was a very short flight.

It was my first time on a small plane, and the pilot could see that I was a little nervous, so he played on that. I was told I should sit in the front so that it would balance the plane out. When he saw the fear in my face, he started laughing. There were only about 10 people on that flight. We stayed in Fort Lauderdale for a few days. We walked the beach a lot and met some people, but there was one couple that I could not forget. They were very free-spirited like they were still in the 60s, the Woodstock days. After spending a few hours on the beach with them, they invited us to their place. I was hesitant, but J, being wild and free, took them up on their offer. They had a cute place, with pillows on the floor for seating and a very minimal amount of stuff. They took out some snack food and a couple of joints, lit them up and passed them around. I was polite and said, “No, thank you.”  After a while, the man came to sit behind me, and then suddenly, I could feel that he was unzipping my dress. I just looked at my sister, and when she looked at him in surprise, he said, “Well don’t you want to have a foursome?” We looked at each other again, got up, and left quickly. The problem was that it was dark outside, and we didn’t know where we were going. After we were far enough away from them, we started to laugh and finally made it back to our hotel. After a week in Florida, we were ready to go back home. Besides, we had run out of money! 

Many years later, I asked my mother what she was thinking, letting me go on my first vacation with my sister J. Did she not think that we could or would get into trouble? Trouble was J’s middle name! My mother answered, “I guess I didn’t think about that.”