Where Was Your First Flight?

When I was 7, my big brother Chuck was newly married and an officer in the Navy. When my parents learned that he would be stationed at Naval Station Rota Spain, they booked a family Christmas trip to go see him.

My First Passport Photo

This was a huge undertaking. We went over Winter Break and we were gone for an entire month. I remember when we returned, the school threatened to hold us back for missing so many days. My mom was fierce and the threat dissipated.

For many years after this trip, the European adventure defined me, even being so young. "I have been to Europe!" I would proclaim. And many of the memories are still vivid.

Looking back, I'm extremely surprised at the planning that went into this trip. We had never flown anywhere as a family. We landed in Amsterdam where we toured Anne Frank's house. We then trained to Frankfurt, Germany to hang out with a friend of my brother's who was in the Army there. On the train to Paris, our parents lost us as we ran about and my mom thought that we were certainly still on the dining car that had been disconnected (we weren't). While in the City of Light, we ogled the Eiffel Tower and I had flu symptoms in front of a sidewalk café. Oh the things children remember.

The true highlight was to live in Spain, if only for a week or so, with my big brother. He was military, through and through. "I don't care what time you get up or how long it takes for you to get ready. We leave at 0:800". Oh man, I have never forgotten that. We toured castles and walled cities. We had a true adventure, one that 50 years later I still have fond, albeit faded, memories of.

Where was your first flight?

posted under |