While responding to @Alter Ego on another post, I was reminded of how things have changed over the years when it comes to traveling. I think it might be interesting to read what memories you have of traveling years and years ago compared to now, and how it has changed. Those of us up in years will probably have more to share on changes seen, but I would love to reminisce with you.
For instance, here are a few of the things that have changed since I first started traveling when I was nine.
- Flight to Hawaii was around 10 hours one way from the West Coast, and my mother packed a lot of things to keep me occupied while in the plane: crossword puzzles, coloring books, etc.
- Women frequently wore hose/heels, and sometimes fancy hats (with netting on it).
- Flight attendants were called stewardesses, because they were mainly women. In fact, I don't ever remember a male in that position.
- Women carried cosmetic cases.
- We always brought hairdryers with us because those were not automatically in each hotel room, as they frequently are now.
- The way to wear your hair at that time was to have big, bouffant-type styles, which meant we had to take at least a couple of cans of hairspray.
- With that kind of hairstyle, my sister and I needed to bring our metal rollers, which we tried to sleep on; and, of course, mom used lots of bobby pins to keep her curls in place while she slept. And then there was the ever present hairnet.
- Luggage was hard and not soft-sided; mine was white Samsonite. The wheels on the luggage were very, very small and it was hard to roll. They were also heavy compared to today’s luggage.
- Only soft sided luggage I saw was very heavy leather.
- We took lots and lots of jewelry, because we always dressed up for dinner. I almost never take jewelry now.
- We would take TWO pieces of checked-in luggage, and they were the 28” size back then.
- We took small, travel irons, because most clothes needed the wrinkles taken out of them after being packed.
- We took rolls and rolls of film, because you never knew if the first photo you took of something would come out….maybe you moved and it would be blurred. I remember taking around 20 photos of the Eiffel Tower on one trip, from all angles, just in case I didn’t have the right setting. Then you had to wait a week to get your film developed. For years I kept those negatives just in case I needed to make some more photos, but those photos would fade away, with the colors becoming neutral.
- My father always carried a special case that held all the different lenses for his camera. The case was heavy leather.
- Depending upon the time of the month, I could have loads of Kotex/Tampons taking up space in my luggage.
- We had physical tickets that had to be punched at the airport. Stewardesses would also punch them when we went onto the plane.
- Alarm clocks were a necessity; no smart phones on the horizon back then.
- We took lots of underwear, because the thickness back then didn’t allow for quick drying overnight. Mom would, however, pack clothespins for when we were in one spot for a few days.
- Many times we would use the hanging bags for some of our more important clothes and the stewardesses always found places to hang them.
- I don’t remember getting on a plane back then where I didn’t have to climb the steps to go inside. Now, I rarely have to climb the steps to a plane. Most places I go to now, the terminal is at a height where you just walk right in at the correct level/height of the plane.
- Our local airport did not charge for parking your car and there was no need for a patrolman to keep an eye on the cars. Times have changed, right?
- We also packed nice gloves, the kind you would wear to church. That was for when we went to dinner. My mother had a whole drawer just for gloves (short or up to the elbow) when I was growing up.
- We always packed our clothes with tissue paper. Mom made sure we were careful when folding our dresses so that the tissue placement helped reduce the ironing needed once we arrived at the hotel.
- We would put little sachet bags in our suitcase so our clothes smelled fresh; and then put those bags in the drawers at the hotel.
- Our luggage and cars (bumper) always had stickers on them that showed which state or tourist place we had stopped to see. My dad’s luggage was just plastered with them. He had been to so many places as he frequently traveled for business reasons. Same with his briefcase.
- I don’t recall different levels of service (first class, business class, tourist/coach). It seems we all traveled at the same class.
If none of this brings back memories, then you are much younger than me; and if you remember trunks being used for traveling on ships, then you are older than me! LO!
I would love to read what you remember about traveling years ago. What changes have you noticed; the good, the bad, and the ugly! ha!
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