Hello Dear Reader,
I don't remember much about our trip back to Great Britain but we left early on the morning of September 5th and went to Belgium where we boarded the ferry for our return. I do remember how excited we were to see the white cliffs as we approached Dover.
We spent a few days in the London area visiting friends and then returned to Scotland. On September 15, I left my family in Scotland to return to Provo. I looked forward to at least one trip back to the British Isles since the mission call was for three years but then, at the last fall conference in 1963, Wendell Mendenhall and George Biesinger informed Grandpa (Wesley) Carter that they were changing his assignment and he would be going to Atlanta, Georgia, to set up the Building Missionary Program in the southern United States.
The Paisley Ward had a farewell party for the family and presented them with a tartan blanket and other gifts. Then there was a dinner party given at the Scottish Mission home with more gifts. All of the building supervisors in Scotland were in attendance. Then, before the family left London, the Church Building Department also had a farewell party for Grandpa and Grandma. The family had made many wonderful friends in the time we were in Great Britain and experienced things we could never have imagined. But now it was time to be going home--at least back to America.
Love,
Aunt Genni
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Holland at Last
Hello Dear Reader,
After traveling the autobahn all day we were happy to arrive in Holland where we drove to the home of Stan and Blanche Bird who had lived next door to us in Epsom. Sister Bird was a wonderful cook and had a lovely meal and beds ready for us. We were going to enjoy the next two days in Holland.
The Birds took us to several points of interest and we enjoyed the scenery and the native dress of the Dutch people; we visited two Dutch villages where the people had taken an oath to always wear their native costumes. We also visited Volendam and Amsterdam. We had no worries about the lanugage, the food, or finding a nice place to stay. We had our own personal tour guides who took good care of us. We sampled the local fast food, dressed up as a Dutch family, and had our portrait taken. It was a great end to a wonderful five-day vacation on the Continent.
Love,
Aunt Genni
Monday, September 20, 2010
From Swizerland to Germany
Hello Dear Reader,
After dinner and the adventure we had at the restaurant we were all ready to retire for the night. The second night of our trip was different from the first as we spent the night in a Swiss home (I guess we would say a B & B). I don't recall the sleeping arrangements but LeAnn and I shared a feather bed which, considering there were six of us in one room, was very hot. We both had rollers in our hair which were uncomfortable so we took the down comforter and wadded it up to make a sort of huge pillow. When Grandpa got up in the morning he remarked, "Well, look at that!" We all woke up laughing.
From Switzerland we entered Germany. We spent the whole day driving through Germany. We didn't stop at any special place. We enjoyed the beauty of the German countryside--mostly forest; in fact it was the Black Forest. At one point we passsed a convey of American GIs. Because Grandpa was driving a right-sided English car and was passing on the left like we do in America, he rolled down his window and yelled, "Hello GIs." The men all whistled and waved. That was the most exciting part of that day.
Love,
Aunt Genni
After dinner and the adventure we had at the restaurant we were all ready to retire for the night. The second night of our trip was different from the first as we spent the night in a Swiss home (I guess we would say a B & B). I don't recall the sleeping arrangements but LeAnn and I shared a feather bed which, considering there were six of us in one room, was very hot. We both had rollers in our hair which were uncomfortable so we took the down comforter and wadded it up to make a sort of huge pillow. When Grandpa got up in the morning he remarked, "Well, look at that!" We all woke up laughing.
From Switzerland we entered Germany. We spent the whole day driving through Germany. We didn't stop at any special place. We enjoyed the beauty of the German countryside--mostly forest; in fact it was the Black Forest. At one point we passsed a convey of American GIs. Because Grandpa was driving a right-sided English car and was passing on the left like we do in America, he rolled down his window and yelled, "Hello GIs." The men all whistled and waved. That was the most exciting part of that day.
Love,
Aunt Genni
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Switzerland
Hello Dear Reader,
The next morning, Sunday September 1, we left France and entered Switzerland. As we drove in through the Alps we were amazed at the breathtaking beauty of the place. We stopped once just to listen to cow bells ringing. We found our way to the Swiss temple and met some missionaries there who directed us to their favorite restaurant, Restaurant zur frohen Aussict, out in the country. We were ready for a good meal. Of course we were at a disadvantage because we couldn't speak the language but we entered a quaint little restaurant and were shown to some seats. We were the object of much curiosity.
After several minutes of trying to make our wants known (the only thing we could thing to say was, "Menu"), the waitress brought out a beautiful damask tablecloth and spread it on the table we were seated at. Then the food started to arrive--lots of it, all on silver platters. Grandpa (Wesley) Carter was so upset, thinking we would be spending all of our money on this one meal, that he told us we would have to go back to Great Britain the next day. Because Grandpa was so upset none of us had much of an appetite. Then the waitress brought us the bill. Grandpa looked it over and calculated it in American terms and the grand total for six of us was around $8.00.
Suddenly Grandpa got his appetite back and the rest of the family, although we had not eaten half of what had been brought to us, sighed with relief that our trip had not turned into a disaster.
Love,
Aunt Genni
The next morning, Sunday September 1, we left France and entered Switzerland. As we drove in through the Alps we were amazed at the breathtaking beauty of the place. We stopped once just to listen to cow bells ringing. We found our way to the Swiss temple and met some missionaries there who directed us to their favorite restaurant, Restaurant zur frohen Aussict, out in the country. We were ready for a good meal. Of course we were at a disadvantage because we couldn't speak the language but we entered a quaint little restaurant and were shown to some seats. We were the object of much curiosity.
After several minutes of trying to make our wants known (the only thing we could thing to say was, "Menu"), the waitress brought out a beautiful damask tablecloth and spread it on the table we were seated at. Then the food started to arrive--lots of it, all on silver platters. Grandpa (Wesley) Carter was so upset, thinking we would be spending all of our money on this one meal, that he told us we would have to go back to Great Britain the next day. Because Grandpa was so upset none of us had much of an appetite. Then the waitress brought us the bill. Grandpa looked it over and calculated it in American terms and the grand total for six of us was around $8.00.
Suddenly Grandpa got his appetite back and the rest of the family, although we had not eaten half of what had been brought to us, sighed with relief that our trip had not turned into a disaster.
Love,
Aunt Genni
Adventures in France
Hello Dear Reader,
The first day we drove through the country side of France and into Paris. We stopped for a short time at the Eiffel Tower. We then drove to the outskirts of Paris and stopped at a grocery store. We bought a loaf of bread (no wrapper) from a mound on the floor in the corner and what we thought was a huge can of cherries. When we opened the can it was jam, not fruit, so we had bread and cherry jam for supper that night. There was so much jam Grandma (Mary) Carter ended throwing most of it away. We had no way to safely carry an open can of stickiness.
As twilight approached we stopped at a hotel. None of us spoke anything but English so Grandpa used hand signs to indicate that we wanted a room for the night. We were all amused at his gestures and that embarrassed him a little but he got us a place to sleep. The room, however, left much to be desired. It was clean but the floor sloped from two sides to form sort of a ravine which ran from one end of the room to the other. The bathroom was down the hall. That didn’t embarrass Grandpa but it was embarrassing for LeAnn and me.
Grandpa and Grandma got the bed and the rest of us positioned our sleeping bags on the slope so our feet were in the ravine and our heads were at the upper end of the slope otherwise we would have ended up in a pile one on top of another. But we slept fairly well and were ready to continue our adventure the next morning.
Love,
Aunt Genni
The first day we drove through the country side of France and into Paris. We stopped for a short time at the Eiffel Tower. We then drove to the outskirts of Paris and stopped at a grocery store. We bought a loaf of bread (no wrapper) from a mound on the floor in the corner and what we thought was a huge can of cherries. When we opened the can it was jam, not fruit, so we had bread and cherry jam for supper that night. There was so much jam Grandma (Mary) Carter ended throwing most of it away. We had no way to safely carry an open can of stickiness.
As twilight approached we stopped at a hotel. None of us spoke anything but English so Grandpa used hand signs to indicate that we wanted a room for the night. We were all amused at his gestures and that embarrassed him a little but he got us a place to sleep. The room, however, left much to be desired. It was clean but the floor sloped from two sides to form sort of a ravine which ran from one end of the room to the other. The bathroom was down the hall. That didn’t embarrass Grandpa but it was embarrassing for LeAnn and me.
Grandpa and Grandma got the bed and the rest of us positioned our sleeping bags on the slope so our feet were in the ravine and our heads were at the upper end of the slope otherwise we would have ended up in a pile one on top of another. But we slept fairly well and were ready to continue our adventure the next morning.
Love,
Aunt Genni
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Five Days on the Continent
Hello Dear Reader,
Before it was time for me to leave the British Isles Grandpa (Wesley) Carter received permission for our family to take the church car and spend five days seeing what we could in Europe. Grandpa, Grandma (Mary), Kent, LeAnn, Billy, and I boarded the car ferry in Dover on August 30th. Once the car was on board we went up on the deck to view the English Channel as we sailed. In a couple of hours we arrived in Calais, France.
We were on a tight budget because Grandpa and Grandma were still missionaries so we compensated by taking sleeping bags, some food, and some maps; we were off on a great adventure despite our lack of funds.
Love,
Aunt Genni
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Ferguson Sisters Visit
Hello Dear Reader,
On May 12, 1963, Grandma (Caroline) Hall and her sister Annie Burch received a gift from their children for Mother's Day. It was a trip to Scotland, the land where their grandfather (Andrew) and grandmother (Elizabeth Watson) Ferguson had joined the Church. At first Grandma Hall protested that it was too expensive but Uncle Norley convinced her that her children would be very disappointed if she didn't go so plans were made and that summer she and Aunt Annie took the train to New York and then flew to Scotland.
It was a wonderful time for the family. Grandma (Mary) Carter had been released from the hospital and there was plenty of room for Grandma Hall and Aunt Annie to stay with LeAnn and I in our upstairs bedroom. These lovely women were optimistic and eager to see the sites, however slowly they moved. We drove to Loch Ness and other places of interest. They were able to make contact with one of their distant cousins who came and took them to meet other members of their extended family. We were fascinated with their nightly excercise routines, their interesting stories, and their happpy laughter. We enjoyed their visit immensly.
Love,
Aunt Genni
On May 12, 1963, Grandma (Caroline) Hall and her sister Annie Burch received a gift from their children for Mother's Day. It was a trip to Scotland, the land where their grandfather (Andrew) and grandmother (Elizabeth Watson) Ferguson had joined the Church. At first Grandma Hall protested that it was too expensive but Uncle Norley convinced her that her children would be very disappointed if she didn't go so plans were made and that summer she and Aunt Annie took the train to New York and then flew to Scotland.
It was a wonderful time for the family. Grandma (Mary) Carter had been released from the hospital and there was plenty of room for Grandma Hall and Aunt Annie to stay with LeAnn and I in our upstairs bedroom. These lovely women were optimistic and eager to see the sites, however slowly they moved. We drove to Loch Ness and other places of interest. They were able to make contact with one of their distant cousins who came and took them to meet other members of their extended family. We were fascinated with their nightly excercise routines, their interesting stories, and their happpy laughter. We enjoyed their visit immensly.
Love,
Aunt Genni
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