Time to travel
Yesteryear. Back in 1983 I decided that it was time to travel.
Funds were limited and I bought an air ticket using my father’s credit card. The bank had a scheme called Fly Now Pay Later.
My first stop was London where I visited some reptile guys, did a talk at the London Zoo, and stayed with my good friend John Neeves. I then travelled to Birmingham where I did a talk at the West Midland Safari Park – it belonged to Gordon Setaro’s good friend Ivan Knezovich and met Mark O’Shea. From there I travelled to the coast, took a ferry to Rotterdam in stormy waters with massive swells and made my way down to Waspik where I spent time with the late Bert Langewerf and his family.
From there I took a train to Amsterdam where I wandered the streets for a few days before flying out to New York. What a mind blower! Visited Peter Brazaitis at the Bronx Zoo, crossed over to Staten Island to see the rattlesnake collection and did the touristy thing. From there I made my way down to Florida by Greyhound bus – a long ride.
I visited Paul Moler and we goofed around – herping, following Indigo snakes, going out on air boats catching alligators and visited various reptile facilities – hence the attached pic of me with an Alligator Snapping Turtle. Paul introduced me to Dick Bartlett and and his wife Pat Bartlett. I spent several days with Bill Love and Kathy Love and had some really good herping and fine dining in pizza outlets. Also met Eugene Bissette, George van Horn and a whole bunch of fine folks at Florida Fish and Game.
My next stop was Tom Crutchfield – just loved seeing Tom’s operation. He let me borrow his Mercedes Benz – complete with a loaded handgun in the glove compartment – and did some driving around Florida.
It was an incredible trip and I am still in touch with many of the good folks I met then.
