HOW IT ALL STARTED

IT ALL STARTED IN 1978....TRAVELING, THAT IS!  AT THE TIME, I WAS WORKING AS A REGISTERED NURSE, IN ST. LUKE'S-ROOSEVELT HOSPITAL, IN NEW YORK CITY, ON WEST 114TH STREET AN AMSTERDAM AVE.  I WORKED IN THE ST.LUKE'S SITE, WHICH WAS ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE OF NEW YORK.  I LIVED ACROSS THE STREET, IN A HIGH RISE BUILDING, WITH DOOR-MAN...LIVING THE TYPICAL "NEW YORKER" LIFE-STYLE...WHICH I ABSOLUTELY LOVED!  RESTAURANTS, OUTDOOR CAFES, THEATER, SHOWS, SHOPPING........MACY'S AND BLOOMINGDALES!......MUSEUMS, CHURCHES....AND CULTURE, CULTURE, AND MORE CULTURE!........YES, THAT WAS ME, AND I LOVED IT ALL!.........I "SOAKED UP" EVERY BIT OF THE NEW YORK LIFE-STYLE!

IT WAS IN THE WINTER OF 1978, THAT I DECIDED TO START TRAVELING ABROAD.  I WORKED AT NIGHT, ON AN ORTHOPEDIC FLOOR, WITH 2 NURSE'S AIDES.  ONE OF THEM, WHOSE NAME WAS ALSO "FRANCES."   SHE WAS FROM TRINIDAD, AND WE WERE QUITE CLOSE AND HAD LONG CONVERSATIONS AT WORK.  FRANCES HAD TRAVELED TO ENGLAND, AND TO A FEW OF THE ISLANDS, AS SHE WAS FROM THERE, ANYHOW.

THE REASON I MENTION FRANCES, IS THAT SHE WAS VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN MY LIFE....FROM A RETROSPECTIVE POINT OF VIEW.  FRANCES EXPLAINED TO ME JUST HOW SHE DID IT....BE VERY ORGANIZED IN SAVING YOUR MONEY, MONTH BY MONTH...WORK A LITTLE OVER-TIME........AND ANYONE, WHO WAS DISCIPLINED ENOUGH COULD DO IT!

AND SO, I STARTED CALCULATING THINGS...TIME AND MONEY...AND STARTED SAVING.....AND WORKING A COUPLE OF OVER-TIMES....AND THERE I WAS!......READY FOR MY FIRST TRIP OUT OF THE COUNTRY...............

LITTLE DID I KNOW, THAT ONCE I TOOK THAT FIRST TRIP, I WOULD ACTUALLY BE "HOOKED" ON TRAVELING ABROAD.....!

AT THE TIME, I WAS NOT ONLY WORKING AT NIGHT, FULL-TIME AS AN RN, BUT I WAS ALSO GOING TO SCHOOL FOR MY BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN NURSING, DURING THE DAY OR EVENING...........I WAS ATTENDING FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON UNIVERSITY, WHICH WAS IN RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY.  SO, I HAD A VERY TIGHT SCHEDULE AT THE TIME....BUT I WAS YOUNG AND HEALTHY, SO I LOVED DOING IT ALL!............SO, I WORKED IN MANHATTAN, AND THEN SEVERAL DAYS A WEEK, DROVE MY CAR OVER THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE, OR  UNDER THE HUDSON RIVER, VIA THE LINCOLN TUNNEL, AND WENT TO SCHOOL....AT THE TIME, MY LIFE WAS GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN SCHOOL AND WORK...........

AND NOW, BRILLIANT ME, DECIDED TO EXPERIENCE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL..............AND SO I DID!.............AS MANY OF YOU MAY KNOW ME, THROUGH MY OTHER JOURNALS, THERE IS NOTHING IN MY LIFE THAT IS NOT WITHIN MY GRASP.............I LOVE CHALLENGE.....AND I LOVE TO "MAKE THINGS HAPPEN."         :)

SO, I SAVED MY MONEY, AND RE-ORGANIZED MY LIFE, AND BY "SPRING BREAK" IN FAIRLEIGH DICKENSON UNIVERSITY, I WAS READY FOR MY FIRST TRIP!

IT WAS APRIL 1978, THAT I LEFT FOR MY FIRST TRIP.....TO MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, FOR 1 WEEK...........

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT ENTRY, WHEN I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT MY FASCINATING TRIP...THE BEAUTIFUL SIGHTS, AND THE "ISLAND PEOPLE' THAT WE MET!

                       FRAN