Travels, Thoughts and History
Travels around the world
In 1990 I visited Gothenburg, Sweden for a week to install one of the first Iwerks Turbo Tour Theater simulator rides. on the way back I met Linda in Europe, and we spent a week visiting Paris and London.
Hotel Bretonnerie, The Moray District, Paris. A good, cheap place to stay, in a charming area.
Jet lag antidote.
La Tour Eiffel.
La Tour Eiffel.
La Tour Eiffel.
Tower Bridge, London.
My father lived on the King’s Mill Golf Course in Williamsburg, Virginia. We visited him most years, sometimes traveling by auto train. We enjoyed the ambiance of the train, and it’s convenient to have our car and all of Danielle’s “stuff” when we get there.
Dad’s house in King’s Mill,1989.
Dani before her baptism, posing in front of the fireplace at PopPop and GinGin’s house.
The Slide.
On the iced-up pond across the street, January 1997.
This ice is slippery stuff.
Trains are BIG. That red dot is Danielle. January 1998.
Boarding the train, January 1998.
Linda locks Danielle and Pop Pop into the Pillory, Colonial Williamsburg, January 1998.
Silversmith, Colonial Williamsburg, January 1998.
Windmill, Colonial Williamsburg, January 1998.
Behind the Governor’s Mansion, Colonial Williamsburg, January 1998.
Golfing with Dad, December 1998.
With Miss Manderly, a character from the American Girls Felicity book, Colonial Williamsburg, December 1998.
In the lobby of the Williamsburg Inn, between Christmas and New Year’s, 1999
Dancing in the dining room of the Williamsburg Inn, between Christmas and New Year’s, 1999
Blacksmith Shop. Thanksgiving, 2001.
Thanksgiving, 2001.
The Capitol. Thanksgiving, 2001.
Carter’s Grove. Thanksgiving, 2001.
Thanksgiving, 2001.
Gunsmith Shop. Thanksgiving, 2001.
Thanksgiving, 2001.
Thanksgiving, 2001.
Thanksgiving, 2001.
Thanksgiving, 2002.
Thanksgiving, 2002.
Thanksgiving, 2002.
Thanksgiving, 2002.
Thanksgiving, 2002.
Thanksgiving, 2005 Parade.
Thanksgiving, 2005 Shop.
Thanksgiving, 2005 walking to a witch trial reenactment.
Thanksgiving, 2005 at Ford’s Colony.
Thanksgiving 2007. At the Williamsburg Inn for Thanksgiving dinner, Reggie brought Dani a PB&J sandwich for old times sake.
In 1989 we went for our first Caribbean cruise, on the Norway, Norwegian Cruise Line’s flagship. The Norway was originally built as “The France”, and represented the pinnacle of cruise ship design. Too large to enter the Caribbean ports of call, we used “huge “tenders” to disembark on St. Martin and St. Thomas. We met two charming couples with whom we dined, and enjoyed all of the amenities of the ship. Particularly memorable are the lazy breakfasts on our private balcony.
Boarding.
Don’t we look relaxed?
The Alcorns, the Segars and the Malloys prepare to “put on the nosebag”.
Who knows? But it sold them another photograph.
Casual night.
Formal night.
Dancing to Jazz.
Dining “royally”. The highlight, as always, was “Hot, hot, , hot”.
For our 20th wedding anniversary, Linda and I slipped away to The Greenbriar in West Virginia for a delightful stay at one of America’s most unique resorts. It’s amazing how fast twenty years have gone by.
The Maison deVille in the French Quarter, our favorite hotel in New Orleans. 1985
Oak Alley, Mississippi. A side trip from New Orleans.
Chichenitza in the Yucatan Peninsula. A side trip sponsored by Linn on the way back from a trade show in New Orleans, 1985.
Linda and I visited St. Augustine in 1983 after Epcot opened.
Backwards
And a return trip in the fall of 1997 when our wine group spent a long weekend at “The Whale’s Tail”, a bed and breakfast in St. Augustine. This cannon is mounted on one of the oldest structures in the United States.
In August 1998 we had a great time at the historic lighthouse at Ponce Inlet, about an hour drive from Orlando.
With the stress of Epcot behind us, we took the opportunity to get away for a fourth anniversary trip to Charlotte Amalie in Saint Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands. We flew down, and stayed on the back side of the island in a nice resort. One day we borrowed a car from the resort. That was exciting, because they drive on the left side of the road, but the use American cars. Very odd. Mostly we took cabs. They run on island time, so the driver stops and picks up friends as he drives you.
The view from our villa at Point Pleasant.
ditto
This parrot attacked my camera lens at lunch!
Linda relaxing after the parrot incident.
The wine shop in Charlotte Amalie.
ditto.
Mmmm. Cruzan rum. $1.99 a bottle.
In 1983, with the frantic pace of Epcot’s opening behind us, we visited Morocco, on a Disney-sponsored tour. It was exotic, exciting, and tiring. A great experience, but it was nice to get home!
In December 1980 we took a driving trip throughout the western United States, visiting Las Vegas, Zion, Bryce, Lake Powell, and the Grand Canyon. Linda drove her faithful RX-3 station wagon, while I took photographs. We enjoyed the brisk weather, and the solitude afforded by the nearly empty National Parks.
Linda’s venerable RX-3 Station Wagon, somewhere in Utah. This picture was taken shortly after we learned what “black ice” was, and we were probably stopped to change our underwear.
Yup. This is definitely NOT US-89.
Bryce Canyon. We stayed at a colorful place called “Ruby’s Inn”. I’ll never forget the mattress. We finally put it on the floor.
Lake Powell. It was like glass.
Sunbathing along the Colorado River. I suggested a bikini, but she was worried about snow.
This canyon gets much deeper, downstream.
Grand Canyon. Linda held this tree up for a while…
…then I took over.
Dangerous to overlook this overlook.
We stayed at the El Tovar, and it snowed the night before we left. This was cute until we couldn’t get the car started.
Shortly after joining WED (now Walt Disney Imagineering) Linda began organizing a nearly annual trip to Yosemite for the members of the Electronic Engineering department. The trip was soon dubbed The Return of the WEDI, and her organizing efforts dubbed Alcorn Tours (for which she received a commemorative plaque on the tenth anniversary). This tradition continued for two decades, and we also went a few other places along the way.
1980, the first of two years in the tent cabins at Camp Curry before we graduated to the Yosemite Lodge as people started to earn more money!
1980
Campfire near Yosemite Falls 1981
Dave Barnett, 1981
Chris and Linda
Phil 1986
Ira 1981
John Noonan 1981
1983 — we missed 1982 because of Epcot
1983
1985
For a change of pace, we went to Tuolumne meadows in 1986. Our trip was on the first weekend of the summer that it opened, and it was still cold. The tent cabin were nicer than at Camp Curry, and everyone had a great time in the high country.
1988
1988
1988
Martin 1988
Chris break dancing
Linda, Glenn and Chris designing Epic Stunt Theater (Indiana Jones) at Yosemite Lodge, 1988. Work never stops.
1989 at the Ahwahnee
1990
1990
1990 baby shower at Yosemite Lodge
1990 baby shower at Yosemite Lodge
1990 baby shower at Yosemite Lodge
October 1, 1992 at Epcot for the 10th anniversary
1992 at our house
1992 at our house
1994
1994
1994
1994
1994
In 1996 we went to the Grand Canyon and stayed at the El Tovar.
We had a really cool room called the Mary Coulter Library, with a huge porch that looked out over the canyon.
In 1999 the group went to San Francisco
1999
1999
1999
2000, accommodations upgraded to the Ahwahnee
2000
2000
2000, Glenn and Felisha
2000, cameras getting a lot smaller
In 1979 we also went to San Diego together for the first time, visiting the Zoo, SeaWorld, Old Town and Wild Animal Park. OK, so there are a lot of pictures of petting zoos here. We like em, OK?
San Diego Zoo.
San Diego Zoo.
San Diego Zoo (non-permanent resident).
Vacation Village Resort, on an island in Mission Bay. We ended up at this lovely spot after checking into our motel and discovering it to be a dump. When we looked in the room’s phone book for a better place (you remember phone books, right?) the accommodations pages were almost worn out from all the previous guests who had the same idea!
Vacation Village Resort, on an island in Mission Bay.
San Diego Wild Animal Park.
San Diego Wild Animal Park.
San Diego Wild Animal Park. You’ve got to admit, he’s kinda cute. The deer’s OK, too.
San Diego Wild Animal Park.
San Diego Wild Animal Park.
San Diego Wild Animal Park.
So what did we learn from this post? Zoos are filled with wild animals that look just like goats.
In April, 1979 we made our first trip to Washington, D.C. for a friend’s wedding.
The Smithsonian.
Air and Space Museum.
Bubble Chamber at the Smithsonian.
Cyclotron at the Smithsonian.
Eniac or some other equally old computer at the Smithsonian.
On our first anniversary, March, 1979, we returned to the city of our honeymoon, San Francisco.
Admiring the view from the St. Francis hotel in San Francisco.
ditto
ditto
Alcatraz from near Fisherman’s Warf, same trip.
ditto
Ghirardelli Square, same trip.
ditto
ditto
Linda and I were married March 25, 1978. That night we flew to San Francisco and spent several days at the St. Francis hotel, then flew and drove to Yosemite for the rest of the week.
The St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, March 25, 1978.
We call this “Honeymoon Myopia”. In the rush to leave L.A., Linda forgot her glasses. After the long wedding day, her contact lenses were bothering her, so we went “sightseeing” the day after our wedding with me playing seeing-eye dog. Here she is on the Balclutha, peering at the informational plaque.
Aboard the Balclutha.
Well, at least she got the camera pointed in almost the right direction.
We never got around to the Champagne on our wedding night. This is the day after, and we’re about to polish it off while watching “The Wizard of Oz” on TV. Really.
This postcard, with our room circled, was sent by Linda to her Grandmother McBride three days after our wedding.
Golden Gate Park.
Golden Gate Park.
One of the world’s great pan handling scams, “The Human Jukebox”.
The Ahwanee Hotel, Yosemite, March 30, 1978.
Our room at the Ahwanee had a private porch the size of Rhode Island.
Top of Vernal Falls.
Top of Vernal Falls.
Too much honeymoon.
