Olde Tyme Travel Blogging By My Mom

While at my mom’s house for Thanksgiving, I got a chance to look through a bag of travel mementos that she’d set aside for me. Inside were stickers, pamphlets, receipts and ticket stubs from her travels over the years.

My eyes zeroed right in on a South of the Border bumper sticker in the stack. I knew I was there as a kid but haven’t really been able to place the exact time. Now, thanks to my mom’s olde tyme blogging on the back of an envelope – I know. July 17, 1988. I was 14.

fuzzygalore south of the border bumper sticker

Apparently we actually stayed over at a motel there. I wish I could jog my memory for any dusty recollection of this. I don’t remember going up in the sombrero tower or seeing any of the fiberglass figures around. Other than a dim memory of perusing some fireworks in a store, I’ve got nothing.

My mom scribbled down the toll rates, mileage, times, dates… I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

I have been talking to my daughter Chloe about going to South of the Border. I’m not even really sure why. I just want to. She seems to be all in on taking the trip. Maybe it’s a rite of passage in the Fuzzmop family 😀

Side note: “Vargina”? Really, Mom? 😆

Update:

fuzzygalore howard johnson dillon south carolina

While going through the papers today, I found that we stayed in a Howard Johnson’s at I-95 exit 193 in Dillon, SC for the bargain rate of $37.40, including tax. Today that HoJo is long gone.

fuzzygalore south of the border brochure

The South of the Border brochure is super kitschy.

fuzzygalore south of the border brochure

Just check out the deluxe crushed velvet honeymoon suite! Velvet lamps on chains, carpet covered champagne chiller, entertainment system in the clamshell headboard thingy. Hubba hubba!

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

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11 Responses

  1. Leslie says:

    South of the Border? We went there a million times

  2. Kathy says:

    Very cool! I haven’t been there yet. One day…

    How cool that your Mom saved that stuff. And I bet she’s just as tickled that you actually appreciate her collection.

  3. Mom says:

    well…..what did you expect…..there was no spell check then and you couldn’t backspace either…..

  4. South of the Border has always seemed like a dream to me. I’ve gone past it 1001 times it seems, and even pulled up to the gate once, only to find the park closed.

    Yet it is part of so many family memories for so many people. I can not help but wonder if it’s not some weird sci-fi collected memory.

  5. Raindog says:

    Oauwww SNAP! There be a smackdown a-brewin’…

    (Hey, Fuzzy, I think your mom is reading your blog, and you’d better watch out: She seems quite witty.)

  6. Shep says:

    Love the honeymoon suite!

  7. MarthaC says:

    How very cool is that! I love the memorabilia! I lived in NC for just over 13 years before moving back to my home state of Florida. I passed South of the Border numerous times as I would return home to visit family, but only stopped in once. As I recall, not too much was open at the time. I always loved the corny signs along I-95; quite creative and many very “pun”-ishing. Even now, I am still amused by the signs and feel a slight tug urging me to stop in as I pass by. I’ve always wanted to go up and take a look out at the surrounding area from the Sombrero Tower.

  8. John says:

    Wow. What a lovely treasure trove. I suspect you are a little like me, only having very dim memories of childhood. I don’t even remember much of five years ago. Guess that’s why we write sometimes.

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