Weirdness while travelling *share your tales*

[RebeccainGA]

We seem to be on the road every other weekend here lately! We see a lot of craziness, and downright weirdness, but this trip I noticed:

* trucker with pink panties hanging ON A HANGER from his visor, so they were easily visible from the side of the vehicle. He was older, long grey beard, and was pointedly staring at me as his truck passed ours in the mountains (yikes!)
* family with six kids, all dressed identically, eating while lined up along a long bench outside a rest area - all in order of size, from smallest to tallest. Mom and dad nowhere to be seen.
* signs for pecans at the next exit, a la Burma shave - wish I could remember the verse, but was laughing too hard!

What fun oddities have you seen?

[demarco]

I'll share some oddities later but I have to say I am in the early stages of a tentative plan for a 4000+ mile solo road trip and the panty story is making me rethink.....

[Kari]

Athens, Greece, 2001.

Packs of wilds dogs roamed the streets. Greece was in an economic downturn (which I believe is still continuing, from what I catch on the news) and the first thing to go in many households was the pets: Out into the streets they went. But lest a visitor be alarmed, these wild dogs LOVE tourists. Native Athenians would chase away the dogs when they saw them; tourists would saw "Awww" and give them food. So whenever my friends and I walked the streets of Greece by ourselves without our Grecian guide, the dogs would form a circle around us and walk with us, and bark ferociously at any native who approached. It was like having our own set of bodyguards.

The thing is, we were warned ahead of time not to feed the dogs, and we didn't. But these dogs could spot a tourist a mile away and stuck close, most likely in the hopes of getting a meal.

[kymom3]

Several years ago we were heading out to the beach and had just gotten onto the interstate, so very early in the trip.  An SUV passed us and when we glanced over, the couple had a parrot riding on the console between the front seats, and it appeared to be bobbing it's head in time to their radio.  We all cracked up and made (now) XH pass them so we could see the parrot again.  When we caught up with them, the woman in the front seat was cuddling it and it looked like it was snuggling.

XH, our three boys and I all joked that we could turn around and go home, we had alread seen the best thing ever.   

[Thipu1]

I've got a few fun experiences.  Here's the first one.

We were going out early in the morning to get money from an ATM in Barcelona and saw the full Gryffindor Quidditch team walking down the street.

  These weren't little kids wearing Halloween costumes.  They were adults with very expensive-looking outfits.  Even the brooms looked like Nimbus 2000s. 

[heartmug]

I've got a few fun experiences.  Here's the first one.

We were going out early in the morning to get money from an ATM in Barcelona and saw the full Gryffindor Quidditch team walking down the street.

  These weren't little kids wearing Halloween costumes.  They were adults with very expensive-looking outfits.  Even the brooms looked like Nimbus 2000s.

Awesome!!

[snowdragon]

I've got a few fun experiences.  Here's the first one.

We were going out early in the morning to get money from an ATM in Barcelona and saw the full Gryffindor Quidditch team walking down the street.

  These weren't little kids wearing Halloween costumes.  They were adults with very expensive-looking outfits.  Even the brooms looked like Nimbus 2000s.

There's even a world cup http://www.internationalquidditch.org/worldcup/

[cwm]

I was on a family road trip, 2000+ miles from home. Dad walked into a store and looked at this guy and laughed. Turns out they worked together about five yards apart from each other back home. And they hadn't spoken to each other about their upcoming vacations, they both just *happened* to be in a tiny town in Oregon at the same time.

[Katana_Geldar]

Not my story, but stillierd. One of my aunts was in Egypt years agoanNd saw a local standing not far from her near the pyramids and a puddle slowy forming beneath his feet.

[Thipu1]

Story two.

We were on a cruise ship and the weather was a bit too rough for us to dock in Bermuda.  Our ship also received a message that a yacht was in distress near us and we were to offer assistance. 

It was a dramatic hour or two when the mast of the yacht broke off and hit the promenade deck but everyone on the yacht was successfully rescued.

Later, we learned that the skipper of the yacht and the captain of our ship lived within a mile or two of each other and were friendly acquaintances.     

[Library Dragon]

DH's older brother and his wife joke that they never want to travel with us again because DH keeps getting whisked away. 

1.  We were in Pisa, Italy and ran into members of our church.  DH is chatting with them and suddenly the three of them are gone from view.  They had a family crises and needed to talk about it right then. 

2.  At Jones Beach, NY, we are sitting on beach and when a man stumbles out of the surf and collapses.  DH (nurse anesthetist) and SIL (RN) run over to see if he needs assistance.  The life guards rush over and there's a discussion over who's doing CPR.  DH states that he's Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) certified.  The life guards hand him all their equipment.  They call in a helicopter and next thing we know DH and man are off to the hospital. 

3.  We were returning from Israel to Atlanta when there's an announcement asking if there is a doctor or nurse on board the plan.  DH was the only one to respond.  He spent the 14 hour flight monitoring a passenger's vitals.  Passenger had over done his medications and every time he stood up his blood pressure dropped and he passed out. 

The last was the most aggravating.  We had cashed in all our miles for business class seats and the captain thanked DH because they didn't have to make an emergency landing and dump $$$ worth of fuel.  DH only got a "Hey thanks" letter from Delta Airlines. IMO the least they could have done is reimburse 1/2 his miles. 

[kherbert05]

Happened to neighbors in San Angelo.


They were traveling through a small town in Canada. They stop at a Tim Horton's and 3 Towhead/blued eyed kids run up and ask if they  know Aunt Gerry and Uncle Harvey. A man catches up with the kids and apologizes explaining his Sister and BIL live in San Angelo. The kids had seen San Angelo on the Licence Plate holder and were convinced the driver must know their Aunt and Uncle.


The town was Mom's hometown. The kids my 2nd youngest set of 1st cousins. The neighbors got a kick out of it.


I was in Scotland with my HS drill team. There was a rugby team about the same age from Vancouver. I'm talking to some of them in the lobby (Note I have a "fluid accent" and tend to unconsciously mimic those around me ). One of them asks if I'm from Canada, I say no but that Mom was from Montague, PEI. That I've spent a many summers on the East Coast, but I hope to go visit my Uncle Billy in Vancouver soon. The coach hears this, stares and asks "Billy Sullivan". I say yes. He goes you are Gerry's daughter. He introduces himself. His family owned the car repair/rental place next to Nanna's. He and his brothers raised 9 types of hell with my younger uncles growing up.


My Dad used to meet the coolest people golfing on vacation. He would go to the pro and offer to make up a foursome. If a group was short a person, or several singles showed up the pro would put them together in a foursome. From what I understand it is the norm at resorts like Brudenell Provincial Park. (GRowing up Sis and I thought Brudenell was the coolest Country Club - So so far out of the league of the state parks we knew back home. )

[Diane AKA Traska]

We seem to be on the road every other weekend here lately! We see a lot of craziness, and downright weirdness, but this trip I noticed:

* trucker with pink panties hanging ON A HANGER from his visor, so they were easily visible from the side of the vehicle. He was older, long grey beard, and was pointedly staring at me as his truck passed ours in the mountains (yikes!)
* family with six kids, all dressed identically, eating while lined up along a long bench outside a rest area - all in order of size, from smallest to tallest. Mom and dad nowhere to be seen.
* signs for pecans at the next exit, a la Burma shave - wish I could remember the verse, but was laughing too hard!

What fun oddities have you seen?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKqTTSGBK10

[o_gal]

In college, the Wind Symphony would do a road tour every Spring break. One year, we headed up into New England and our first stop was outside of Rochester, NY. After the evening's concert at the high school, my trip roommate Sylvia and I went home to our host family. We get our suitcases inside and the Mom is showing us around. Lots of memorabilia about Cornell U. on the walls - the Mom and Dad met while students there, and got married right after they graduated.

Sylvia then says that her Dad went to Cornell. Suddenly the Dad looks at her and aks again what her last name is and then what her Dad's name is. After she tells them, he gets this shocked look on his face - turns out the Dads were frat buddies and really good friends who had lost touch with each other over the years. He asks for her home phone number and calls her Dad up and the two of them spend the next hour on the phone catching up.

[Thipu1]

Fun strangeness number three.

We were in the Western Caribbean heading toward the Panama Canal.  It was a blazingly hot day in January.  Then, out of nowhere, I started hearing bagpipes.

We had met a number of people from Scotland on the ship and they were a fun bunch, but Bagpipes?

At Dinner time, the whole ship was treated to a great show.  Led by five pipers, the Scots made a procession down the Grand Staircase wearing full dress.  The men were in velvet jackets and kilts or trews.  The women wore jewel toned velvet skirts and frilly white blouses with tartan shawls.  It was a grand sight. 

The Scots retreated to a private dining room where they celebrated Burn's Nacht.  They'd even brought their own haggis and we could hear, 'Ye chieftain o the puddin' race...'

The evening show in the theater paled by comparison.