When I was travelling in the USA in the summer of 1966, I got a charter flight from London to JFK, planned to spend time in New York City and then travel down to Florida. I expected to spend most of the summer with my Aunt and Uncle in Gulfport, Florida; It is completely surrounded by St. Petersburg. I read that one could buy a Greyhound ticket that permitted the traveler unlimited mileage, as long as one did not double back on one's journey. It cost $99 and could only be bought outside the USA. It could not be acquired after I landed in New York. There was a Greyhound Office on Regent Street, so I found my way there and purchased said ticket.
I traveled south on a Greyhound route that basically followed US Hwy 1. It clung to the Eastern Coast. It was great. For the return to New York, I took the greyhound bus from my aunt and uncle’s place in Florida back to New York City. I picked a route that deliberately took me inland away from the Atlantic Seaboard and arrived in Chattanooga Tennessee. As a long time fan of Glenn Miller I wanted to go and see the railway station . It was in the early hours of the morning and I stopped and shaved and did my teeth in the washroom of Chattanooga railway station humming that song to myself, Chattanooga Choo-Choo. It was a special moment.
Playlist -
Chattanooga Choo-Choo. Glen Miller & his Orchestra
Chattanooga Choo-Choo. Bill Haley & the Comets
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