Small world experiences while travelling?

[marius97]

Yesterday while driving from southwestern Michigan to Daytona Beach, we got stuck on the highway when an accident happened just in front of us west of Chattanooga. In stretching my legs during the hour we were stopped, I struck up a conversation with the driver behind me. Turns out that he lives in a town 30 minutes away from where I live and he was on his way to the town in Florida that is next to where I was going. Tht was crazy to run into somone like that ten hours away from home in the middle of a stopped highway.

Then when we stopped for dinner in Atlanta, our server was from Toledo where I was born. It's such a small world...Now I hope you have that blasted song stuck in your head like I do.

 

[helenk]

I've never had that experience on the road, but last year I was in the AK and had sat down outside Near Tamu Tamu for lunch, I was solo. A couple about my age came over and asked if they could sit at my table since all the tables were full. I said yes and we got to talking, come to find out they live in Limerick PA which is about 10 minutes from me.
And yes of course I will have that song in my head now.

 

[DebbieB]

I was on a business trip to Pune India 3 years ago and was at the airport for the return. The airport there is very small, the check-in is outside. The guy behind the counter (actually a window) asked what my final destination was. I said Pittsburgh. A girl a couple places in line behind me said "you're from Pittsburgh?". I turned around and said "yes". She said "so am I!". Turned out she lives only 3 or 4 miles from me! She stayed at the same hotel as me and was working in the same office park! We got talking and she knew the coworker who was there the 2 weeks before me (we were taking 2 week turns). She was on the same 3 flights as I was so we talked at each stop. That was really "small world"! She was there for 6 weeks which I don't think I could have endured, 2 weeks was plenty! Plus she worked for the same company as a coworker's husband, who also had been to India shortly before me.

 

[jennyf2]

Last year we were at Epcot I heard a family talking to the cashier & when asked where they were from they said - St Paul. I was behind them so I chimed in & said they lived close to us. We started talking for a bit & they live right outside of St Paul in a city 5 minutes from me--Small World. This week while I was posting on random threads I noticed 3 Dis'ers that live in the SAME small MN city that I live in.....

 

[ToddyLu]

I have run into family and co-workers at Dsiney World a couple of times. But my favorite happened to my mother.

They were on a huge cruise ship in Alaska and she was down in the laundry room I think --or some very small area when she heard someone behind her ask " Miss Sis is that you? Low and behold one of the neighborhood kids she had not seen in 20+ years recognized her and they got to visit a bit. I mean a cruise to Alaska, of all the chances...

 

[MommyRobin]

This has happened to me quite a few times and every time it is freaky. When dh and I went to Mexico on a vacation, a childhood friend ended up at the same resort. When we went to Jamaica, a high school friend was also heading there on the same flight (and then back again!). And when we were vacationing up north at a rented cottage 5 hours away, we went into a grocery store. We turned down an aisle, and there was my cousin, doing her bi-weekly shopping! She lives about an hour from that grocery store, but her house is waaaaay out in the middle of nowhere so she only shopped twice a month. It was bizarre that we would unknowingly wind up in that grocery store at the exact same time.

And those are just the times that I can think of off the top of my head! I'm sure there are more...

 

[Funfire240]

Yesterday while driving from southwestern Michigan to Daytona Beach, we got stuck on the highway when an accident happened just in front of us west of Chattanooga. In stretching my legs during the hour we were stopped, I struck up a conversation with the driver behind me. Turns out that he lives in a town 30 minutes away from where I live and he was on his way to the town in Florida that is next to where I was going. Tht was crazy to run into somone like that ten hours away from home in the middle of a stopped highway.

Then when we stopped for dinner in Atlanta, our server was from Toledo where I was born. It's such a small world...Now I hope you have that blasted song stuck in your head like I do.

I'm from Toledo and still live about 20 minutes east of the city!

A few years ago we were in Jensen Beach, FL visiting family and got to talking about where we were from and the couple mentioned heading to the area to a park in Northwest OHio being dedicted to the one's father and it turns out it's in our township's park and FIL knows and worked with the figherfighter that the park was dedicated for.

Another time I was coming home from Colorado and had a layover in Minnesota and found out a guy I knew from our area was on our same flight! I was in shocked when in the middle of the airport in MN someone called out my name!

 

[VAfamily1998]

When I was in college, I worked as a grocery store cashier. Between Fall and Spring semester, during Christmas time, I went on a trip to Greece (part of a course offered through my university) and ended up running into two of the customers there!

 

[Missytara]

I was at RFC in DTD a few years ago; the first day I sit at the bar and watch a football game while I am waiting for my room at POR to get available.

People rotate through the bar there while waiting for a table. An older couple sat down next to me and the conversation went something like this.

Couple: Where are you from? We are from New Bern, NC - we just retired there.

Me: My dad and his wife just came back from there and decided that is where they are going to retire. I am from Dover, DE.

Couple: Our daughter went to University of DE. Where did you go to school?

Me: Long Island.

Wife: My sister and brother-in-law live in LI. Where's about?

Me: I went to Old Westbury.

Wife: They live in Roslyn.

Me: We did our laundry in Roslyn.

Laughter ensues.

Me: You don't by any chance know anyone from Federalsburg, MD (my mom) or Moosup, CT (my dad), do you?

Couple: Nope, none of those rings a bell.....

 

[sharadoc]

I've never had that experience on the road, but last year I was in the AK and had sat down outside Near Tamu Tamu for lunch, I was solo. A couple about my age came over and asked if they could sit at my table since all the tables were full. I said yes and we got to talking, come to find out they live in Limerick PA which is about 10 minutes from me.
And yes of course I will have that song in my head now.

Me too!! I don't think it was us though LOL.

We should have DIS meet!

 

[goodferry]

We were crossing the bridge into Tomorrowland DURING WISHES when it is dark and ran into my husband's first grade teacher! It was wierd that we were there at the same time from our super small town, but wierder still that they recognized each other in the dark.
Another time we were vacationing in Nags Head, North Carolina and went to eat at this small out of the way restaurant in a condo complex and ran into the librarian from our kids school

 

[KristiMc]

We have had a couple "small world" meetings. On our trip to WDW in 2008 we were sitting in the hot tub at POFQ when I see this lady walk by with a Pittsburgh Steelers shirt on. Being a fellow Steeler fan, I cheered and her husband who was sitting by the hot tub asked if we were from Pittsburgh. I said we used to live in Cranberry but we live in Cleveland now. They then said that they live in Cranberry. The lady and I look at each other and recognize that our kids had been in the same kindergarten class 2 years prior.

In 2011 we were on the Disney Magic. At dinner the first night, I see my son waving at this kid at the next table over. He said - that kid rides my bus. I said said yea right. I look over and the kid is waving at my son. I go over and recognize the mom right away from being in the school. They live in our neighborhood just a few streets away.

 

[Traveliz]

Here are my favorites:

Last year I was waiting to pick up my daughter from work at Epcot and was DTD. I had done all I wanted and decided to just go sit on one of the flower ledges. I looked them over and there was one in the sun with one guy sitting there so I went over and we started talking. We both had on sunglasses. He commented on the band that was playing and mentioned his grandson would be down at the end of the month with his band and I mentioned my friend's child would be too. We probably talked about five minutes and I asked where he was from and he mentioned the general area (larger nearby city) and then we narrowed it down. Same town, then I asked his name and OMG this is a man I have known all my life, he went to my wedding, my family traveled with his when younger! I pulled off my sunglasses and told him who I was and then of course it was clear as a bell who we were! He even goes to my church!

Last month I was floating in the Lazy River at TL and the kids left the area. I was talking with another woman as we traveled around and she asked what I was doing and I told her I had brought my niece and nephew for a graduation present and I mentioned we were from Central (our state). She said she had relatives in nearby towns and we talked about that then out of the blue she said did your niece and nephew go to City High School. I blurted out yes but then said no my daughter did but my niece and nephew were from Other town. Well turns out she and her husband were hosting a local hockey player in their home two states away while he played professionally there and I not only knew who he was; my husband had reffed with him.

Finally a friend and I were at the ATL airport on a layover and we were walking one direction while a couple was walking the other direction and I noticed the woman looking at my friend. I pointed it out to my friend and it turns out it was someone she knew BUT the husband was someone I knew (I didn't even notice him as I was watching the woman look at us).

I always say you have to behave wherever you are because you never know who you are going to run into.

Liz

 

[helenk]

Me too!! I don't think it was us though LOL.

We should have DIS meet!

A Limerick/Pottstown(actually Sanatoga) Dis meet

 

[helenk]

Here is one I forgot about, my kids and I were in Epcot, I think it was 1995 we were walking towards the exit and we hear someone calling Eric, Eric, my son's name, we just figured it was someone else called Eric, all of a sudden this other boy comes running over and here is was a kid from his boy scout pack.
This did not happen in WDW but before we left, In 1999 we were going to WDW with my mom and staying at the GF, we actually went during the school year. My son was riding home on the school bus, and he was thinking he was cool because he was going to WDW. One of his friends told him see you next week, Eric said nope we are going to WDW, another friend chimed in hey were going to WDW too, Eric said well we are going to stay at the GF the friend said they were too. We got there before them and they called our room from the front desk and the kids all hung out together that week it really worked out great.

 

[Butterbunkins]

Years ago my family four was seated with two couples at Biergarten and one of couples lived near where we lived in Michigan at that time. Upon talking further, it turned out that the gentleman of that couple worked in the same building as my dad. After that trip they started running into each other all the time, but it took a fluke at Disney for them to meet!

 

[goodferry]

I thought of one I had forgotten about. Last October DH and I were down without the kids and we had just gotten Dole Whips and sat on a nearby bench to rest. Two guys came walking along with this gigantic stroller and wanted to get something from the stand but were clearly not going to get this stroller anywhere near the line. The one turned around and said to his brother "Hey we can let these nice people watch the stroller, they are wearing Steelers jerseys". So we said sure and watched their stuff for them, after they ordered they came over and we were talking and they asked where we were from. It turned out that one of them lived near us and passed our house and business everyday on his way to work. When we told him the name of our business he knew exactly where it was. We were singing "It's a Small World" all day.

 

[littleaussie]

In 2010, I was flying overseas and passed through the LAX airport. I was getting something to eat in my terminal when a gentleman approached me and asked if I teach dance in Smalltown, MN. I was so shocked but said yes and he said he recognized me because he attended his niece's dance recital in smalltown, MN and thought I was the teacher who went onstage that night.

He lived in LA and was traveling somewhere. I am still in awe that in that huge airport, he would see a stranger and remember where he might have seen that person before.

 

[sharadoc]

A Limerick/Pottstown(actually Sanatoga) Dis meet

At the Outlets!!

 

[K9pal]

In 1999, DH and I were on the boat going from MK Back to WL when he says "I think I graduated with that guy a few seats up". He calls his name, guy turns around - keep in mind it had been 32 YEARS since they had seen each other! He had moved out of state upon graduation. We got to talking and said "guess you're staying at WL too?" Yep, they were. "Guess you're gonna say you're in the room right next to us?" YES, they were!! Unfortunately, they had plans for the evening and they were leaving early the next morning. When we got up, we found a nice note and bottle of wine at our door from them!