This year, the 4th Tenby Guides are 90-years-old and are looking forward to their celebrations in March.

In 1983, to celebrate 60 years of Guiding of the 4th Tenby Guide Company, we Jan Evans, Guide Guider, and Barbara Pegg, assistant Guide Guider, decided to organise a very special trip to the USA.

At that time, we ran two Guide companies, the 4th in Tenby on a Tuesday evening and the 5th in New Hedges Hall on a Friday evening. We could often have 50-60 girls on a Saturday hike or cook-out! (had health and safety been invented then?)

We had a Girl Scout leader contact who lived in Des Moines, Iowa, who had spent two years living in Milford Haven and whose help was invaluable in planning the trip.

We also had enormous support from the then County Commissioner Joan Usher, Akela - Pauline Allen, ably supported by husband Bosun - Bernard Allen, and brother Tom Osborne, who played the drums, sister-in-law Baloo - Joan Osborne, and sister Diane Lewis, seamstress personified (a talented family indeed!) organised a fundraising jubilee show which took the form of a mini gang show and was thoroughly enjoyed by all who took part, as well as the appreciative audiences.

We were a small group made up of Guides, Kirsty and Justine Craig, Samantha Turner, Carol and Diane Thomas, Geraldine Lang, Emma Cowburn, and two wonderful young leaders, Caroline Burnley and Janine Fletcher. Together with adult leaders Alice Morgan, Guide guider from Roach, Carole Llewellyn - Rikki Tikki Tavi, Barbara Pegg and myself Jan Evans.

We flew into JFK, New York, and with relief were met by a group of Girl Scout leaders with a sign that said 'Welcome Tenby'. They split us into groups and took us to their homes overnight.

The next day, we met up and explored New York - wow! We spent a couple of days in New York and saw a show in Radio City, soared up to the top of the Empire State Building, and were thrilled to see David Cassidy in Joseph on Broadway.

We hired a 17-seater minibus with camping equipment in a box on the roof. In fact, we never used the camping equipment because we were always offered accommodation.

We drove 3,000 miles around New York state, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington DC. Highlights were visiting the Washington Capitol Building and meeting a senator. We had a guided tour of the Statue of Liberty (the tour guide just happened to be a Girl Scout) and we climbed up inside to loom out of the windows in the statue's crown! (Since 9/11, the public are not allowed up there).

We also drove across the border into Canada and visited Niagra Falls and took a trip on the famous Maid of the Mist. We went to the Boonville State Fair, which was similar to the County Show, but bigger!

We drove across the amazing Chesapeake Bay Bridge. We climbed the Blue Mountain near Lake Placid. We stayed in wonderful Girl Scout camps and received fantastic hospitality. We were allowed in free at the Hershey Park (a bit like Oakwood) near Harrisburg because they thought 'the Guides looked so neat' in their uniforms! The blue summer dress uniforms were a godsend and a great boon for us. The weather was hot and dry, but fortunately there were many swimming pools both public and on the campsites. Whenever we found one, we stopped to swim! We had never experienced so many intertwining fun slides etc.

It seemed we swam and sang our way across the states we visited, as we were often asked to sing as we came from Wales!

In Sauquoit, we were accommodated in a childcare centre and the owners had organised 13 camp beds for us from the local army base.

Everyone we met was incredibly kind and hospitable.

It is hard to believe it was 30 years ago, but writing this and looking for photographs brought back very vivid memories.