I was late to the traveling party but once I was invited, there was no turning back. As a small town girl, I didn’t even ride in an airplane until I graduated from college. My family always drove to our family excursions from Georgia. That obviously meant we didn’t travel extremely far. By the time I stepped foot on that first airplane jaunt, I had only been as far west as the Mississippi River; north to Williamsburg, Virginia; east as far as Nags Head, North Carolina; and south to Daytona Beach, Florida.
Then a new adventure was waiting. My parents were forty when I was born and I am an only child. In their retirement, they now had the time and money to spend on travel. Daddy said that after all the time at sea on a destroyer during World War II off the coast of Italy that he had all the travel experiences he wanted for a lifetime. So it was mother’s turn and I was the recipient of their benevolence. Where to first? It was Hawaii including a long San Francisco, California weekend!
Later England, Scotland, and France were among other big travel exploits.
By the time I married, hubby and I were on our way to Germany, Austria, back to France, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Mexico. We also traveled together and separately to the four corners of the United States: Alaska; Maine; Miami, Florida; San Diego, California.
Many of these exploits were also taken with children in tow. One of our sons is a millennial and you know about those millennials – they LOVE to travel! So before he settles down he’s spending his time and money capturing memories and those collections include New Zealand; South Africa; Iceland; Germany; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and other far off places in the United States.
What will be next? Well, hubby LOVES to fish and play golf and was invited by a group of guys who rented a house last month to do just that in Costa Rica. He only stayed a week but we certainly encouraged him to go with all that deep sea fishing they are known for as well as their plush golf courses. The ‘Where’s Waldo’ son? He was off last month to China to visit a friend who is teaching English as a second language.
But I think I have the best upcoming trip and it will be my first time there. Celebrities, such as Phil Donahue, Dave Barry, Art Buchwald, and Roy Blount Jr., have been there. I’ll be staying in a plush Marriott and be feted to wonderful meals. Being among a selective few other humorists and only existing every other year, I will be learning and laughing my head off in April at the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop in… Dayton, Ohio!
