Happy Mother’s Day! Best travel memories...

What a wonderful topic. Happy Mother's Day to the Moms!

In the 90's (before Facebook and cellphones and the myriad ways to do research and stay connected) my Mom and Dad and I went to Sicily on a "find your family" trip looking for my Mom's aunt and cousin. Armed with an old address, we arrived in the tiny town and knocked on the door. No answer. A neighbor stepped out and tried to communicate, but my Mom - who fluently understands Italian - cannot speak it. At the time, I spoke no Italian. My Mom was in tears thinking we wouldn't find her relatives.

A gentleman crossed the street and offered help - first in Italian, then asking if we spoke any French. I still had passable command of college French and, in a little 3-language triangle we were able to explain why 3 Americans were knocking on doors in Sicily. As you might expect in such a tiny town, the man knew my mother's aunt and offered to drive up to her house; we followed in our car.

Arriving at my Mom's aunt's house minutes later, my Mom (now fully in tears) showed the photo she had brought of my grandmother, the aunt's older sister. My Mom's aunt brought her in the house to show her the same photo of my grandmother on her mantle.

My Mom and Dad and I spent an incredible week in Sicily, staying at the aunt's house and visiting dozens of my Mom's aunts and uncles and cousins of all degrees!

Oh, Priscilla! I love this: "we browsed through the shops and ended up buying matching sandals."-my favorite part of your post! It sounds was if you gave your Mom a very special day indeed and gave yourself the same thing at the same time. Happy Mother's Day to you. My travel memory with my Mom is the trek we made from Cheyenne, WY to Vandenberg AFB, CA for a new Air Force assignment. We traveled with my parents, two horses, my sister, my husband and our two kids; several cars, a 1970s Chevy pickup truck pulling a horse trailer (containing two horses, one of which we almost weren't able to re-load twice), four dogs and a guinea pig. It was a dreadful and seemingly unending trip then but has become a "family story" holding many fond and humorous memories now. It was full of various adventures (not all wonderful) and took three full days longer than necessary.... My Mom was the glue that held us all together and I will never forget the support she gave me that I really needed at the time. I think of her today.....

After my Dad passed away, I became my Mom's European travel partner. We saw and did a lot--Monaco Grand Prix, countless museums, beautiful churches and famous buildings, great food. Sadly, her health deteriorated, and she was no longer able to make the long trip from California over to Europe. She had one last place on her list--Niagara Falls, so that's where we went. The first time we saw the Falls, she turned to me and said "I've wanted to see this my whole life, I can't believe I'm here!" It was just so wonderful to see her unabashed joy, a moment I will never forget.

Thanks for sharing such lovely memories!

CWsocial,
I can’t even imagine the joy you and your mom must have felt when that nice man helped you find your mom’s aunt!
It must be so nice to go “home” to visit them now.

Andi,

Wow! What an incredible story! You had a whole caravan driving cross country!

I love this sentiment you shared:

My Mom was the glue that held us all together and I will never forget the support she gave me that I really needed at the time. I think of her today.....

I believe you’ve taken your mom’s role and now you’re that special glue that holds your family together. What a wonderful legacy!

Eric,
It’s so wonderful that you traveled with your mom, and we’re able to make her wish a reality!

My mom was also my travel partner but now she’s no longer able to make the long treks to Europe. Our last trip to Spain was in 2015 when she was 88.
We have many unforgettable memories and it’s always fun to reminisce 😊

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Priscilla, I keep thinking about you and your Mom's matching sandals...wonderful!! My Mom and I have matching Route 66 shirts from a road trip we took together. We always have fun wearing those and I'm sure if we had matching sandals I would think of my Mom ever time I would wear them. I'll have to see if she wants to go shopping when I visit her next week!

Priscilla, thank you so much for starting this thread and sharing your story. I lost my mother 4 years ago and on Mother’s Day, I also spend time thinking about our special moments. My best travel memory is when I took my mother, two sisters (one also named Priscilla) and niece to my Mom’s home town in Grove City, PA. One of her oldest friends owned the house that she grew up in and treated us to a feast. We were able to see the house in which she was raised with her 18 brothers and sisters. I frankly thought the house would be larger, but even for a three-story house, it was quite modest. I don’t know how my Grandparents survived.

Having that trip, meeting some of my cousins, and doing that with my sisters created such a bond. I have tears in my eyes just typing this post. Thank you for bringing back the memories.

Happy Mother’s Day,
Sandy

This is the first mother's day without my Mom for me. We didn't have a lot of financial resources when I was growing up, but my parents never let that stop them from taking us on cross country camping road trips. We had a great time.

I saw most of the Western United States due to my parents willingness to "hit the road."

Great topic on such a day. Many years ago (not prehistoric but close to it) we spent a week in Charleston. It was my young boys (ages like 7 and 10), my mom and dad, my great aunt and hubby. It was a three generations that had never traveled together. It was either going to be a disaster or wonderful. It turned out to be WONDERFUL!. It was spring in the south so the weather was beautiful, the dogwoods blooming and everyone got along. My boys (now age 36 and 39) still talk about it. So much fun. We lost my aunt the next year and my mother a few year later, so it was especially special!
Happy Mother's Day to all!

Thanks for sharing such special memories!

CWSocial, I do hope your mom wants to go shopping with you!

Sandy,
Aww... I'm sorry to hear that your mom passed away... and on mother's day...
Wow! It's amazing that your mom had 18 brothers and sisters! You must have a ton of cousins!
I thought my mom's family was large with 11 brothers and sisters. I have so many cousins that I can't keep track of them all!

Carol,
I'm sorry for your loss...
I'm sure you made many happy memories on those camping road trips.

Nancy,

It was a three generations that had never traveled together. It was either going to be a disaster or wonderful. It turned out to be WONDERFUL!.

It sure sounds like that special trip made such a great impact on your young boys that they still talk about it so many years later.

My mom loved to travel; she was my encourager to jump at the chance to go to Europe with the 4-H People-to-People Ambassador program in 1975. So when my husband & I moved from the Midwest to the Pacific NW, she had easy access to more adventures. I had a dual-role as both a local & tourist on her many trips. Priscilla, your mention of matching sandals reminded me that when I had to sort through all of Mom’s belongings ten years ago, I found her matching sweatshirt that we bought together in Victoria, BC. I brought it home and wore it until it was worn out - made me feel good to wear it and think about our fun travels together.

I’ve already told both of my daughters that we’re each going together to Europe when their kids are old enough to leave with their dads for two weeks. I can’t wait to make more priceless memories!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Thanks for reminding me, Priscilla. Family car vacation in the 1950's, my mother made matching shirts from bandanas for herself, my sister and me -- when my sister wandered off at the Grand Canyon she was able to say "have you seen a little girl in a shirt like this ?" (Yes, she was found -- she had gotten bored and gone back to the car.) They are both gone now, but remembering that brightened my day.

CW Social, that is an absolutely wonderful story — how amazing to get to connect with your grandmother,s sister all those years later.

Lovely topic, Priscilla! I've been lucky to have my mom visit me in Europe a number of times, but I guess the most special one is the time when she came on her own (my dad was working too much, I guess) to visit me in Hungary. I was back in Budapest doing an internship in the late 1990s after having taught English in another Hungarian town 1993-94. I was able to take my mom to show her this place that meant so much to me so it gave her a window into that time of my life (when we communicated via letters and one monthly phone call). We also went to Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Ceske Budejovice, The Wachau in Austria (including Melk Abbey, where our jaws dropped at the rococo ornateness), and Schonbrunn in Vienna.

My mom and I are quite different, so we don't have any matching shirts or sandals, but that's a good idea for the future. I treasure that we had that time and that she was interested to come see this place that was so important in my transition to adulthood. I think she had a pretty good time. ☺️

I'm loving this thread!

My first trip to Europe was with my mother in the summer of 1984. She demonstrated an amazing mix of structure and flexibility that has influenced my subsequent travels. One of my favorite memories was coming out of a museum in London (Royal Portrait Gallery?) and Mom hailing a taxi and spontaneously whisking us to Brown's for tea. She would talk to anyone anywhere, complaining to a clerk in a gift shop on Skye "These postcards don't do it justice!" His fitting reply: "Aye, I know."

Taking a dawn balloon ride with champagne breakfast with my mother in Cappadocia specifically Göreme. The trip of a lifetime.

My folks took us on many cross-country trips, because we lived in the Midwest and the grands lived in CA. We went to many national parks, creating a love of the national parks and national forests that has persisted until now. My family lived overseas in Germany for a number of years when I was a small guy, and this created for me a love of travel to Europe. To a certain degree, I feel like it is visiting my old hometown when I touch down in Germany. So, thanks, Mom. She's aive today in her 90s, and is not particularly mobile, but retains an active interest in the environment, in culture, in public TV, and in travel.

Such sweet memories!

Jean,
Matching sweatshirts, I love it!
Your story reminded me of the time we visited Victoria, BC. The weather was a bit cooler than expected so we ended up buying matching fleece vests!

LauraB,
Wow! I can only imagine the relief you and your mom felt when you found your sister!

Kim,
Thanks for sharing your touching story.
I’m sure your mom loved visiting you, and she also treasures those sweet memories.

Marty,
I love this!

She would talk to anyone anywhere, complaining to a clerk in a gift shop on Skye "These postcards don't do it justice!" His fitting reply: "Aye, I know."

Continental,
What an amazing experience that must have been!

Paul,
Aww... Thanks for sharing such special memories, and do continue making
more!

Let’s keep making those lasting memories!

About ten years ago Mom, who is of German heritage, mentioned that she had "always" wanted to visit the German Christmas Markets. A couple of years later, our extended family was able to travel on a Danube river cruise. Our last full day was spent in Nuremberg, which happened to be the last Saturday before Christmas--the Market was packed! Everyone in our group went in different directions, so just Mom and I were together at the Nuremberg Market. She was like the proverbial kid in the candy store! I enjoyed watching her expressions and hearing her comments even more than shopping (and I enjoy shopping!). Such a gift to share this experience with her--I'll always hold it in my heart. We just spent Mother's Day together; she'll turn 90 in a couple of months and is still going strong. I give her (and Dad, too!) credit for inspiring my love of travel.

Continental, What an amazing experience that must have been!

It was, thank you. My mother passed away shortly after that trip. I feel so blessed that we did this together.

Kim, thank you. I feel so fortunate to have traveled numerous times with both my parents. That first trip to Italy gave me a connection to her family in Sicily that I've since been able to develop through relationships with cousins of my generation.

I love that your mother was able to visit the place where you lived, but could only share with her via the infrequent communications of those times. My parents visited me multiple times while I was living in London - before Facebook and Instagram and free intercontinental wifi phone calls. I'm so glad they visited in person. It eased them into travel to Europe and opened the door for us to travel together for many subsequent European and US trips.

I never travelled at length with my Mother, but I certainly credit her with my interest in traveling. Mom never learned to drive but at my youngest age, was always planning day trips or camping trips in the area and long suffering Dad was the car packer and driver. During the summer and Easter break we would have day trips on the ferry to Vancouver or Bellingham as 'my treat' (which I think was an excuse for her to get away. I remember these fondly and she always made them exciting. As a teenager, she started to work to pay for her travel further afield. She would come back exuberant about this place and that which piqued my interest in travel at a much younger age. I don't think she was ever disappointed with a place visited. She did these by bus tour. I expect she was the one people loved to hate as she didn't suffer fools or late comers easily and I am sure that was apparent. At the same time, her exuberance and extra knowledge helped her gain global friends she stayed in touch with for years. I often think about the sleepless nights they may have had when I headed out on my own at 19 for a Med cruise by myself. I wasn't able to travel to Europe again until well after she had passed, but I think of her when I visit places she loved (like Toledo Spain) and thank her and Dad for instilling us all with a love of travel, an interest in a global view of life, and the confidence to be adventurous and independent.