By Linda Lahti, 5-time traveler, Negaunee, Michigan
Since I live in Michigan, and my mom, Julia, lives in Alabama, we don’t get to see each other that often. Actually, aside from our travels together, we only get together about four times a year. That’s why our trips together are so important.
Although I enjoy traveling with my husband, there’s something special about traveling with my mom (along with the fact that I only need to be in charge of packing one suitcase, rather than two, which happens when I travel with my husband!). I’m also lucky because my mom and I have a lot in common. For one, we aren’t big shoppers. When we visit new places, we want to spend our time looking at the scenery and exploring on our own during our free time.
When I was younger, my family (I have two older brothers) and I traveled around a lot since my father was in the Air Force. My mom and I have continued to share our love of exploring new places and have since traveled to Australia, Greece, the Netherlands, and most recently, on Grand Circle’s Romance of the Rhine & Mosel River Cruise.
Julia (left) and Linda stand in front of a former hunting lodge in Willemstad.
We’ve realized that traveling together has given us wonderful opportunities to meet other mothers and daughters traveling in our groups. My mom really wanted to visit Holland to see the beautiful blooming flowers, so we traveled to the Netherlands. During that trip, we met two other mother/daughter pairs—and we all got along so well that during some of our free time, all of the mothers broke off on their own, while all of us daughters went our own way.
I usually let my mom choose the places she wants to go. Our decision to travel along the Rhine and Mosel rivers was mainly due to her love for castles, and since the itinerary called for visits to so many historic castles, we simply had to reserve the trip. We especially enjoyed our visit to the city of Cochem and our tour of Reichsburg Castle. It was like traveling through a storybook.
Julia was especially intrigued by the many fairy-tale castles they saw along the way—like Reichsburg Castle in Cochem.
But to be honest, my favorite moment occurred during the first evening of our trip. We embarked on our journey on my mom’s birthday, but decided to keep this detail to ourselves. That’s why, when we were sitting and enjoying our post-dinner conversation in the dining room that first evening, we were incredibly surprised to see a group of servers and ship staff running around our table, carrying a cake with sparklers. The servers placed the cake in front of my mom and began to sing.
I will never forget the joy on her face and how she told me how special she felt when the Captain and all of the staff personally wished her a happy birthday. I wish I had my camera to show others her face … and although I don’t have the physical evidence, I know it’s something I’ll never forget.
Linda and Julia enjoy one of many great meals aboard their ship with a fellow traveler.
My trips with my mom give us a chance to have our special one-on-one time. It’s an opportunity to have memories that no one else but we can share. It’s just me and her.
Explore the fairy tale settings of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, and Switzerland on our Romance of the Rhine & Mosel River Cruise.