Growing up in a poor family in a small New England town I never thought that I would travel. I loved reading about history and distant places but I never thought I’d visit those distant places or see where that history had taken place. I came to travel late in life and began with baby steps.
When Jesse moved to Texas I began to visit him there. Then Jesse decided one Christmas to take me to New York City to see a Broadway play. We made it a tradition and when he met Mindy it became something the three of us did. My husband, who does not like to travel, agreed to try cruising, so we began to take Caribbean cruises about 9 years ago.
When Jesse and Mindy approached me about a trip to Paris and London in 2013 I admit I was hesitant at first. I am a person who always worries about what could go wrong. I also had always had an image in my mind that international travel was for sophisticated, elite, beautiful “jet setters”. Certainly not for a country mouse like me. A country mouse who was rapidly approaching 60. Surely I was beginning to be too old to start new routines.
Well, in spite of my apprehension, I did go with them and imagine my surprise when I fell in love with traveling. To actually stand in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, to explore Hampton court, to see the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Mona Lisa at the Louvre! I was in awe. I felt like a child at Christmas! I never thought I would have this opportunity and I am so grateful for these experiences. We’ve made quite a few international trips since then but I still get that sense of excitement and wonder with every new place we visit.
