Bound for Mom: Milepost #4--The World is Not Flat

The final in a series of blogs about our mothers. Bound for Mom: Milepost #4—The World is Not Flat. Many Moms love to travel and take off to parts unknown once the nest is empty. Did you Mom visit some great destinations? Or were there places she always wanted to visit? Build a travelogue based on Mom’s trips or perhaps places you’ve visited that Mom always wanted to.

We traveled a lot. When we kids were growing up, there was always a two week summer vacation in Stone Harbor, New Jersey. That name conjures up so many happy memories for me and I know my two brothers share the same sentiment. I believe that Springer’s Ice Cream is still in operation there. Way back in the late 1950’s, Ruthie Arthur and I would walk in town with a quarter in our pockets and end up at Springer’s. At a nickel a scoop, we could build some really fine ice cream cones!!!

Our dog, Hansel, the daschund, would come with the family on vacations. I can’t even imagine how we all survived the actual drive. No air conditioning and three kids and a small dog in the back seat. No wonder we were always asking that favorite kid’s question…”Are we there yet?”

We made trips to St. Petersburg, Florida when my grandparents retired there in 1962. We also took in the history of St. Augustine, Six Gun Territory and Weeki Wachi. I will admit here that I was a pretty decent swimmer and dreamed of becoming a Weeki Wachi mermaid as my teenage job.

Washington D.C. Trip

Dad would always try to tie in educational stops during the vacation—Luray Caverns, Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, Monticello, Mount Vernon, Quebec, and on and on.

Mom was a good sport when the years of the Civil War battlefields became short vacations. My Dad was a Civil War fanatic. Fortunately, I was in college by that time and stayed home and worked.

I'm going to get called out on this photo. Although it looks tropical and exotic (which it is) it was taken at Tiki Gardens in Florida. I couldn't find any photos of Mom in England or the Caribbean.

Once the kids were married or in college, Mom and Dad began to take more exotic trips. One’s I can remember before their divorce were England and to an island in the Caribbean.

After the divorce, Mom moved to Ohio near me. Then she took day trips with various women’s groups.

I imagine the outstanding trip of her Ohio years was when we all went to Duck, North Carolina. We rented a house on the beach. The group included my two brothers, Mom, my family and a friend of my oldest son.

I’m sure there were places on this earth that Mom would have enjoyed visiting, but she was content just living in her own place overlooking Lake Erie in Lakewood, Ohio.

After her death, as I was going through her condo, packing up her things, I came across her old yellow travel bag. I opened it and found this note: “I have been long retired, but I have great sentimental value as I have been all over the U.S. Now I get to go to Duck!!!!”


Weeki Wachi on YouTube

Other blogs in this series:

Bound For Mom #1—A Journey of Firsts

Bound For Mom #2—Roadside Café