BON VOYAGE!
Before the age of 50, my mother, Betsy, had made one trip to Europe (25th wedding anniversary to England and Portugal) and several to Ontario, Canada, but that was it for foreign travel. In college, she studied Spanish and Portuguese and aspired to be an archaeologist in South America. That was before her good friend Marie introduced Betsy to her brother Erich. She married Erich, my father, and most travel, except visiting relatives in the Midwest, was shelved while they together raised four kids.
Widowed at 49, Betsy spent the next twenty-five years making up for lost time. She and my Aunt Lee, also a recent widow, traveled to Puerto Rico together—the first of Betsy’s many jaunts. In the early years, she routinely booked trips with the Smithsonian and bravely signed up to share a room (she was not a wealthy woman). These well-curated trips took her to much of South and Central America—Brazil, Peru, Santo Domingo, Haiti, and Guatemala—and then to Spain, the Netherlands and Egypt, enabling her to experience Machu Picchu, Dutch tulips, and the Pyramids. And to satisfy her curiosity about other cultures while feeding her keen interest in architecture. Later on, her trips were more domestic as she explored Seattle and Vancouver, New Orleans and Cajun Country, Baltimore and the Walters Art Museum, Santa Fe and the Southwest, and the art museums of the greater LA area. Wherever she traveled, she took photos. These were the days of film cameras and slides and more slides. 
The last remnant of my mother’s memorabilia of more than 90 years of life is carousels and cartons of slides. I’ve been reviewing these slides, carousel by carousel, box after box. Those of weddings, graduations, and family reunions call up happy memories of my childhood and young adult years and good times with siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. Recently, I sent a big box of these slides off to a scanning service in California and, some weeks from now, my siblings and I will each receive a DVD of this precious snapshot of the past.
Going through the travel slides, most of which have no personal significance for me, I have been reminded of the extent of Betsy’s journeys and how much pleasure she gained from these trips. She read some of the suggested books beforehand, she kept notes, and she took pictures. Frequently, she used these slides as material for the talks she gave to Roundabout, a women’s study club she belonged to for more than 50 years. 
I share some of my mother’s thirst for new horizons and new experiences. I was fortunate to begin my international travel in my 20’s with a 3-week trip to England, Germany, France, and Switzerland with my then newish husband. Thanks to the Chief Penguin’s scientific career, we two, and then three with our son, got to Europe and Asia a number of times for his commitments and once to Jerusalem for a library conference for me.
In retirement we have continued to travel to new venues (Vietnam and Valencia, for example) and old favorites (London, in particular). About every six weeks, I get itchy feet; it’s time to go someplace! It can be a weekend away, four weeks in NYC, a long trip, whatever, just a change of scene to mix things up. I understand my mother’s pent-up need to see the world.
Notes: Header photo of Machu Picchu and Kodak Carousel both from the web; flag globe from dreamtime.com
I enjoyed reading this, Jean. I too love to travel around the world. Can relate to your mother’s wanderlust and yours.