Tomorrow I’m heading to Texas for a quick weekend visit with my mom. It may not be a long visit, but still it will be good to connect in person for a little while.  As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my mother does not live in the city where I grew up. In fact, I’ve only been to the place she lives now one time before.  But even though I don’t have an old room to go back to covered in pictures of childhood events,  or a wall marked with pencil scratches showing how I grew over the years, I do still feel like a child again when I visit my mom.

My Pre-Passport Years

As I planned for my visit back “home” I started thinking about all the travel I did as a little girl.  I may not have traveled internationally until I was in college, but I do have many memories of annual summers in Ocean City, Maryland and Christmas trips to New York to visit my grandparents. Once I moved to Pittsburgh at the age of 6, there were many 4-hour mother-daughter road trips back to DC and Maryland to get our hair done (never underestimate the distance a Black woman will travel to see her favorite hair stylist).

But the one trip that really stands out for me is the first time I went to Disney World.  Like any child, the ultimate dream was a trip to the magical land of Disney.  I must have been 9 or 10 when my mom announced that my dreams were about to be fulfilled.

While I know I had a fantastical first visit to Disney World and Epcot Center that year, I have to admit that I don’t have a lot of specific memories about that trip.  But I do have one distinct memory about that trip, which I have to believe completely foreshadows my future obsession with travel. I don’t so much remember Mickey and Minnie or the Electric Light Parade that rolled down Main Street every evening.  What I do remember is going with my mother to the local travel agent’s office to book an airline ticket to Orlando and to reserve a hotel room in Kissimmee (who the hell goes to a travel agent anymore??).  I remember sitting in the agent’s office and having her explain all about this new thing called a Frequent Flyer program.  To this day, I still have my card somewhere in my storage area. It was for US Airlines and the last time I saw that card it was a bit beat up and the corners were peeling, but it was still valid.  Its no wonder that the little girl who had fond memories of getting her first Frequest Flyer card would eventually grow up to be a world traveler.

Do me a favor and tell me about your first travel memories. How old were you? Where did you go and what parts of the trip stood out for you?   I’d love to hear your stories!