By JoDell Haverfield, Have Travel Memories
When I was a teenager, we would visit my grandmother’s lake home on the east shore of Flathead Lake in Montana. Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi in the lower 48 states, with over 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline. I seriously dreaded the scary and windy drive around the east shore to Woods Bay, but the spectacular view was worth it. Their home was built on a secluded, wooded hillside with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the lake. I loved curling up with a Nancy Drew book in the warm sun as it flooded through those huge living room windows. At night I fell asleep listening to the trees gently wrestling in the breeze outside my bedroom window. It has been many years since those trips to Flathead Lake, but these memories are as clear in my mind as if I had recently been there.
A year after high school I married a Montana boy and settled in the Bitterroot Valley where we raised our children. Even though my grandmother retired to a warmer climate we still made the 2-hour drive hauling our kids and a boat to Flathead Lake for vacations. In the beginning we were camping and eventually we rented cabins. Before we knew it, we were taking our grandchildren and extended family there and occasionally we even did day trips to Glacier National Park as well. It has been years since any of us have lived in Montana, but our children never stop talking about it. They have taken their families to see not only their childhood home but the Lewis and Clark campsite that was discovered right across the street from where we went to church, while we were living there, now it’s a Historical site for tourists. Even though we often interacted with celebrities who owned property in Missoula and the surrounding valley, little did we know that the Dutton family lived just a few miles down the highway near Darby where the hit TV series Yellowstone is currently filmed. Even though it has been 15 years since my husband, and I have been to Montana, our children often talk about having a family reunion there. Now that two of our sons have invested in property near Flathead, we may do just that, and this time it will include our great grandchildren.
It’s our endless passion that leads us where we want to go. It’s passion with a purpose! A Winter Wonderland can be a walk on a warm beach in the Caribbean or skiing down a snowy mountain in UT. It’s your perspective, whether it’s visiting historical family locations, cruising the oceans or the unrivaled excellence on the American rivers, hitting that all-inclusive resort or doing a bucket list trip just do what matters most to you. The world is reopening so you need to open your heart to where it’s leading you.
Envision life outside your bubble. You can go it alone, with friends or family or friends and family! There is a growing cohort of single travelers who have, in recent years, embraced the solo cruise vacation and your travel advisor can help book back-to-back cruises as well for those who have the time. In 2010 NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) was the first to purposely build cabins for the single traveler. Since then, other lines have incorporated single occupancy cabins. While they are smaller than average cabins, they are very cozy and efficiently comfortable for one person, making them more affordable, with no single supplement. NCL really created a niche. It’s private studio lounges give solo travelers a place to mingle, which helps them feel just as comfortable as couples and families who make up the majority of cruise passengers. Even all-inclusive resorts are catering to the solo traveler. No matter what you might be looking for, as your travel advisor I can help you find the perfect cruise, adventure or land experience just for you.
We all need a change of scenery, whether we journey across mountains, beaches, rivers, oceans or far beyond countries like Africa, Israel, Egypt or Dubai. Listen to your heart because it’s your heart that will lead you to those magical destinations and experiences. I am so grateful for all the adventures and memories I had growing up and was able to provide some of those same kind of memories for my children and extended family and friends as well. I hope we have many more travel experiences ahead of us. We are getting ready to post our covid, late covid and post covid travel experiences and podcasts as well as our upcoming 2023 trips. Our first 2023 travel experience will be hosting 2 back-to-back cruises this month on 2 cruise lines, first NCL and the 2nd on the currently largest mega ship at sea, Royal Caribbeans, the Wonder. Later this year we are scheduled to host a multigenerational family cruise as well as a group tour to Israel and more trips still in the planning stages.
Thank you so much for Travelin with JoDell.
Bon Voyage and Happy Travels,
JoDell Haverfield CEO and Luxury Travel Advisor at HTMV
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