My husband Arnie sat down at the dining room table and announced, “I want to see mountains when we vacation this summer. Mount Rainier is on the top of my list!”

I placed bread and butter on the table, settled into my chair, and pointedly commented, “Seattle, Washington, is a long drive from here. In fact, to visit any decent mountain would be a long drive for us since we live in Wisconsin. I hate spending most of my vacation in a car! What fun is that?”

Starting when our daughters were six and ten years of age, I occasionally took them on camping weekend vacations during the summer months. Then, as they grew older, Arnie began taking the whole family on late summer vacations to places like Mount Rushmore, Kentucky, and to Canada for a sightseeing train ride and to visit Sauté Saint Marie. These vacations were always taken by car and at times I suffered motion sickness.

I asked, “Didn’t you get your fill of mountains when we visited Mount Rushmore?”

Arnie exclaimed, “But that was ten years ago! I want to see the mountains again!”

Our eighteen-year-old daughter, who was at the table with us eagerly suggested, “We could fly! Do you want me to use the computer to find the cost of the tickets and other attractions we could see while in Seattle?”

Having found an ally in Tammie, my husband smiled broadly as he ordered, “Find whatever information you can for us. This’ll be a special vacation because you’re leaving home this fall.”

At that time, Arnie and I were far from comfortable navigating the cyber world in a computer. I didn’t even know that a computer could be used for comparing prices and buying tickets, organizing places to stay, and signing up for tours.

Sitting in the living room after supper, Arnie pointed out in amazement, “The time having small children has time gone by so quickly! I can’t believe that Tammie is graduating from high school this month and going off to college in the fall. This is our last family vacation before we have an empty nest. I want this to be a special vacation to highlight this time in her life.”

Not looking forward to having all my children flown from the nest, I nodded and sadly agreed, “A special vacation to mark this time in our lives, too.”

Taking her assignment to heart, within a week Tammie had researched and found airplane tickets and a place for us to stay. She excitedly explained to Arnie and me, “We can get a room at a place close to Pike Place Fish Market. It was once a regular hotel, but now they’re a new bed and breakfast business. They serve fresh fruit and several different kinds of quiche every morning to their guests. We can have a room with a small kitchenette, couch bed and a queen-sized bed.” Arnie was delighted. He gave her permission to pay for them with his credit card. I was amazed at our daughter’s confidence.

In the weeks that followed, Tammie studied all the local attractions and decided that we would visit the Bell district, the local zoo, and go to the top of the Seattle ‘space needle’ which is a remnant from the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle. She scheduled a bus tour that would give us a close-up look at Mount Rainier, as well as a whale watch boat that would take us out into Puget Sound, the deep inlet next to Seattle, in hopes of seeing humpback whales and dolphins surfacing. On another day she scheduled a ferry trip to a nearby island for a hike.

While home for a visit this spring, Tammie and I reminisced about our Seattle vacation 24 years ago.” Thinking of all the fun experiences we enjoyed, made us wish to go back.

Tammie asked, “How about we visit Seattle again this summer?”

I eagerly suggested, “Yes, and maybe we could visit a few of your cousins who live in the state.”

Tammie ordered, “Let me know of anything else you want to do on the trip. I’ll make the plans.” Once again, she hopped on the internet to make reservations and book excursions.

Twenty-four years ago, Arnie and I visited Seattle to spend special vacation time with our daughter who would soon be leaving home to attend college. That airplane trip was our empty nest flight, an experience to prepare us for the flight of our smallest birdie from the home nest.