The mother-daughter bond is forever. Yet, like all relationships, it blooms with time spent doing things together, especially traveling. For mothers, there’s a moment when we realize we’re seeing our daughters as independent adults, as well as friends for life.
Our AdventureWomen guest, Betsy Morrison, tells her own personal story about how an AdventureWomen mother/daughter trip to Baja, Mexico with her daughter, Kate, helped them to bond in a new and meaningful way.
Betsy & Kate in Baja, Mexico in 2019 with AdventureWomen
By Betsy Morrison
“I had assumed she would look to me to lead the way.”
“As soon as I saw AdventureWomen offering a mother/daughter trip to Baja, Mexico in 2019, I knew I had to contact my daughter Kate and see if she would go with me. I wanted to introduce her to women-only travel. I had no doubt she would enjoy herself given we are both social, athletic, and enjoy being with groups. It was a bonus that the makeup of the group was other mother-daughter pairs. She said yes immediately.
My daughter has observed my enthusiasm for all-women travel over the years, and she also liked the idea of taking a trip to a warm destination in February. With the strain of the teen years behind us, we had a comfort level with each other that made it easy to be excited for the week ahead.
Immediately upon arriving in Cabo, I was struck by Kate’s independence and confidence. She had read her instruction materials beforehand and directed me to the place where we’d meet our ambassador, Cezanne. Right away, she began chatting with the other AdventureWomen guests, asking them personal questions to get to know them better. I was both impressed and proud!
I had assumed she would look to me to “lead the way”, to tell her when and where we would meet according to the daily schedule. I thought I would have to encourage her to try new things, to sit with other guests and chat to get to know them.
Well, Kate surprised me over and over on this trip. She was drawn to the energy of the group, loved getting to know each mom and daughter, was cheerfully engaging the guides on the island, and even organized a guides and guest “Cards Against Humanity” game.
I thoroughly enjoyed observing these interactions, often finding myself grinning at my daughter who was having so much fun.
Kate was effusive on the AW Baja trip! While I enjoyed beach time on the island, she went snorkeling with one of the younger gals. She was great at her first time surfing, and enjoyed the interesting hikes, and whale watching expeditions. She is a professional photographer and took hundreds of photos, with the intent of sharing them with the group. I appreciated that our knowledgeable female guide and our ambassador, Cezanne, were so easy for Kate to chat with.
Turning 25 in Paradise
We celebrated Kate’s 25th birthday with a custom cake and loud Happy Birthday song on Monday night. Because she was so engaged in the Mexican cooking class taught by Chef Iker (on right), I asked him to purchase an authentic tortilla maker in town and present it to her on our last night!
While I write this, I am considering where our next AdventureWomen trip will be and know that, based on our Baja experience, Kate and I will enjoy each other and the other adventurous, friendly women we will meet wherever we decide to go.”
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Just for fun, we’ve also linked to a quick video shot by another mother/daughter pair, Julia and Enid, all smiles on their AdventureWomen trip to India in March 2019. They were so happy and inspired by their time traveling together, they made this video to share with our community of women.
Check it out:
Our mother-daughter trips at AdventureWomen are wildly popular!
2019 MD Trips : A few spaces available for Iceland.
2020 MD Trips: Check out Baja, Costa Rica, and Iceland
