We took my husband's 75-year-old grandmother to Iceland. We still talk about that trip 9 years later.

I still retrieve erstwhile I first sewage the email from 1 of my husband's cousins astir his grandmother's upcoming birthday: "Nanny loves to travel. What if we springiness her a travel to Iceland for her birthday? And arsenic galore of america tin spell pinch her arsenic possible!" The flurry of responses showed that we were each excited: that cousin's sister, her mother, her uncle, and my hubby and I each yet signed up: a full of 7 of us, including Nanny, were in.

At Nanny's 75th day party, a existent blowout bash pinch karaoke and tons of decorations, we wrapped an tremendous container afloat of balloons and a small motion that said, "You're going to Iceland!" To anyone considering giving a large travel arsenic a gift, it's worthy making the transportation dramatic, because we really loved seeing the thrill connected her look erstwhile she figured retired what the container of balloons was about. The full family felt represented successful it: while only six of america were really going to Iceland pinch her, different family members contributed to the costs of Nanny's travel because they saw what a beautiful representation this could be.

Planning was almost arsenic nosy arsenic the travel itself

Planning the travel was half the fun, and I watched arsenic everyone perused the online resources pinch gusto. We identified a awesome location close to Reykjavík to enactment for the first half of the travel while we explored the Golden Circle and the city, and past we recovered an unthinkable light-filled rental successful the mediate of a bunch of sheep pastures, facing a glacier, for our foray further inland. One relative was astir excited astir an isolated hike to an outdoor swimming excavation fed by a basking spring, while others were thrilled to spot glaciers and waterfalls. I was nerdily delighted astatine getting to spot an tremendous geothermal powerfulness works and circuit the facility.

From the beginning, the 7 of america traveled together remarkably well. We each wanted to prioritize togetherness, bully food, and seeing the sights, but besides figured retired ways to recreation astatine their ain rhythms, which I deliberation is basal erstwhile 7 group who don't typically unrecorded together travel together for 4 days of adventures. We rented 2 cars truthful that groups could spell successful different directions aliases astatine different speeds erstwhile they wanted, and while we tended to reconvene astatine a edifice together astir nights, the days were sometimes spent successful groups of different sizes and combinations of people, alternatively than 1 large group.

We made truthful galore lasting memories together

Surprising things that ended up being treasured memories included moments for illustration erstwhile my hubby and I, being the early birds, woke up and scouted retired a different section pastry shop each time to bring backmost meal for the crew. I besides thought that visiting the Kerið Crater, a stunning volcanic crater lake, and Seljalandsfoss, an tremendous waterfall we could locomotion behind, were incredibly beautiful: thing we did required miles and miles of hiking aliases immense changes successful elevation, but location were scrambles and grottos to research present and location for the astir adventurous among us.

One of the bully things astir taking a trip pinch family you really bask and want to walk clip pinch is that moreover in-between times, for illustration the thrust betwixt stops connected the Golden Circle, are a chance to link and turn closer. The 2 sisters (my husband's cousins) connected the travel sewage to reconnect aft surviving successful different cities for years. I sewage to enslaved pinch my husband's cousins, aunt, uncle, and grandma better. Best of all, Nanny felt wholly surrounded by group who loved her and wanted her to person a awesome time.

Now, we each still reference the travel often, moreover though it was 9 years ago. Nanny has 1 of those integer image frames successful her surviving room, and erstwhile we're complete for play family dinners aliases trade nights, we'll drawback a glimpse of pictures of the stunning Icelandic landscapes and our smiling faces. We each daydream astir unthinkable food dishes we ate aliases the beardown spirit of the section liquor Brennivín, which we tried the nighttime we spent playing cards till late.

The dollars we spent to visit Iceland were good spent for the travel and experiences, but I deliberation we each enjoyed it moreover much because we were cultivating unthinkable memories for Nanny, successful peculiar — personification who had been benignant to each of america successful truthful galore ways complete the years.