mystery trip card

My family has a cherished tradition called Wilkinson Family Mystery Trips. It’s been part of our family since we were kids, when the mystery trips were pretty tame and local affairs – a white water rafting trip or a night at the horse races. When we grew up, these became actual trips that involved plane tickets and packing a suitcase when the destination and itinerary were unknown. For those, my dad would send tickets with instructions that we shouldn’t open them until after arriving at the airport (he also included a weather report to guide our packing). In one particularly memorable trip, Mike and I cabbed to the airport at some ungodly hour and our cab driver was absolutely incredulous that we didn’t know where we were going. So he insisted we let him open the tickets. We got all the way to Montana before we learned that’s where Kalispell is, since Montana wasn’t listed on the ticket.

For my Dad’s 75th birthday, my sisters and mom and I decided a Mystery Trip was in order. But really, a card like this could be used to gussy up any occasion and deliver happy news.