My DC have always wanted to visit Banff National Park in Canada. We had a story that was partly set there thar we used to read when they were small, and they loved it and have always asked to see the place in person. We've been to Canada several times, as my mother lives there. But she lives on the east coast while Banff is in the west, and because of the sheer size of Canada I've never been able to manage a side trip to the park. However, this year DD is finishing her GSCEs and due to a lot of budgeting and planning, I finally have enough to afford Banff as a special treat!
However, DC told mum, and she wants to come out and meet us there. My mother is not easy to travel with. She has high levels of anxiety and things not going according to plan can cause meltdowns (tears, yelling and storming off; there has been phyisical aggression in the past but the last incident was more than twenty years ago so DC have never witnessed that). She will only eat in familiar chain restaurants and stay in familiar chain hotels. She's very stubborn when she gets an idea in her head. For example, when she visited us a few years ago, she decided that she wanted to spend hours each day going for walks around the village to get to get a sense of the local atmosphere. I was recovering from a serious health crisis at the time and couldn't manage walking for that long. She refused any other outings (no shopping, no cinema, no museums) and just walked around by herself each day and then sulked that we hadn't joined her every evening.
I really want this trip to be pleasant. I'm getting married this autumn, so this might be my last holiday with just DC. But mum is in her 70s and, as she says, who knows how many more times she'll get to see them?
AIBU to keep.this just the three of us?