Cathy Borneman and her husband Kevin have been married 43 years and almost 80% of their marriage has been spent here in Zachary (that’s 34 years). They raised their two sons here, and they’re watching their three grandchildren grow up here. But while Zachary is homebase for the family, the open road is the place for family adventures, which makes sense when you learn how Cathy and Kevin met.

“I met Kevin on the Isle of Capri, in June of 1978,” said Cathy. She was in Italy as part of Tech Rome, a travel-study program Louisiana Tech offered for six weeks in the summer. “That first weekend we arrived, our Tech group went to the Isle of Capri where we saw the Blue Grotto,” she said. “The ferry had broken down and we had to take a public ferry instead. It was very crowded, and we were trying to figure out how we were getting back to where we needed to be when we noticed a group of guys standing near us and for some reason, I just assumed they were Italian.”

It turned out that they weren’t when one of them spoke up in English and an American accent, offering to help the girls find their way. That’s when Cathy met Kevin and learned he was “a Yankee, from Pennsylvania,” with 6 months left in the Navy. Before she left for Louisiana, they exchanged addresses and after a year of letters and phone calls, Kevin moved to Ruston to finish school at Tech with Cathy and they married in 1980.

Since then, the travels have continued, and Cathy will tell you she gets the travel bug honest. Her mother, Barbara Robinson and her father, Cecil, who passed away in 2018, loved to travel and would take Cathy and her siblings to places like Disney, Branson and Texas for vacations. Cathy and Kevin have continued the travel tradition with their kids and now their grandkids.

“It’s special because it’s family. We get to see our grandchildren’s expressions, what they enjoy, what surprises them, their parents interacting with them, and we’re making memories at the same time.”

-Cathy Borneman

Their next big family trip is in Branson next summer, which Zachary Travel is planning for them. They love Branson because “there’s something for everyone.” They’re “not show people” but seeing Dolly Parton’s Stampede is a family tradition, and they love the plentiful outdoor activities in the area like taking a pontoon boat out on Table Rock Lake and taking a golf cart through the Lost Canyon Cave and Nature Trail.

Read more about multi-generational travel and giving the gift of travel this holiday season in the October 2023 issue.

Zachary Travel has specialized in group tours and family vacations for more than 40 years. Contact us to plan your family getaway! 225.654.9210 or [email protected]. Gift certificates available.