John and I spent a week aboard the American Queen Steamboat on the Mississippi River, sailing from New Orleans to Memphis. We traveled with great friends from the travel industry.

Conversation among people you have not seen or spent time with for a while flows quickly. Our good friend Sally (not her real name) was no exception. She talked about her 102-year-old mom and how Sally drives two hours from her home to spend a lot of time with her. Mom had all the medical challenges a centenarian would have, and Sally was with us on the Mississippi River for a few days of well-deserved relaxation. Mom was being taken well care of by her sister at mom's assisted living home.

I have often said that you really see the true colors of a travel company when there is an emergency. Sally's mom died unexpectedly during our second night on the river, and we were in the midst of cruising the rest of the night and next day. Sally needed to return to her family. I'm thinking 'how is this going to happen?' Well, by 10 a.m. that morning the American Queen crew had set up an emergency landing to let her off.

Everyone on the vessel was present to see this happen. As we began to land on a desolate part of the Mississippi shoreline, there were no signs of a dock or anything, yet it was a landing location. The crew did a magnificent job of landing, notifying the right people, staying calm and getting Sally on terra firma in the middle of nowhere. Off the boat came an electric cart with Sally and her luggage to meet her nephew (his moxie was a story unto itself.) They had to go through a quarter-mile of forest and up onto a levee. No one left the bridge railings until she was safe and secure! All of this took time and energy plus coordination - and the American Queen took this in stride as if this were a normal occurrence. Their priority was to return Sally to her family as quickly as feasible. I thought wow, what a company.

Storytelling is very important - and what a story this is. As I looked at the faces of the travelers that morning, I could tell that each of them knew they had chosen the best travel company to be sailing with. They knew if something happened in their family that this cruise line would have been there for them.Thank you American Queen for a job remarkably done.

I would be remiss not to thank another good friend who went home with her and did not bat an eye that they needed to leave the boat and make sure that Sally had someone with her. Great friends are the best.

Things can happen while you are traveling, so choosing great travel companies does make a difference. It's comforting to know you are in capable, caring hands!