The Best Vacation Ever
My most memorable vacation was during the summer of 2007. My grandparents live in Rhode Island, which gives us a good excuse to travel north. Having not seen them in a while, we decided to vacation in Rhode Island. From Virginia, the drive took roughly eleven hours. That’s eleven hours of not being able to feel my butt. The drive took all of Saturday but when we arrived, we were welcomed by a wonderful, home-cooked seafood meal. Exhausted from the drive, we slept late Sunday and just relaxed, preparing ourselves for the exciting week ahead.
Monday, my grandfather took my mother, step-dad, sister, and me deep-sea fishing. For those who have only experienced fresh water fishing, deep-sea fishing is nothing like it other than the concept of throwing a line into the water. Deep-sea fishing is more exciting and the pole is much larger; bigger pole equals bigger fish. The fish caught when deep-sea fishing could eat the little fresh water fish for snacks. Luckily, that day we all caught something. We caught striped bass (which can be found in either fresh or salt water) and blue fish. My striped bass weighed twenty-eight pounds and was forty-eight inches long. He was a decent size fish!
The next day, we woke up at 4:00 am. and took the nearest subway to New York City. We took a tour with New York Party Shuttle, www.newyorkpartyshuttle.com, which showed us all of the places one could possibly want to see in New York. We saw ground zero, the empire state building, and we even took a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. After the tour, we had dinner in Central Park, at a restaurant called the Boat House, www.thecentralparkboathouse.com, which had the best crab cakes I’ve ever tasted.
Wednesday, we drove to Newport and toured the Astors’ House, www.astorsbeechwood.com, one of the many mansions there. It was very interesting to see how the rich lived many years ago. After we toured the mansion, we ate at the most expensive restaurant I have ever been to, Castle Hill, www.castlehillinn.com, but the food was wonderful and we had the most beautiful view of the sound.
On Thursday, which was my favorite day of all, we went to Boston, Massachusetts. Early that morning we went whale-watching with Boston Harbor Cruises, www.bostonharborcruises.com. We ended up seeing many humpback whales and they were miraculous. It is literally breathtaking watching these incredible creatures. I have a strong passion for the ocean and its wildlife, so seeing those grand but graceful animals was simply amazing for me. After that, we went to the Boston aquarium, www.neaq.org/visit_planning/index.php, before our dinner reservations, at the Barking Crab, www.barkingcrab.com. When we left the aquarium, we were contemplating how to get to the restaurant when we saw the greatest creation ever: a seven seater bike! That bike was the coolest thing ever. Lets just say we rolled up to the restaurant in style! My time in Boston helped me to realize that I want to study Marine Biology in college. The ocean is a vast and mysterious place that I look forward to exploring.
For our last day, we decided to take it easy at the house and rest from the hectic week. We then piled in the car Saturday morning with the awesome memories and stories of the week we had just experienced. My outlook on life has and will forever be changed for the better from this trip. I learned there are many different cultures, all with something to teach, and that America is truly a great melting pot.
Laurel Stephenson
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