Marble in the Rockies
The beauty of the mountains surrounding the tiny town of Marble, Colorado is astounding. Sitting on the deck outside our room at Beaver Lake Lodge, I can see one of the many sparkling...
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Parlez-Vous Français?
Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I glanced out the airplane window preparing to land into Nice, France. My first glance of the French Alps lining the sparkling Mediterranean...
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Surprise!
“Okay kids, we’ll go ahead and tell you. We are going to take a weekend trip to Atlanta, Georgia next weekend!” Mom said. ...
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Breaking Latina Expectations
I have in my deepest memories the times that my father went deep-sea fishing and arrived home with few fish. Since age seven, I dreamt of holding a fishing pole and reeling in...
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Nicaragua’s Next Top Model: The Real Deal
I take my first step into a world that, until a few years ago, I never would have conceived knowing. The humidity shocks me, giving my straight, smooth hair a new, un-appealing...
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My Alaskan Expedition
It is cold, there are mountains surrounding me, the sky is overcast, yet the sun seems unaware that it is after midnight; this is Alaska in the summer. Two years ago my family decided to take...
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A Williamsburg Trip With Many Misadventures!
The blistering sun beats down upon the beautiful, yet old-fashioned décor while a trumpet and the pounding of drums fill the air with an intense feeling of patriotism. Such a...
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An Afternoon at St. Peter’s
I happily pulled a less-than-ideal-in-100-degree-weather black cardigan over my shoulders and gazed up 450 feet to the world famous dome of
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Farm Fresh
This summer, my family and I traveled to another world! The people were strange, the water tasted weird, and I had the time of my life!
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Road to Lonavala
Mumbai has two temperatures; hot and hotter. Especially during the summer months, the city can be nearly unbearable. The traffic, the incessant push of humanity, and the raw poverty that fill the muddy,...
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South African Bush: An Untouched and Invisible World
I awoke to clamoring sounds on the rowdy bus. It became increasingly evident we were approaching our intended destination, as the scenery was devoid of familiar architecture. We were surrounded by...
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Jazz, Chocolate, Spaghetti, and Unity
The trip began as multiple performances but ended as an eye-opening experience. I sat quietly in the Chicago Airport—a reserved 14-year-old girl high school freshman awaiting...
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A Hellas of a Time
Each summer, my family and I travel to Serbia to visit our relatives in Belgrade and Leskovac, the former a vibrant capital city and the latter a charming town rooted in tradition....
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The Greatest Gift
They came from all over by the thousands. They traveled for miles. Some of them even came from neighboring countries. They walked, rode motorcycles, piled into the...
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A Requiem for Hope in a Forlorn Nation
A thick blanket of humidity and heat surrounded my mother and me. We had arrived to the rendezvous point where our Haiti Medical Mission Team would assemble before departing for...
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The Roman Equation
As the saying goes, “Rome was not built in a day.” Therefore, being able to explore all of Rome and its treasures in a day alone is a highly impossible feat. To make this equation...
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Peace, Love, and Ducks
I woke with a smile on my face and more energy than I could imagine. It was the summer of my sixteenth year and the first time I had left the United States. The beauty...
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A City on the Edge
The taxi pulsed with cool air that taunted the domineering sun above, as if it was coyly escaping its relentless blaze. Seeping into the pores of the local people outside, the sun’s rays crawled into...
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A Ray of Hope
The summer after my sophomore year in high school I went on a family vacation to Maui. I had heard so many wonderful stories about Hawaii that I had no doubt my vacation would...
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Pore, Croatia.
This summer I went to Pore, a little town located on the west coast of Istria Peninsula in Croatia. Pore is almost 2,000 years old and it has a population of approximately 17,000....
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Nashville and Gatlinburg: A Great Family Adventure
Our amazing vacation started with a long car drive from Missouri to Tennessee. Upon arriving in Gatlinburg, we were fascinated by the brightly-lit shopping strip in the middle...
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Up to Mackinac Island
Interesting family vacations are no stranger to my family and I. We have traveled all around the United States, Maine to Florida to Wyoming, and accumulated many great stories...
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OHSET State Trip
Hey everyone! I am from Elmira, Oregon and am heading up to Redmond in a couple of minutes. That means I have sit in the truck for three hours. And listen to my mom and a couple of her friends talk, boring....
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Lost in Nature
In today’s society getting away from all technology is a hard thing to do, even when you travel the technology, like cell phones, is still a temptation for most teenagers. In...
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Journey to Nicaragua
During the summer, I discovered a lot about my father's homeland of Nicaragua. As a teen, my father and his family barely escaped the Sandinista Rebels, sadly leaving...
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The Land of Melancholy
In but a few hours, I had managed culture shock of the highest degree: I had traveled from the wintry Milwaukee airport, full of businessmen typing on laptops, college students...
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My friend, Tortuguero and My Pre-Historic Adventure
It was a very early morning in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, a modern community of resorts and upscale residences. I was up early. It was, after all, my first morning in beautiful Nuevo,...
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India 2010: Family, Food, Fun, Fantastic and Family…Again
I could start this essay the ol' fashioned way. You know "the days were hot, the nights were cold," yada, yada, yada. The days were hot and the nights were hot but not as hot. What would you...
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Eye Opener
The exhausting 22 hours plane ride, unusual bed times and powerful aches are all bearable for a vacation to Nepal, my home and one of the third...
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