What’s Up East Coast?

My family's "What's Up East Coast?" trip starts in southern Florida – my home. I slept for probably most of the six to eight hour drive to get to just the border of Georgia so I can't really say how beautiful the scenery was; but I can say that my fluffy pink pillow came in very handy.

Finally, after eight hours our car touched the state of Georgia. We stop to rest at a small motel for a night called the Super 8. Then we drove past the middle states. A quick stretch at a rest stop in Kentucky, a change of clothes, and we were on our way again.

â–º  QUARTER FINALIST 2012 TEEN TRAVEL WRITING SCHOLARSHIP

Then we reached Washington DC. My family and I walked to the White House and took pictures with our nation's presidents (well, their statues). Then we traveled around the world at Embassy Row. We stopped at the Philippine embassy to see my family's home country. I was taken by the scent of the sampaguita flowers. It smelled like home.

From DC, we went to Maryland and slept over a friend's house. We took a side trip to the Hershey's Factory in Pennsylvania. The chocoholic inside of me was awakened at the scent of cacao beans. Inside, my family went to ride the Hershey's Great American Chocolate Tour. It was such a fun ride because it literally moved all the riders in a car around the whole factory and described the whole process of making the chocolate using singing cows!

We were able to reunite with old friends while creating new experiences by staying at their place for two nights in New York. We took the subway instead of the car to Times Square because there was no parking space for a car to park anyway. After a few minutes of enjoying our faces on the jumbo screen, we went to explore the Toys R Us store. On the indoor ferris wheel, we were able to get a glimpse of all the floors: a candy floor, a Barbie doll floor, and a floor all for Legos. I bought enough candy to last me a whole month or a few weeks. 

We then went to the American Museum of Natural History. The dinosaur floor was my absolute favorite. To be able to see an animal's bones from prehistoric times was mind blowing. The museum was so large that we were not able to explore the whole museum in one day – I vowed to come back and explore the rest of the museum.

For dinner, we all went to a little restaurant called Minni's Shabu Shabu in Queens. It was such an interesting restaurant because all they prepared was the broth and the ingredients to make your own soup. It was up to you what you wanted to put in your soup. Even the worst cooks (like me) can be the best soup makers at Minni's Shabu Shabu!

After New York, we were ready to go back to our home in Florida. We said our farewells to our friends and stopped at a friend's house in North Carolina for a night. Travelling the world at Embassy Row, being in chocolate heaven at the Hershey's Factory, and being part of the hustle and bustle of New York were all great experiences that I could never ever forget even if I wanted to.It was such a great adventure driving to the upper east coast of America with my family. So, "What's Up East Coast?"