Who’s Really Got It Figured Out? Us or Them? Trip to Vernazza, Italy
The anticipation of finally arriving at your vacation spot seems to grow as the month, week, day, hour, minute & second near. I won't forget the way the way I felt and the...
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Climbing Cadillac Mountain
Four years ago, in July of 2007, right after I turned 13, my family and I drove up the east coast of the United States and back down it again. We traveled from Chesapeake,...
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Saying Goodbye
I scuff at the orange dust with my flip-flop and stare at our cinder-brick house. It’s all packed up—my life stowed in Tupperwares tied expertly to the top of our Land Rover.The whole village has come...
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The Kingdom for Friends
The morning shone bright, the trees swayed in the wind, and the laughter of a charter bus of teenage students filled the air. After six hours of traveling from Austin, Texas to...
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A Slice of Literature
Going back in time requires no supernatural powers, no new-fangled machines with walls of blinking buttons and levers—walking into an era long-gone can be achieved as easily...
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Seeing Paris Without the Lines
The quintessential Parisian experience that tops everyone's list of things to do is to reach the top of the Eiffel Tower and see the entire city at your feet. What many don't...
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Spirit and Heart Capturer: Egypt
As a young girl, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel. I, personally, traveled to many stunning countries like Greece, France, and London, but the country...
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My Cruise Into Romance
When my dad told us that he was going to take us on a cruise through the Mexican Riviera my entire family leapt with joy. I was especially excited because I was just getting over...
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Remembering the Coast
I crane my neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. Turn after turn in the road, I hope this one will reveal the never-ending expanse of water. When the ocean is finally...
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The Happiest Place on Earth? Perhaps Instead, the Happiest Place in My Memories
It is deemed the “happiest place on Earth”. As a teenager, it was deemed by me as “another family vacation”. The last time I had set foot onto Main Street’s walkway...
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Dominica, The Island Full of Experiences
Slowly, I drifted my feet in the mixture of sand and rock. The breeze surrounding me was never-ending, but so soft to the point that it could put...
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Towards Reason’s Horizon
The pungent smell of pine was strong in the air. The firm earth gave slightly as I ascended the slope. The trees towered up into the heavens and the lush canopy swallowed the velvety sky. It was...
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Braving New Heights
Family trips can be an adventure you never quite expect. When you fill a house and a guest house with seven siblings and their immediate families, you lose privacy and silence;...
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The Streets of History
Thumbs up or thumbs down? I stood inside the Colosseum. It was so great, yet so terrible. It was a house of death where the combatants saw their last moments. As I walked through...
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Becoming Something More
I’ve always considered myself to be African American. Never did I question the surveys or questionnaires that had that single bubble classifying a whole society into one large culture. I guess this...
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A Life Changing Vacation
It’s about 34 degrees Celsius, the bitter cold is numbing against my nose, ears and extremities. I gaze to the north; thousands of square miles of mountains that have slept so...
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Exceeding Expectations in Spain
"It will be about $3,000, but we'll do some fundraising please do not be discouraged by the price." announced my spanish teacher Profe Fonken. Instantly my ears perked at the sound...
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Spending Two Weeks With Mother Nature
Never before have I been in a town with less than five-hundred people: two gas stations, two bars, and a Subway; accompanied by a mom and pop store and a hunting surplus which...
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From One Home to Another
I've loved traveling since I was little and my mom and aunt took me to Colorado. My favorite road trip, however, is the one we take most summers from the panhandle of Florida, where we currently live,...
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Ruby Beach, Washington
Last July, the summer of 2009, my family took advantage of four free airline tickets and planned an impromptu vacation to the Pacific Northwest. We went gallivanting off to the...
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To Turkey and Back
It was April 10, 2010, and my family and I were off to Turkey to enjoy our spring break. We left from the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, early Saturday morning to arrive in Istanbul later that day. We...
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Happiness at a Rest Stop
"Destination: Garmisch, Germany. Five hours, thirty-seven minutes. Take the first right, then turn left." the monotone voice of our trusty GPS echoed through the car. ...
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Scuba Diving in Costa Rica
The sun dried the sticky layer of salt that coated my skin. I looked out at the sparkling water. Who knew what mysteries lurked underneath the beautiful surface? Costa Rica was...
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Snorkeling and Scuba Tips from my Kauai Hawaii Vacation
Snorkeling and scuba diving are both exciting activities when you visit a beach, but only if you are in a nice place to do it. The state of Hawaii offers...
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Vaccation
I wish that you, The panel of judges, or however the winner is picked for a scholarship, could see my family in action. You would give me the money as soon as possible and...
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Take Time to Notice a Sunset
There are a few places in this part of the world where life is not easy, where the human inhabitants do not quibble over minor inconveniences, and where the elements of nature rule what is allowed and...
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The Family Resort at Lake Coeur d’ Alene
Every year I take an eight hour journey to a place that I think is heaven on earth, Coeur d’ Alene Lake, Idaho. My family of four: my dad, mom, my little brother, and I all pile into our white GMC...
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Teen Travel Writing
In the summer of 2007 my family took off for a 3-week long road trip to the Grand Canyon. This is the same trip my mother took with her family as a child. She was determined we would do the...
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California Family Vacation
After spending a week visiting our relatives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, my family and I boarded a plane to California before going back to our home state of Alabama. Sight-seeing California was a much...
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My Paradise
What do you think of when you hear the word paradise? Do you think of lying on a beach in Hawaii? What about taking a cruise to Jamaica? Before, when I heard it, that’s what I thought about,...
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Shooting for the Stars
Curled up in a beach chair, I hunt the myriad of specks for a streak. Flanked by two best friends, all fighting for a piece of the blanket, I search for luck in the Shenandoah...
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Cabo-The Many Sides
This past summer my family and I decided to get away from town and vacation to Cabo San Lucas located at the tip of Baja California. When I arrived I expected it to be like any other happening vacation...
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Emerald Water Memories
When reflecting on a significant tradition in my life, I feel sand surrounding my feet and sun rays quickly warming my skin. I hear waves crashing into the shore and I see seagulls flying above, looking...
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Liverpool/London trip!
For my dad’s 50th birthday, my family decided to surprise him with a gift that none of us would ever forget. We bought him a book about the Beatles. No, that wasn’t the surprise! The surprise was written...
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An Unexpected Beauty
Have you ever heard of the advice to arrive two hours before your flight is scheduled to leave? Well, that is exactly what my family and I did not do for our flight to Phoenix, Arizona last summer. We...
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With Clouds Beneath My Feet
I stood in front of a small wood building that almost blended into the alpine landscape around it. An overstuffed backpack dangled off my shoulders, full of rented mountaineering gear that I though made...
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An Unexpected Opportunity
Nigel no Monogatari (The Story of Nigel) On the humid evening of August...
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Tennessee Perspective
It came. I knew it would, even before I exited the flight. The small plane had just landed at the Knoxville Airport in Tennessee, and my apprehension had already escalated to a sizeable amount. The seatbelt...
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