An Unusual Layover in NY City
My grandfather recently died and we travelled back from our home in North Carolina to Belgium, where the rest of our family still lives. Although we weren’t exactly in a cheery holiday mood, my parents...
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Relaxing to Roller Coasters: The Perfect Day in Sylvan Beach
After a stressful school year filled with crammed study sessions and all-nighters, only one place can take my mind off it all – Sylvan Beach, New York. Decades ago, my great-great grandparents discovered...
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The Taxi Driver Temper Tantrum
Paris is a city with a bite. It’s absolutely beautiful with its elegant architecture and silver Seine, but every once in a while it will bare its teeth and show its ugly side. One minute you’ll...
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Haunted Tunnel
The brilliant twinkling of innumerable lights creates a stark contrast against the dark, night sky. The radiance engulfs us, silhouetting towering buildings. Chicago beckons through the car windows...
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Joy in the Journey
The old cliche “the joy is in the journey” is taken literally in the Smoky Mountains. The real attractions there do not rest in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge; they do not reside in Ripley’s...
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The Third Time’s a Charm in NYC
The white picket fences have become stained with dullness and predictability. The porches and decks have collapsed in coziness, and the SUVs and minivans have lost their new car smell and shine. Even...
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A New Kind of Jesus Music
This past summer I went on a family vacation to the west side of the United States. Along the way we made various stops to visit different colleges and see different sights. One of these special places...
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Sisterhood
One trip that has left a humongous impact upon me is the trip I took to Colorado with my softball team. This trip not only was one of excitement and adventure, but also one that taught me the strength...
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A New Experience in America’s Oldest Town
I always found myself falling asleep in history class. Some lessons couldn’t hold my interest. Even when I visited places filled with history, I found myself extremely bored. Summer of 2012 changed...
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The Wonders of Costa Rica
The night that I arrived in Costa Rica it was like stepping into a whole new world. I had never been out of the United States before but I was more than enthusiastic to venture out into new surroundings...
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The Unexpected
The biggest mistake that families make when planning their vacations is operating under the assumption that everything will go perfectly. Despite past experiences,...
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A Day of Discovery
I wriggled my way into a grey and slightly damp wetsuit. The air was hot and muggy, and the sky was a brilliant blue. I stood in the slight shade of the building on the docks in Cancun. I was here with...
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Red, Black, and Gold
The streets were devoid of vehicles. Views of the people of Mainz were few and far between as we walked the cobblestone streets. My friend and I were anxious to get to dinner. This was not because we...
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(Re)new York
I’m writing this blog post on a plane, returning home from what’s probably my 25th trip to New York. After so long, they begin to blur together into a mess of lights and cabs and street meat, albeit...
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New York’s Most Memorable Sight: The Empire State Building
If it weren’t for the automated elevators I would have pressed every single enticing button, just to see every magical floor. It took three...
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Home is Not a Place
The only thing different about her was that her hair was a bit longer than last time and that she had changed her glasses to have tortoiseshell frames. She still wore the same, serene expression, casual...
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My NYC Adventure With My Concert Choir
It’s the lights, the shops, the street performers, the attractions and the peoplethat make New York City a perfect place to explore. I traveled to NYC with the Moose Lake Concert...
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I Think We’re in Kansas
The road north curves and winds through the valleys of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains just as the summer breeze cuts through the New Mexico maple and pine trees that line the luscious terrain. ...
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An Untraditional Vacation
Most people go on vacation to relax, have fun, and make memories that’ll last a lifetime. Although my family had these expectations when we visited Nigeria in 2008,...
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When in Rome, Relax As the Romans Do: What My Italian Adventure Taught Me About Life
‘Twas the night before I was set to leave on my first European vacation, a two week trip to Italy. My bags were packed, my camera charged, and my passport updated. I was sixteen and expecting...
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Cambodia to Thailand: A Tale of Monuments and Mango Milkshakes
When it comes to traveling I’m always up for anything and everything. I love sight-seeing at places like the Great Wall; but I also enjoy the atypical experiences--eating rooster head and thirteen...
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Mid-Winter in Manhattan
I thought I’d seen New York. I thought...
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New York – A State of Mind
The Big Apple, The City that Never Sleeps, Gotham City. Whatever you call it, New York City is dazzling and unforgettable. The Statue of Liberty stretches her arm upwards, her torch pointing to the...
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The Week I Danced in New York
The Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2013, I boarded the plane and was off to New York. I was ecstatic, and even though it was early in the morning I was full of energy. I was practically jumping off...
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Cars, Stars, and Road Trips
The plan for “Roadtrip 2k14” was brilliant, in my opinion. My little green Honda Accord got excellent gas mileage and had proved itself to be a reliable car over the past year it had been in my...
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The Silent Lake
The afternoon was ripe with excitement and the car was stuffed...
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A Hawaiian Hike to Remember
Through my finals, meetings, and extracurricular activities the idea of basking in the Hawaiian sun was one of the only things keeping me going.I enjoy keeping myself busy. I am on the youth...
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I’ll send you a postcard, dear.
July 4, 2014, and New York seemed to go hand in hand.My family and I arrived in New York to be kissed by light rain and embraced by dim sunshine. Our disgruntled taxi cab driver could have cared...
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From Wildlife to City Sites – The Town to Beat All Others
Portland, Oregon seemed like a paradise, coming from the drought-stricken and fire-prone city of San Diego. Teeming with lush forestry and exotic Northwestern animal life, nature was around every corner....
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Discovering the Culture of St. Lucia
My family enjoys cruising and it is the type of vacation we take most regularly. Last April we went on a cruise to the Southern Caribbean...
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The Magic of the Ancient Waters
The world is a beautiful place; full of surprises, secrets and newfound treasures. Within the intricacies of the world, it’s a remarkable thing to find a place where you feel most content. I discovered...
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Awakening Adventures
I was 14 and blinded. When my family and I landed in Roatan, Honduras, I was looking for romance, relaxation, and a tan. I was not looking for a life changing, mindset altering, adventure. Little did...
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Accidental Encounters in Alaska
Heat, humidity, and Houston, this is all you need to describe my summers. My only escape is when we go on vacation. My favorite was Alaska in 2010, when I was 12.My...
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Chicklets, Knots, and Seashells
We come to gawk at the scenery with our heads strained back, admiring the sunset setting along what looks to be the end of the ocean. We run our diamond-laced fingers along the intricate wood carvings...
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Be Sure of the Unsure Step
Amusement parks, fancy hotels, beautiful resorts - these are the places I like to visit. Everything is provided for me, and I can just go around doing what I want. So when my parents said that we should...
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In My Bottle of Sand
When one thinks of Egypt, widely known icons including the Nile, Sphinx, mummies, or the pyramids usually come to mind. This article, however is about none of these things. This article is about the...
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Traveling in the Mountains ROCKS!
On June 24, 2014 we began traveling to Princeton, West Virginia to see family and surprise them with a chihuahua puppy. By we, I mean my Dad and I. It’s an 8-hour drive so we had plenty of time...
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The Lights, The Sounds, The Scenes…It Could Only Be New York City
The delicately carved stone bodies posing above the Grand Central Station entrance was the first New York scene I laid eyes on. Suitcases still in hand, I was already in awe of the trip that had barely...
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The Most Amazing Gift Shop in the World
Mist shrouded our 4x4 Jeep as we crawled up Route 606 to Monteverde, Costa Rica. The rocks on the unpaved road had been jostling us back and forth inside of our car for close to three hours. Very slowly,...
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Heaven in Hawaii
After a seven hour plane ride over the Pacific Ocean, my mom and I were starved. We spoke to a few Hawaiian locals, and concluded that Aloha Mixed Plate was an affordable restaurant to sample...
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The Day I Almost Died
To any of my readers that don't know how I almost died, I'll tell you what happened.One summer day in July 2010, my family decided to take a road trip. Our destination was unknown. ...
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My Enchanting Inspiration From Olmsted Point
Back on our vacation along the west coast and in California, one of the most remarkable stops we made was at Yosemite National Park. The colossal granite cliffs and the seemingly endless beautiful red...
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Escape Into Letchworth: Sehgahunda, “Vale of Three Falls”
Letchworth State Park is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Located in the hills of Western New York State, the 17-mile stretch of the Genesee River is known as the “Grand Canyon of the East”....
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Ajanta Caves: Elegance Set in Stone
I must admit, when I first stood at the base of the Ajanta Caves in the sweltering June sun, I didn’t understand why my family and I had left the...
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The Light of the Night
Last year for Spring Break, my brother and I, presumably believed that we would spend our break doing nothing but chores like every other break. Instead, we got to venture to one of the exotic beaches...
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27 Hours to Florida
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Imagine fifty two overly-excited band geeks on a smelly coach bus for twenty seven hours. Now can you see why it was the worst of times? We thought...
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From the City to the Suburbs, Experiencing All New York Has to Offer
I’m in love with two New York’s.There’s New York City, where everything seems bigger, bolder, tastier and more alive. When I look out a window in NYC, it feels like life is moving by at...
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My “New York Times”
In April of 2014 my grandmother, mother, sister, and I took a trip to New York City. Despite the fact that I had been to “The Big Apple” before, I had never seen the city like...
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Italian Escapades
The amount of forethought and preplanning one does before embarking on a family vacation to a foreign country can mean the difference between a perfectly enjoyable trip and a disastrous one.When...
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