Dirtied Innocence
There was a time when I thought all law enforcements were good. There was a day when I thought they would help me when I was in trouble. There was a time…that I trusted them, but it all changed...
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Las Islas Encantadas Translation: The Enchanted Islands
I am not really a nature-lover person, just the thought of insects crawling up my legs and stepping on gooey mud when hiking up a mountain grosses me out, but this trip was an exception. Seeing volcanic...
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Holding on to our good old times
It was the summer of 2011 when some of my family members arrived in New York City. They live in Colombia and our only chance to spend time together is for a couple of weeks every other summer....
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Vacation Takes You.
“You don’t take a vacation, vacation takes you”. Such accurate words to describe my experience during my travels away from home July second through the seventeenth. I...
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The Journey to My First New York Skyline
With city lights below me and the pitter patter of rain on my window, I was ready to see it. I wanted a beaming welcome....
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A Night for Remembrance
Washington D.C. is arguably the most historically significant city in America. Sure, cities like Boston and New York City impacted our history, but no other place has been the capital for over...
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The Real World
Thick shrubbery punctuated by cowboys leading their herds to a watering hole comes to mind when one thinks of Wyoming. Indeed, upon my return, everyone smiled when they learned where we had been—and...
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The Beauty of Adventure
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the clean foreign air a thousand miles away from everything I’d ever known. I looked out into the peaceful night, my eyes traveling over the...
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Walking on Sugar
Growing up in a society that embraces technology, my experiences in Boracay have opened my eyes towards a different kind of beauty. I had never been...
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The European “Dream”?
It began a few summers ago when my family decided that we were going to take our dream vacation to Europe in the summer of 2011. We decided on choosing a guided tour called the “European Dream”...
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Fun in the Florida Sun
Last winter I went on one of my most exciting adventures, a vacation with my Grandma to Florida. Every year my Grandma makes the long drive from Michigan to Florida to spend the winter...
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Traveling Into the 1600’s
My level of excitement went over the limit when some of my classmates and I arrived at the Jamestown Settlement Park. Everything became surreal after the long two hour bus drive, and I did not have...
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Monterey: The Perfect Choice
On June 18, 2012 my family decided to take a trip on our rented, 36 foot RV down the coast of California from Sacramento. We journeyed to Monterey Bay; a wonderful ocean side and city that impacted...
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True Masterpieces of Madrid
Being a traveler is life changing. Getting to know the people of the world is an experience more magnificent than any tower, castle, or painting. In June of 2012, my family got to experience the...
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There and Back Again, a Georgian’s Tale
To immerse oneself in unfamiliar surroundings is the most effective way to broaden one’s horizons and to be able to understand other’s opinions and points of...
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My Trip to Wisconsin Dells
Vacation: A special trip for the purpose of recreation or relaxing. While this is true, my favorite reason to take a vacation would be making memories with my family. Every few years my mother...
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through my mother’s eyes
People only care about material things. Even in my poor neighborhood, everyone made sure they have the right look by buying Jordan and snap back hats. I begged my parents for everything thing I seen...
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Alors On Danse
“Pardon, Pardon” uttered the determined sea of commuters on the streets of Paris. Other than that, they kept to themselves, and we kept to ours. It became clear that rushing businessmen...
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Wet Cars, Wet Shoes, and Dampened Spirits
Everybody has one. One vacation during which all forces of the universe work together to create the perfect storm of events, a storm that picks you up by the collar of your shirt, tosses you around,...
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Nothing Like New York
One theoretical conversation lead to one of the best experiences of a lifetime. An annual trip between my mother and her friends was the topic...
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But when I grew up, I put away childish things.
I remember my experience with one of the most notorious things about travel: lost luggage. Though I used to not define Strippi as luggage, she was lost. My father and I were traveling...
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Waltz Across Texas
As author Mary Lasswell once said, “I am forced to conclude that God made Texas on his day off, for pure entertainment, just to prove that all that diversity could be crammed into one section...
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Home Is Where The Heart Is: Scotland 2009
Home is where you hang your heart, and it’s fair to say that my heart has stayed in Scotland since we arrived in Edinburgh (pronounced Edin-burrah to those of you who dinna kent) in March,...
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Surrounding Myself with Culture: My Beidaihe Vacation
Greasy takeout, kung-fu, and Jackie Chan are some of the stereotypes that come to mind when most people think of Chinese culture. Being of Chinese heritage, however, I have experienced the true essence...
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Storm Warning
As we pulled through the entry gate of the nearly deserted Nebraska campground, I peered out the car window at the lake— Lake Minatare. It was by far the spookiest-looking lake I'd ever seen. ...
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Beauty’s Pure Form
Early on a July morning, I rubbed my eyes and roused myself from sleep. Normally my godmother and her family let me sleep, but not today, today we were going to the mountains. In an effort to fully...
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I’m In My Happy Place
I step back from the microphone with a smile on my face, letting a small sigh of enchantment and...
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They are More Afraid of You Than You are of Them
I just returned this past week from a vacation with my family to South Dakota. The soul reason for this trip was to visit family members. It...
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Our Trip (Which Involved a Castle and the Longest Sled Run in the World)
While we all love excitement, my family has never been known for its dedication to thrill seeking. But when some good friends asked us to go sledding with them, we immediately agreed. After all,...
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Lost in a Foreign Land
My family of six had been talking about traveling to Europe for years. It didn’t happen until just recently. During the summer of 2011, I went on a family vacation to Italy. We traveled to...
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Alaska After Dark
The empty theater was dim at 3 a.m., illuminated only by the strings of delicate lights lining the aisle floors. Our voices came out hushed, absorbed into the thick carpet, the endless rows of red velvet...
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The Building of a Fire
I remember arrival quite well. We were in the Grand Canyon National Park. The trees were such a radiant green and the sky was decorated with blue-gray clouds. There was nothing out...
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Castle of Miracles
" Here we are girls! We made it at last!" shouted my mother. Anyssa and I peered out the car window and what we saw before us brought huge smiles to our faces. There was a a sign that...
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Costa Rica: What Tourists Don’t See
In our first trek into the third world my family left for Costa Rica during the winter of 2010. What I had envisioned to be a tropical paradise with expansive sailboat harbors and multi-million dollar...
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A Paris Morning
I blink my eyes groggily, as my eyes focus on the white ceiling above me. Next to me, I can hear my brother softly breathing as my mom and dad tiptoe around the room, pulling together our necessities...
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The Magic of Marakesh
A couple of years ago I went on a vacation to Marakesh, Morocco. The old part of town is a labyrinthine maze of shops and stalls (called souks). I kept wandering through this vast sea of stalls amazed...
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Misread Signs
After such memorable experiences as enjoying boat rides and exhilarating sailing lessons in the Vancouver Harbor and an afternoon at Playland at the PNE, on our final night of my first out of the...
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Golden Heaven
The slight chill was still making its way through and the sun had not yet made its arrival. However, a shade of orange was crawling through the sky. Shopkeepers were starting to prepare for...
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Changing Viewpoints: Icacos Point
Road trips are an iconic American family vacation. Driving down classic two-lane American roads across the country, windows rolled all the way down to enjoy the fresh air, board games strewn across...
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Hawaiian Dream
It is crazy to think that it has been four years since my family and I hopped on a plane and went to Hawaii. Every moment of the trip is still fresh in my mind. It seems like it was just yesterday...
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Isla del encanto
This year, I was able to go to Puerto Rico. Although the plane ride was quite long, about 6 hours, it was well worth the wait. We had visited oceans like Crash Boat and Isabella. The ocean...
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An Experience in Japan
My dad was given the opportunity to go to Tokyo, Japan through a business conference held by an international research organization. Seeing this opportunity as a sign, my entire family decided on...
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Blowhole, Bus Tour, and Independence Day
The road was rough, and the bus was full of chatter. It was the Fourth of July, and my family and I were in Ensenada, Mexico for our last stop on our Carnival Inspiration Cruise. We had signed up...
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Japanese cherry blossom ice cream and enchanted gardens
As a 15-year-old, when I heard that my family was taking a trip to the Gardens by the Bay at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, I was far from keen. But as I stepped into the one-of-a-kind Cloud Forest...
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A Satisfied Hunger
Walking down Roman avenues in the early morning instills an exciting feeling. We catch a bus to take us into the city. We ride the bus through the streets and see what anyone would see going through...
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The Oregon Tale
The story of this vacation started as the plane wheels left the runway, but the journey to Oregon truly began the moment Mt. Hood decorated the plane windows with snow-covered mountaintops. Here...
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Scuba Diving–It’s A Different World Down There
Scuba diving can make you see the world differently. This is what happened to me when I went scuba diving with my dad in the Philippines. The weather was hot and the water...
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