Last summer I spent nearly a month with my uncle Rich, my aunt Jen, and cousin Mya on the road or in the Adirondack mountains. This year they decided not to drive the camper up to the Adirondacks but instead go on a road trip all throughout the east coast of the U.S.
Family Reunion
Me, my dad, and my grandmother flew up to New York while Mya and her parents went by train from Tampa to New York, I was super excited we were all meeting in Long Beach, NY for a massive family reunion. As exciting as it all was to see my extended family I was also very nervous we went to my dad’s uncle Jim’s house I had presumed the family reunion would be at most 50 people but was I wrong the family reunion was a huge party of family flying in as far away as California there was going to be over 150 people coming. Uncle Jim closed down the block, hired a restaurant to cater, a D.J., and even some entertainment. When the party finally started it was a lot of fun I knew a lot of the people there considering almost all of them came at some point to Florida to bring their kids to Disney. The next day we drove to Breezy Point to have another family reunion this time on my grandfather’s side it too was a lot of fun.
Family Reunion
Me, my dad, and my grandmother flew up to New York while Mya and her parents went by train from Tampa to New York, I was super excited we were all meeting in Long Beach, NY for a massive family reunion. As exciting as it all was to see my extended family I was also very nervous we went to my dad’s uncle Jim’s house I had presumed the family reunion would be at most 50 people but was I wrong the family reunion was a huge party of family flying in as far away as California there was going to be over 150 people coming. Uncle Jim closed down the block, hired a restaurant to cater, a D.J., and even some entertainment. When the party finally started it was a lot of fun I knew a lot of the people there considering almost all of them came at some point to Florida to bring their kids to Disney. The next day we drove to Breezy Point to have another family reunion this time on my grandfather’s side it too was a lot of fun.
New York City
My dad left after the reunions and I was going to be traveling back with Rich, Jen, and Mya, who were visiting all the major cities on the drive down to Florida and they were going to be bringing me along with them.
Day one of the road trip we were going to do some touristy things in New York City but it was pouring down rain. When the weather cleared up a little bit we headed down to Long Beach which was only a block away from where we were staying. We walked around and caught quite a few crabs, when we headed back Jen taught me a very fun card game called Spit if you don’t know how to play click here to learn the rules, after that I did some croquet, and then we all went out for some ice-cream.
My dad left after the reunions and I was going to be traveling back with Rich, Jen, and Mya, who were visiting all the major cities on the drive down to Florida and they were going to be bringing me along with them.
Day one of the road trip we were going to do some touristy things in New York City but it was pouring down rain. When the weather cleared up a little bit we headed down to Long Beach which was only a block away from where we were staying. We walked around and caught quite a few crabs, when we headed back Jen taught me a very fun card game called Spit if you don’t know how to play click here to learn the rules, after that I did some croquet, and then we all went out for some ice-cream.
The second day of the road trip the weather cleared and we took a train to the city we got tickets to the Freedom Tower which was strangely sold out the day before but mysteriously tickets were being given. The first thing we did was go to the 9/11 memorials right next to the Freedom Tower they were beautiful and a very heartfelt reminder of the tragedy that occurred that day. After we waited in line for access to the Freedom Tower which is where we realized why tickets were available all of a sudden, people were trying to refund their tickets as the employees working there informed everyone that there was “absolutely no visibility at the top”.
This was our one day in New York City and the building had only been open a few weeks. When we went in we were one of the only people there so we go to have our private elevator. The elevator was definitely the best as you go up it shows guests how New York’s skyline has changed throughout the centuries. Being the tallest building in North America the amazing view we were excited to see just didn’t happen we were literally in a cloud all you saw was a bright mist, some window cleaners on the building, some cars at the bottom, a few boats at the bottom, and any building thats height was smaller than a parking garage which isn’t much in the city. However we got to see the small presentations on the top floor either way we all had a good time and we were really excited just to be there.
After, we went to Battery Park, we got on a ferry to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty, and took a tour where I learned a lot about her and the meaning she carries to all the citizens and non-citizens of America. Then we took a subway train to Times Square we got on two jumbotrons and went to the M&M store. It started to rain and unlike Florida the rain in New York doesn’t last 5 minutes instead it lasts like an hour or so. We ate at the enormous Olive Garden and after the rain ended we took a walk to Rockefeller. We saw where NBC filming takes place and the behind the scenes, we even walked past the Chrysler Building, the Empire State, and my mom and dad’s favorite building the Flatiron Building. After a while we walked in to one of the world’s biggest stores Macy’s. Macy’s was absolutely berserk people were flooding the store, they had an entire floor dedicated to just shoes it was very overwhelming but at the same time very exciting. Than we took a train back to Long Beach and prepared for a very fun car ride to Baltimore the next morning.
Baltimore
After a extraordinary day in New York we drove down to Baltimore and visited my cousin’s aunt Sarah, her uncle Jamie, and their one year old baby Duke. When we got their we took a walk down at the bay and saw some of the cool sights down there while my cousin’s aunt and uncle were working. Finally Sarah and Jamie came home from work, we went back down to the city and saw a band playing some music in a field nearby. We had a great time talking with them and catching up with what they had been up too. On the way back from the listening to the band and playing with Duke, Sarah’s dog Abby was being walked by Mya than Abby walked into some mud. We offered to bathe her which I thought was going to be very fun, but Abby did not like water and the task seemed a lot harder than we originally thought. Even though it took us almost 2 hours to bathe her me and Mya had a lot of fun messing around and getting splashed by water.
After a extraordinary day in New York we drove down to Baltimore and visited my cousin’s aunt Sarah, her uncle Jamie, and their one year old baby Duke. When we got their we took a walk down at the bay and saw some of the cool sights down there while my cousin’s aunt and uncle were working. Finally Sarah and Jamie came home from work, we went back down to the city and saw a band playing some music in a field nearby. We had a great time talking with them and catching up with what they had been up too. On the way back from the listening to the band and playing with Duke, Sarah’s dog Abby was being walked by Mya than Abby walked into some mud. We offered to bathe her which I thought was going to be very fun, but Abby did not like water and the task seemed a lot harder than we originally thought. Even though it took us almost 2 hours to bathe her me and Mya had a lot of fun messing around and getting splashed by water.
The next day we woke up early and headed down to the city to watch Jurassic World while Sarah and Jamie were working and Duke was at daycare. We loved the movie and it gave us the opportunity to see more of the city. We stopped by the biggest Barnes and Nobles I’ve ever seen and read some books, I wrote down all the books I liked to give me some ideas of books I’m interested in reading when I get back to Florida. When we came back to Sarah and Jamie’s house, me and Mya played with Duke and played yet another competitive game of Spit. We went to bed early that night as we had a big day in Washington D.C. the next morning.
Washington D.C.
The first day in Washington D.C. we visited all the monuments this included, the Washington Monument, WWII memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and the White House while the president was in. Overall it was a lot of memorials and a lot of great memories. We made our way back to the Embassy Suites where we were staying. We had upgraded to the premium suites, if you didn’t know if you upgrade to the premium suites at the Embassy Suites you get a code for unlimited free snacks at their vending machines. We decided to live it up and pack all the snacks and drinks we were going to need for D.C. the next day.
The first day in Washington D.C. we visited all the monuments this included, the Washington Monument, WWII memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and the White House while the president was in. Overall it was a lot of memorials and a lot of great memories. We made our way back to the Embassy Suites where we were staying. We had upgraded to the premium suites, if you didn’t know if you upgrade to the premium suites at the Embassy Suites you get a code for unlimited free snacks at their vending machines. We decided to live it up and pack all the snacks and drinks we were going to need for D.C. the next day.
The next day we visited the Capitol building which is under renovation and it literally looks like mattresses are stapled around it. Either way it was great to see it we also got to see the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. After all this we headed over to the Smithsonian's which was such a relief considering it was nearly over 100 degrees outside. We went to the Air and Space Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and the American History Museum. After a fun-filled day we headed back to the Embassy Suites where we cleared out a lot of the vending machine for the long car trip in the morning.
Hilton Head
After going to 4 major cities we planned to take one more excursion at Hilton Head. It was so enjoyable to spend the last few days with Jen, Rich, and Mya at the beach. We got to go swimming at the pool and the ocean. After we went out of the hotel and spent some time in the town.
After going to 4 major cities we planned to take one more excursion at Hilton Head. It was so enjoyable to spend the last few days with Jen, Rich, and Mya at the beach. We got to go swimming at the pool and the ocean. After we went out of the hotel and spent some time in the town.
Cary
My 5 cousins live in Cary, North Carolina we drove nearly 6 hours to see them it was very exciting and we all got to talk, tell stories of our more recent adventures, and go for some ice-cream. Me and Mya stayed up till 1 in the morning talking with my cousin Ali and Zoe. The next morning Me, Ali, my uncle Pete, Mya, Jen, Rich, cousin Mazzy, and cousin Jake headed out to go bowling everyone did pretty good except me who is terrible at bowling and ended up with a score of a messily 48. Than we all met up and went out to lunch at a Chinese Buffet, back at the house we watched Pitch Perfect and headed down to the pool. After the pool we stayed up late to watch Bewitched and had a cute little fire and made some s'mores. It was fantastic to see my cousins again and we’ll be seeing them again in spring break so I’m really be looking forward to that.
My 5 cousins live in Cary, North Carolina we drove nearly 6 hours to see them it was very exciting and we all got to talk, tell stories of our more recent adventures, and go for some ice-cream. Me and Mya stayed up till 1 in the morning talking with my cousin Ali and Zoe. The next morning Me, Ali, my uncle Pete, Mya, Jen, Rich, cousin Mazzy, and cousin Jake headed out to go bowling everyone did pretty good except me who is terrible at bowling and ended up with a score of a messily 48. Than we all met up and went out to lunch at a Chinese Buffet, back at the house we watched Pitch Perfect and headed down to the pool. After the pool we stayed up late to watch Bewitched and had a cute little fire and made some s'mores. It was fantastic to see my cousins again and we’ll be seeing them again in spring break so I’m really be looking forward to that.
The Way Back
After spending a few days at Hilton Head it was time to go home I had such an incredible trip with my family this blog really only looks at the overall trip, it doesn’t even talk about the hours of us laughing and just enjoying the sights. I’m so grateful they took me on such a great trip!
After spending a few days at Hilton Head it was time to go home I had such an incredible trip with my family this blog really only looks at the overall trip, it doesn’t even talk about the hours of us laughing and just enjoying the sights. I’m so grateful they took me on such a great trip!