New Year’s Eve Excursion

Good morning friends! As I promised in yesterday’s post, I’d tell you about my New Year’s Eve excursion to New York City. I’m going to get this out of the way before I go any further- it was COLD. I’ve never been in pain from the cold but my muscles and face hurt like crazy from trying to stay warm. I’ve never experienced cold quite like this. Besides the temperature, it was a wonderful trip!

Getting to the city was a 5 hour bus trip from Washington, D.C. I left at 7:30am and we were in the city by 11:30am. The early afternoon was spent exploring Times Square and Central Park. At about 1pm people started seriously lining up in Times Square to watch the ball drop at midnight. Police officers told us that at 3pm the people in the blocked off areas near the square would start to be confined by “pens” in that area until midnight. The kicker was that if they got out of their “pen” then they couldn’t get back in and forfeited their spot. We met a few people who said they had stood in their confined area for 12 hours having only a few snacks and drinks. According to them, the family next to them all had diapers on in case they had to go to the bathroom. I guess some people really are crazy.

Central Park was a lovely walk and a much needed break from constant people. There were a few street performers that had me laughing with their jokes and stunts. Squirrels roamed the park and had quite the attitude when it came to food. I strolled through the park with some warm, sugar-roasted almonds that really hit the spot. My fingers were so cold that I had a hard time eating them!

After Central Park it was about 3pm so we went for a pizza at an Italian restaurant. The mozzarella was so fresh! The crust and the pizza sauce were excellent too. It was so nice to just sit there and take everything in while reflecting on events earlier in the day. When we left the restaurant, 5th avenue was conveniently located a short walk away. I headed straight for a legendary New York City store- TIffany’s! After watching Audrey Hepburn’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s I became obsessed with the store. Walking into the big, beautiful building almost scared me. My dreams were standing right in front of me and I wasn’t sure if they would live up to my expectations… but they did! We browsed through the store a bit and then met the elevator operator at the elevators and he took us up to the 2nd floor where engagement rings were located. Did I mention he was wearing a Tiffany blue tie? He looked amazing! Couples everywhere were sitting with consultants trying on rings and drinking champagne. I was in heaven. I also found on the 4th floor my favorite TIffany mug! Too bad it was in a set of 2 and $80.

After shopping up and down 5th avenue, we went to get a drink and cheers to the new year before heading out to the street to freeze with everyone else. While in a quaint bar and grill we met a few couples from South Africa who traveled to NYC for the new year. After sharing casual conversation with them we paid our bill and headed out into the cold where we were greeted by Taylor Swift’s voice coming from just down the street. Yes, I heard Miss Swift singing “Shake it Off”. I also got to hear “Rude” by Magic.

Waiting for the ball to drop seemed like a never ending event. Everyone was cold and tired. However, it was still one, big party for most people. The real magic happened when the countdown began. That unmistakable energy filled the air and gave meaning and purpose to our crazy idea of spending New Year’s Eve in Times Square. The funny part was after the clock struck midnight everyone bolted for the taxi cabs waiting down the street. We caught our bus at 1:30am near the docks. We quickly fell asleep upon leaving the city and slept most of the way home. 

As I write this I can assure you that my feet still hurt from walking and I detest the cold more than ever before. However, spending New Year’s Eve in New York was on my bucket list and the memories were worth every shiver.

Tell me about your New Year’s celebration in a comment below!

Travel Edition: Niagra Falls!

I took a trip to Niagra Falls last Autumn. It was my first time at this beautiful place. The falls were incredible to see. I’ve never heard such a powerful noise aside from a military jet taking off. Walking around the park was absolutely gorgeous with the leaves starting to turn and the abundant sunshine. A lot of wildlife was present as well. I remember my grandma telling me about a trip she took there years ago with my grandpa. Speaking of my grandpa, his birthday was two days ago. He would have been 102! I’m glad I could visit this place in his memory. 

Towards the end of the afternoon, I ended up crossing the bridge from America to Canada just to say I had been across the border up there. Walking over I had a lovely view of the falls and the river. Upon entering, I went into a Canadian gift shop to get a post card and maple syrup. After about 30 minutes, I headed back to the border and waited in line to get back in my country. They found it odd that I went to Canada for such a short time. The lady reviewing my passport was not happy to let me in but seeing as how I was qualified she had no choice. Being back in your own country, even if you were only gone for a short time, is always a blessing.

Enjoy the photos!

Rainbow bridge! It goes from Canada to America and back!

View of American falls (slightly smaller than Niagra)

Rainbow from the sunshine and mist.

View of Niagra from the American side!

The boy and I posing for a selfie!

Passport in hand and leaving my beloved country!

View of Niagra from the Canadian side, which is much more impressive!

The End!

Travel Edition: The Colorado Rockies

The summer after my freshman year in college my family took a road trip to the Colorado Rockies in early May. We drove 35 hours from Maryland to Denver, CO with a few stops along the way.

Road Trip!

We stopped off in Columbus, OH. We stayed for a few days to tour the zoo. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed by the zoo (although it is famous) but the people were great. I like Ohioans for their friendly but not overly friendly attitudes. It’s the good part of the midwest.

After Ohio we made our way to St. Louis, MO. We have family that lives in the area and we were lucky enough to visit them for a few days before going on to Colorado. My dad’s family took us all over the city before we headed to another part of MO to stay with my dad’s brother and see his grandkids. Aren’t family reunions nice? Sometimes? Well, they are for us! We enjoy getting together and talking about old memories while making new ones. Both sets of my grandparents are dead so any memories our parents have of them the kids cling to. It’s nice to know where your roots are.

From Missouri we headed across the great state of Kansas. Seriously, this state is rather dull. 15 hours across the place and I saw nothing but prairie. Beautiful honestly, but I couldn’t do the drive again. We saw old sod houses in the middle of nowhere, tumbleweeds blowing across the highway, prairie grass on fire, and two tornados. Ok, we didn’t see the tornados per se, but we had to outrun them twice knowing they were close by. We saw a bunch of storm chasers heading towards them though, which was neat. It was hot out there and the climate was perfect for tornados!

Once we got into Colorado the weather changed. It went from 84 degrees to 25 degrees! It started to snow! When we got to our hotel in Denver I jumped out of the car in flip flops. People stared at me  until I changed into my warm Ugg boots.

The next day we went up in the mountains. What a drive. I’ve never done anything like it. I thought the mountains in New York state were big but compared to the Rockies they’re little hills! We climbed rocks and took photos. We saw wildlife in their habitat munching on the thawing ground. We couldn’t hike too far for the simple reason that most of the trails were under 9 feet of snow!

We found a little town called Estes Park towards the base of the mountain. It was so quaint and just a lovely place to be during the day! So many pretty antique shops and interior decorating stores! Lots of adorable clothing stores as well as many yummy places to eat. There was also a small river that ran behind all the shops and we got coffee and cocoa from the local Starbucks to drink while taking a break from the day.

On the drive back home we stopped one last time to see our family before heading back. It was one of those vacations where absolutely nothing was expected but that’s what made it exciting. Memories are what life is made of.

Enjoy the photos!

~Liz

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Travel Edition: Adventure in Key West, Florida!

Last spring I took a trip down to the Keys for a little sun and sand but what I found was an adventure! 

I have never seen water so clear and sand so white! Upon arriving at Key West, the tour bus I was on with about 35 other people dropped us off at the southern most point of Key West and the United States. In fact, we were 90 miles from Cuba! We took photos and then planned the rest of our day on the island. This was an adventure I took on my own. I vaguely knew a few of the other people on the bus from my Disney College Program (blog to come on my experience). I spent half the day navigating the island by myself and the other half with the entire group. 

Shortly after I returned from Fort Zach Taylor beach (on a vespa!) I found my way to a snack shop by the dock. The wonderful treat I got to try was frozen chocolate covered key lime pie! I’ve never tasted something quite so unique and refreshing in my life. It was perfect after an afternoon on the beach laying in the sand (and stone, ouch!) of Key West. 

My next little adventure started soon after my frozen chocolate brain freeze ended. I had purchased a ticket to go snorkeling for $50. I assumed I’d just be swimming around in the water looking at sand and nothing really interesting. Instead we went out on a catamaran and sailed a few miles out into the water to snorkel at a reef! There were roughly 40 people on the ship and we were all given a life vest, flippers, goggles, and a snorkel. The boat’s crew lowered a set of stairs into the water and gave us the go ahead. I waited for about 20 people to go before me (in case of sharks or barracuda we were warned about) and then finally I worked up my nerve to jump in. 

The water was luke warm and had high salt levels (I swallowed enough to know). I began to swim towards the other snorkelers and looked down at the sea floor below. At 15 feet deep I saw sea life that I never thought I would get to see in a natural habitat. There were tons of fish, bottom feeding sharks, some sort of sea snake, little sea turtles, and beautiful coral reefs. It was so peaceful. The first time I ever felt at ease with nature! The sun was incredibly bright, illuminating the sea floor. A school of small clown fish ran into me (literally) and a few turned to look at me and then swam away. After about an hour a half we got back on the boat and sailed back to the dock. The ride back was accompanied by a setting sun, a light breeze, fruity drinks (I had a cherry limeaide mixed with pineapple juice) and reggae music. 

It was a beautiful adventure and one I’ll always remember. When we got back into town the sun had set and we went to dinner. The downtown area of Key West was, in my opinion, a little sketchy. Not somewhere I’d take my children but it was great for people watching and a few hysterics. After dinner we boarded the bus to go back to Orlando. Unfortunately a few people were missing and showed up late, one passed out drunk in the back of a pick up truck. When we stopped in Key Largo she had to be taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. Did I mention she was underage?

Anyway, all around it was a great time and a really nice memory. 

What’s your favorite vacation destination? Comment below!

-Liz