Oh, the places I got to go!
If you’ve ever been scrolling through Instagram and got insanely jealous of your friends who always seem to be traveling, I’m right there with you. It always seems like they come back from one trip, only to hop on a plane to another one. However, when I thought about it, I realized that recently, I’ve been that friend. In a little over a year, I had the opportunity to travel to Florida, Illinois, California and New York. Here’s my review of all of these breathtaking trips that might inspire you to consider becoming “the traveling friend” yourself!
Melbourne, Florida
My very first trip on this string of vacations was last February when my Mom and I traveled together down to The Sunshine State. Palm trees and the ocean are our favorite things, so this was a blast for the both of us. Our favorite part of the trip was spending the day at Cocoa Beach. This is a beach that we always come back to when we visit Florida because it’s never too busy and it’s kept wonderfully clean. Unfortunately, some days ended up being a little too chilly for our liking, which brings me to the rating of a solid 8/10.
Chicago, Illinois
My second trip came about in June. I was lucky enough to head down to Chicago with some friends to compete in a national school event. It was truly a memorable experience because we were given complete freedom to roam around the city – as long as we were back in time for the conference, of course. After our overeager, shopping-obsessed selves made our impulse buys, we joined typical Chicago tourists at The Bean, Lincoln Park Zoo and The Chicago Cultural Center. Despite the fact that our school didn’t win anything at the conference, the trip still deserves a 9/10.
San Francisco, California
As a graduation gift, my lovely grandparents decided that they were going to take me to California in August. From eating on rooftops, to biking through Golden Gate Park, to visiting The Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory, Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf, my San Fran trip was nonstop action. This was my first trip where I went to a beach near the Pacific Ocean and– spoiler alert– it’s pretty much the same as the Atlantic (or at least it seemed like it to me). Overall, there’s no doubt in my mind that this trip calls for a perfect 10/10.
New York City, new York
My final, and most recent trip, was with my boyfriend to NYC – a place I’ve been dying to get to since I watched Gossip Girl. Of course, that meant a must-see destination was The Met (if you know, you know). Unbeknownst to me, from where we started out, that meant walking through Times Square and Central Park on the way. It really looked a lot closer on a map. Luckily, after a couple of shopping stops, photo ops and a walk through Bethesda Terrace, we made it to The Met. It was breathtaking – full of incredible exhibits and countless attractions that grabbed our attention. However, nothing was more incredible than having the opportunity to see a show on Broadway. It was the experience of a lifetime! With all that going for it, you know this trip has to be a 10/10.
I’m so incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to visit all of these amazing places in such a short amount of time. Each experience was so different from the last and I came to love each travel destination in its own unique way. So, the next time I long for a vacation after scrolling through my friend’s beach pictures, all I need to do is take a look at the amazing things I’ve seen for myself as I traveled from coast to coast.