Travel for Fun

Listening to: Song about Jane by Maroon 5

Location: Aruba

 

Aruba is one of the islands located in the Caribbean located right off the coast of Venezuela.  My five friends and I chose this as our destination for our last trip of our college years.  We were on winter break and wanted to escape from the cold New York air.  Aruba would fulfill our desire for warmth, beach, sun, and of course an exotic location.  We decided to plan the vacation for an entire week, staying over a weekend. 

Our first luck of the trip started when we got to the airport to leave.  Our flight was scheduled to stop in Miami and then get a connecting plane to Aruba.  As we were each checking in in groups of two, one group decided to ask at the check in counter if there were any possible flights direct to Aruba that had extra seats.  She punched a few buttons on the computer and found that there was a flight leaving in thirty minutes and that if we rushed, we could make it.  Then the girls that there were four other members of their party.  Such luck! None of us had ever had anything like that happen to us before.  We were all able to make the direct flight to Aruba.  Making this flight saved us many hours in the airport, travel time, and nixed the time we would need to recuperate from an endless travel day.

We arrived in Aruba ahead of schedule to glorious weather and sunshine.  I urge you to always take a chance and just ask for something.  You never know how you can make your own luck.  Thankfully, none of our luggage was lost, including the large box of food we brought along on the plane.  We were ready to head to our suite in the hotel!

 

Listening to: Broadway shows and tunes

Location: Miami, Florida

Soundtrack: Broadway shows and tunes

My recent trip to Miami was one aiming for pure relaxation.  On break from graduate school, I wanted a quick getaway of fun, sun, and no stress.  Most of my friends didn't have vacation days from work and weren't able to go away with me.  I opted to visit my grandmother down in Florida because it would only cost me a plane ticket.  I didn't have to pay for a hotel (stay at her apartment) and or food (eat whatever was in her fridge).

Miami is a great place to escape to in the winter.  It is relatively warm and though the weather is a crapshoot, one is guaranteed a few nice days even if it was rains a bit.

In the mornings I would take a long walk along the boardwalk and watch the people as they marked their territory for their beach spots.  After breakfast, I grabbed a towel and headed down to my apartment building's pool.  I would enjoy the sun beating down on me and wish and hope some of the color would shade my face a darker hue than my regular pasty white self.  Within twenty minutes I had a face full of freckles.  As I sat enjoying the sun and warmth, I listened to Broadway show tunes on my mp3 player.  Since I didn't have a TV in front of me, listening to a story is the next best thing.  I had seen most of the shows and was able to visualize the scenes as I lounged around.  I highly recommend it because it makes the time fly and doesn't make one restless.

Before an early dinner, I would take another long walk down

Collins Avenuein the other direction.  The sun wouldn't set until about six o'clock, so I would enjoy it while it was out.  Though Miami is no Caribbean island, it makes a nice vacation spot nonetheless.

Listening to: Autobiography by Ashlee Simpson

I traveled to Las Vegas with four friends the first summer after we turned twenty one.  We were looking for a short getaway to finish off the summer before we returned for our senior year to college.  We decided to stay at the MGM Grand hotel because it was a high end hotel with a low price.  The four of us were able to split the cost of just one room if we shared the twin beds.

When we arrived in Las Vegas, we traveled to our hotel which was only a few minutes from the airport.  We quickly changed our clothes, lathered on some sun screen, and went walking along the strip.  We stopped at the most well known hotels such as New York, New York, The Venetian, and the Monte Carlo.  Our favorite hotel was definitely the Bellagio.  The gorgeous glass blown ceiling structure in the lobby blew us away.  We watched the water and lights show at night, which is where they filmed the end scene of Ocean's Eleven.

During the day we would lounge by the pool or wade through the lazy river at the MGM Grand.  I would soak up the hot rays of the Nevada sun while I listened to Ashee Simpson declare she is living in the shadow of her sister Jessica.  On the last night of our trip we snuck in a show before we had to fly back to New York.  We saw the Cirque Du Soleil performance of ?O' at the Bellagio hotel.  The entire show consists of a large pool which constitutes the stage.  Most of the acrobatic acts are synchronized swimmers and expert divers.  It was the highlight of the trip and left us on a nice note as we left Vegas.

Listening to: "I want to get away" by Lenny Kravitz

Location: Barbados

 

Planning this specific trip to Barbados was quite tough.  Two friends and myself decided we would try and get a tropical getaway to a Caribbean island for an inexpensive price.  We booked through an online site which books plane and hotel reservations together.  The flight to Barbados was uneventful but we were extremely tired by the time we got to the Island.  We hopped on a shuttle to our hotel.  When we got there, we showed them our reservation number and the manager informed us that the hotel was booked and we'd be staying up the road at another hotel. 

            Most people would have been very upset at this mishap, but being three college girls on vacation from their studies, we sort of went with the flow.  Our new hotel was a step down from our reserved one, but quaint and cute.  We had a duplex room with the kitchen, living room, and porch on the first floor and up the steps was a bedroom and bathroom.  The hotel was a block away from a major supermarket which helped us pick up staples like milk and water.  Our porch overlooked the hotel's pool and was a nice way to relax after a day on the beach.

            The beach was the most glorious beach I had been to in the way that the sand was as pure and pale as baby's skin.  The water was the color of teal and baby blue you find on fancy designer clothes.  We lounged on the beach, soaked up the rays of sun, and took leisurely walks along the surf.  Each day we would go back to the room and watch tv as we showered and got ready for dinner.  Inevitably, this commercial would come on for some beer commercial advertising an event where people fly floats off of a high diving board and into water.  It was utterly the most ridiculous thing we ever saw but the scene entranced us every time.  We would erupt into a fit of giggles when the commercial came  on.  The music background was none other than Lenny Kravitz' "I want to get away" and as the song continued, "I want to fly away, yea yea."

            Though I have yet to return to the island of Barbados and I haven't again seen that commercial, I never forget my trip when I hear Lenny's song on the radio, tv, or a movie.  I am reminiscent of my college years, good friends, and fun times.