The moment I stepped on the ferry was like no other. The feeling of the moisture from Lake Superior on my skin was breathtaking. I have passed Mackinac city a million times but never experienced the heart-stopping beauty of Lake Superior and Mackinac Island. When I arrived to the island there were thousands of people all around me. I have never been accustomed to how many people were around, and on such a small island. Living in Michigan for almost half my life and moving away from this experience was something I thought would never happen. I really took living there for granted. I had never realized all of the things I never did until after moving and coming back to Michigan to discover more. I moved to Wyoming the beginning of summer 2010. …show more content…
We used the car we had at the time and it felt like the trip was never going to end. It felt like we made the trip a thousand times within seven years. When we finally arrived to see our family and friends, I was internally happy. It felt like the world was finally on my side and I could feel normal around people I felt like I knew a lifetime. I forgot how beautiful the lakes had been after not having a lot of water as I moved out west. We have made countless trips back for reunions, visiting, and funerals throughout the seven years I’ve lived in Wyoming. Unfortunately, no family has really made an effort to come out and see our family. My grandparents on my dad’s side have came to visit and my mom’s best friends as well. We made it our goal to make it to Mackinac Island one of the times we went to see family. Since my brother and I have never been there before and it was a long time since my mom or dad had went. It was a life changing experience for me and my brother, but I wish we didn’t go as tourists from living in a different state. The areas we explored in Mackinac Island were amazing and the facts we learned about the island were unbelievable after seeing what it now looked
To me, the drive felt like forever even though it was only 35 miles from Petoskey to Mackinaw City. As 10-year-old me sat in the back seat of my mom’s car, I remember repeatedly asking the question most parents dread to hear, “are we almost there?” Every time I asked she would shake her head in bemused frustration and respond, “you’ll know when we get there”. At the time, I was not sure what I was most excited for: the ride on the ferry, the big horses, the historical fort, the inevitable delicious ice cream; it all sounded whimsically amazing and I could not be more excited to arrive on Mackinac Island.
One day when I was five years old I recall my grandfather asking "Steve, why don't, you go with us to Minnesota next week?" My grandfather was a very important person to me, until he died in 1986. I spent every possible moment of my life either with him or thinking about him. Everything he loved, I loved, and vice-versa. Being bored with my present lifestyle in Peoria and excited about traveling with my grandfather, I took up his offer. After a day long car ride with my father, uncle, and grandparents, I arrived at the location that would forever influence and inspire my life: Lost Lake, Minnesota.
We started our travels down in Columbus Ohio. The week leading up to the big move we spent at Deer Creek State park, for a family reunion, where my dad and step mom, had the chance to see everyone again, before the journey began. Over all we had taken nine days to get to our destination. First stop, Saint Louis, Missouri, we stopped to see the Gateway Arch. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, so of course I was pretty amazed. The first few days were our longest driving days, but sense we broke up the days, our longest day was eight hours. The second day was the worst, Oklahoma is so boring to drive through, and nothing but flat crop farms, and wind turbines everywhere you look. We drove till we got about seventy five miles from the boarder of New Mexico, And Oklahoma. We got up early and began a shorter dive to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we went to Petroglyph National Monument, yeah it was interesting, but after you see a few hundred, they all start to look the same. The next morning we took a beautiful hike and took many pictures to capture the moment. Other than getting there, my favorite part of the trip, was Arizona, where we stayed four days in Flagstaff, one day in Holbrook, and one day in Phoenix. I wouldn’t mind if I lived in Arizona, it’s a very beautiful state. My family and I stopped by the Petrified Forest National Park, and I
Aspen, Colorado, the town I grew up in. The town where I first learned to speak, swim and do many other things. Life in Aspen is perfect. Skiing on the powdered slopes during the winter, hiking grueling mountains during the summer and exploring it’s majestic beauty any season. Aspen’s captivating beauty is also filled with fond memories everywhere that take me back to my childhood: seeing mom bears desperately reaching for the tart crabapples to feed their young, playing volleyball with my brother on the scorching sand, and getting frustrated because I could never hit the ball with enough force to make it over the net, watching the crystallized ice charging to take over the last bit of green left. I had it, the mountains, the snow, the house, I had it all. Although in the summer of 2012 everything changed.
My family, including aunts, uncles and cousins and some extended family, has been going to the Outer Banks for quite a few years now. It is a place where we can all be together without the chaos of our everyday lives. This is always where we have gone for vacation; we have taken other trips but always manage to make it there, too. While we are all at the beach it gives us time to spend with each other, unlike home where everyone is too busy with their own lives. We can catch up on stories from each other’s lives and not be caught up in the bustle of everyday life. Every evening we eat dinner together and then take a wa...
When I was nine years old, my parents, two siblings, and uncle decided that it was time for us to move from Missouri up to chilly Massachusetts. Both my uncle and father were construction workers. There were so many projects in Massachusetts, it was sensible for us to move. Financially, this was also the solution to our money problems. All around we were all very excited for this move, all except for myself. About halfway to Massachusetts, I had a gut feeling that this was a bad decision. Upon arrival, I felt like a fish out of water and, I was. Everything was so different compared to how Missouri was.
Temporarily Closed, that’s all I needed to hear from my mom to learn that we weren't going to Mackinac Island. The Arnold Ferry Service, our usual ferry line to get to the island, were closed after the owner backed out on the company while taking the money he got for himself by making unnecessary budget and worker cuts. There was another ferry line that my family had NEVER taken the 17 years going to the island, so we decided to give it a shot. I was bummed but the worst of my problems were yet to come.
We walked around San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico a little. Then we went to the ferry that was taking us where to Culebra. It was about 1pm by now. The ferry ride was about an hour and a half long ride. It was raining a little so we couldn’t sit outside of the boat and see the view. I ended up falling asleep for about half the ride. When we finally got to Culebra, we were so happy. It wasn’t raining anymore, the sun was out, and it was beautiful. At the time we didn’t have car so we were kinda stuck there. After a half hour of calling places to see if they had any cars for rental we finally found a place. We rented two big black jeeps for the next 10 days. When we got the cars and we could drive them around, we drove up the mountain to the house we were staying at for the
October 20, 2007, the day that I’m going to say goodbye to my hometown. I was born and raised in Philippines by my grandparents for sixteen years. It is heart-breaking to think that I will not see them anymore like how I used to. I was 16 years old, and it will be my first time to travel with my big brother in the airplane. Our trip from Philippines to Virginia is approximately about 18-20 hours. It is not a direct flight, so we have to change plane three times, and it is a long trip for us. I was crying the whole time when we were in the airplane. As soon as we reach our last destination which is the Washington D.C., we have no way of communicating with my mom and auntie because we have no cellphones. I was hesitant to
No matter how much I enjoyed sitting on the beach in Grand Haven or swimming in Lake Michigan, I can’t in January because the beach is under several feet of snow and the lake is frozen as far out as you can see. So, in the winter, I head north to experience the northern part of Michigan. Visiting little towns like Boyne or Gaylord, which have maybe a few thousand year round residents, but constant tourists. The hills are bigger, the snow is deeper, and the people are friendly. When you escape from the crowds you can take in the stillness of a cold winter day; seeing trees and roads blanketed in a thick layer of white snow produces a feeling of the land being untouched. It is an enormous change from life in the city, where the snow is usually a dirty brown and trees are scarce. There is also some of the best
The next few days were a blur. All of my extended family from New Jersey and South Carolina, immediately packed into their cars and made their way to Michigan. Our house was flooded with over thirty guests. Cars filled the entire block, and stretched into a few of our neighbors driveways. It was a bittersweet reunion. I didn't have much alone time to collect my thoughts, and truly process that what had happened, was real.
As if to conclude our white water rafting adventure, members of my family began recalling which parts of trip they liked the most and which parts they disliked. My family and I decided that we enjoyed the trip and would like to do it again if we got the chance. We all had a lot of fun and got a chance to be together. I learned how fun, dangerous, and scary rafting can be.
Spending time with my family and relatives brought out the best in who I am and impacted me in many amazing, different ways. It made me more cheerful about life, and about the people around me.Their bright smiles will always be imprinted in my memory. Going to Canada with my family was one of the best experiences of my life. As a first time of going on a trip, it was the most delightful and enchanting experience I had ever felt. It is so easy for me to remember these vivid memories about my experiences in Canada, because I had the most incredible time, even though i almost drowned. When my family and I finally got home, we all sat around the living room. The sounds of the heartwarming laughs coming from all the family members brimmed in my ears. That is how, my incredible trip came to an end.
During the drive to Sioux Falls all I could think about were all the happy times spent at Grandma’s and Grandpa’s lake house on West Okoboji. I thought about how Grandpa would entertain all of his grandkids in the speed boat and then take us back to the house for a beer. All that was changing, there would probably be no more speed boating and no more beer.
Last December, my family decided to go on a western caribbean cruise. “This boat is massive”. That was my first thought when I saw our cruise ship that we were going be on for an entire week. We got on the boat at about twelve o’clock after staying the night in very hot Miami, Florida. Our ship was the Glory from the cruise line, Carnival. The islands that we went to was Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay, Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico. We left on December 18 and were not going to get back until Christmas day. This has shaped me into the person I am today because it showed me how lucky I am to be able to do things like going on cruises. The cruise also made me not as scared of big boats and the ocean. I was scared of our boat sinking and being eaten by a shark.