Travel Log

Washington D.C.

What an absolutely fabulous time Justin and I had in Washington D.C. over the Labor Day weekend. My relatives own a condo in the newly built City Center complex, which they were gracious enough to let us use for our trip. My main goal for this D.C. adventure was to explore Georgetown and see the various places where J.F.K. had lived, went to church, and grabbed a bite to eat. The weather was spectacular, only adding to the excitement of being in the city. Below are some photos documenting the trip.

• The first one shows the view of the city center complex from the roof top
  
• Next Justin and I relaxing on the balcony listening to the city below us.
• Now in Georgetown, the first JFK house we saw was 3260 N Street, the yellow home, where JFK rented and ran for Senate, also meeting Jackie while living here.
• The most famous of all the JFK Georgetown houses, 3307 N Street, the red brick with green shutters, where Jackie and he lived from 1957-61, most importantly during the 1960 presidential election.
• Holy Trinity Church where the Kennedy's often worshiped throughout their stay in Georgetown
• The inside of Martin's Tavern. The rumble booth where JFK would sit every Sunday morning for his brunch while reading the newspaper. The next photos show the proposal booth where supposedly Jack proposed to Jackie, though reports differ on that story. Perhaps he presented the ring to her here.
• The yellow house with the blue shutters, 3271 P Street, where wedding plans were made after John proposed to Jackie.
• The grey house with the black door, 2808 P Street, where JFK developed his presidential campaign after releasing his book Profiles in Courage.
• Next are some various rooftop photos at sunset at City Center.
• The following day on Saturday, Justin and I met up with our good friends Mike and Joe, and explored parts of the city. We went to Ford's Theater, where I had always wanted to visit, and saw some historical scenes of where Lincoln was assassinated. The bed photo, located across the street in the Peterson house, is where Lincoln actually died.
• We saw this breathtaking church, St. Patrick's Parish, on our walk around town.
• Our new leader, Mr. Justin.
• After bidding Mike and Joe goodbye, we met up with Justin's aunt Mona in DuPont Circle. Here are rooftop photos from her condo. Visible are parts of DuPont Circle, D.C., and Virginia.
• Enjoying a glass of wine on the balcony on our last night in the city.
• Finally, on our last day before heading to my relatives for lunch, Justin and I took a moment to have a photo of us together.

Travel Log

NYC and Beyond

To say this past weekend was exceptional would be putting it lightly. I not only had the extreme pleasure of visiting one of the most exciting cities on the earth, but I had the great opportunity to see one of my favorite musicals, The Phantom of the Opera, while also visiting with family, enjoying beautiful weather, visiting tranquil forests, and even taking in a movie at the end of the weekend to round out some wonderful memories. Justin's father came to visit us and had his first trip to New York City. We all decided to drive into the city rather than take the train, and that my friends was an adventure all in itself. Driving in New York can be a little intense, but thrilling none the less.

Once we arrived and parked the car, the decision was to have some lunch to hold us over while watching the play. We ate at Smith's near the Majestic Theater. Timing is everything and boy did we have the timing down pat. Finishing our lunch and with twenty minutes to go, we headed over to the Majestic, which was only about three minutes away, got some trinkets, and headed to our seats. What an incredible view we all had! Sitting in the front row of the third level balcony, we could see the stage perfectly and my oh my the chandelier, what a perfect view to watch it rise in the beginning and come crashing down at the end of the first act. When the lights went down and the orchestra's music filled the theater with the chandelier rising high above, I must admit I got a bit teary eyed, a feeling of awe coming over me that I was really there experiencing The Phantom live right before my eyes.

The cast did such a fantastic job and the stage sets and designs were simply out of this world. A truly breathtaking experience. I could not contain my excitement during or after the show had ended. Once the show had ended, we decided to take Justin's dad to Times Square so he could see what New York City was all about. Afterwards, we walked around a bit more, taking in the sites and gorgeous weather. Feeling a bit hungry, and with Don Giavani's restaurant in site, we ate al fresco and dined on some lovely Italian cuisine. Around 6:30 seemed to be a good time to leave, seeing as how we would have to fight traffic and unwind on the two hour drive home once actually leaving the Lincoln Tunnel. All in all, a marvelous day spent in New York City with so many memories to cherish.

Friday was more of a relaxing day. Justin and I took his dad to Ricketts Glen State park, up to where Justin's new job is, a quick stop at Bowman's creek to scout out some fishing spots, a quite dinner on our front porch followed by some summery drinks, and lastly some catching up conversation. Saturday we all headed over to Harvey's Lake to have breakfast with my dad. Afterwards, we all took a family photo by the lake and bid Garry a safe trip home, while my dad went to a picnic with the boy scouts, Justin went fishing, and I relaxed and caught up on some chores around the house. Sunday was breakfast with my dad and watching the new 22 Jump Street up at Cinemark, my most favorite movie theater.

Some Interesting facts about The Phantom of the Opera:

• Widely considered one of Andrew Lloyd Webber's most accomplished scores.
• One of the show's most spectacular set pieces is the replica of the Paris Opera House chandelier, nine feet wide and made of 6,000 beads. It weighs one ton and the original took four weeks to make, being built by five people alone.
• The falling of the chandelier is based upon a real incident at the Paris Opera House in 1896 where a falling counterweight killed a 56-year-old concierge. It was her one and only visit to the opera.
• The Phantom's latex makeup originally took three hours to make, now it is reduced to two hours.
• Since opening at the Majestic theater in 1988, Phantom has since played to over 130 million people across 27 countries and won more than 50 major awards.
• The original cast recording is the biggest selling cast recording of all time, with more than 40 million copies sold.
• In 2004 the musical was captured on the silver screen starring Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, and Patrick Wilson. It was nominated for three Oscars.
• In 2006, the show broke the record for the longest running Broadway musical, surpassing  the 7,485 performances achieved by Cats.
• The largest grossing musical in Broadway history.
• The Phantom of The Opera is a global phenomenon, its $5.6 billion box office (to date as of last year) far outstanding blockbuster films, makes it the most successful entertainment venture of all time
• The New York City production celebrated its 25th anniversary January 2013, This feat, unprecedented in Broadway history, reaffirms the musical's iconic status, proving the classic tale's enduring popularity for audiences all over the world.

The only thing I do regret about the NYC part of our excursion is not having my camera with me. Blast! Justin did not think it would be safe to bring it to the theater seeing as how we did not know their policy with such big cameras. I did have my iphone, though it has horrid quality with indoor pictures, they are still memories none the less. So please excuse some of the quality with the iphone pictures, but do enjoy the beautiful theater settings and sky scarpers of the big apple.

Travel Log History

The Magical Ferris Wheel

A staple at every carnival and amusement park, the Ferris Wheel provides its riders with great spectacular views, sweet little romantic moments, or just a quick escape from the ground below. I have always been quite mystified by the giant wheel and its colorful cars carrying people into the sky and back. A few months ago I read the book "The Devil in the White City" written by Erik Larson. An absolutely fantastic read detailing the creation of the 1893 Chicago's World Fair along with a behind the scenes story of a serial killer running a muck. The tagline reads, "Murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America." If that does not catch your interest then I do not know what will! Quite an interesting history, I assure you. While reading the book I learned the story behind the creation of the great Ferris Wheel for the expedition. I found this to be fascinating since no one really ever stops to think about how this staple came to be. I was so thrilled to photograph it while Alison and I were on our Knoebels journey. See the previous post for more pictures from the park

 A short summary from howstuffworks.com perfectly tells the story behind this mystical wheel. "For the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, engineer George Ferris presented fair organizers with his idea of a giant rotating wheel that would carry passengers in cars attached around the outer edge. He convinced organizers to allow him to build the structure, which would rival France's Eiffel Tower. Indeed, Ferris's wheel, which cost $380,000 and stood 264 feet tall with a wheel diameter of 250 feet, was a huge success. Each car held 60 people, and, at 50 cents a ride, the wheel was one of the most popular attractions at the World's Fair. The Ferris wheel is a must-have for any carnival, and thousands of replications continue to delight passengers of all ages."

Travel Log

Knoebels Amusement Park

One thing that never gets old in the summer is amusement parks. In my area the family run and owned Knoebels opened its doors on July 4, 1926 and has never looked back. It is currently the largest admission free amusement park in America. The charm of Knoebels lies within its location in a forested area and allowing all age groups to enjoy the festivities without having to pay a fee. For me, the charm of the park comes from its ability to relive my childhood happiness. My mom and dad would always bring my brother Michael and I to the park around dinner time. By then most of the visitors were leaving, the warm summer air was starting to cool off, and the spectacular lights on all of the rides were starting to come on. It was magical. We would arrive and have our dinner over at the baked potato stand and then start our night of pure happiness. Perhaps that is where the key to Knoebels lies, being able to, if only for a few hours out of the day, have those magical memories be brought to life again.

For this journey to Knoebels, my friend Alison and I (our families would often go to Knoebels together) traveled down to the park specifically to capture the beautiful scenery and rides. I never wanted to bring my camera into the park while riding the rides so this proved to be a great opportunity to photograph the experience.  We both got great shots and ended up having enough time left over to enjoy some of the rides. We stayed until closing trying to cram in as much fun as we could. All in all it was a great day beautifully captured.

Travel Log

My Family Trip to Cape Cod 2014

There are few places I love more to be in than Cape Cod. Specifically the charming town of Hyannis. Now if the name sounds familiar to you, most likely you know it because the Kennedy family lived in Hyannis Port, which is about two miles down the road from where our hotel was. Each town has their own appeal with little main streets, fantastic places to eat, and incredible sites to see including light houses, beaches, vineyards, museums, and so much more! I feel the most at peace and relaxed while I'm there. Last year my dad and I traveled to Hyannis so we could experience all things JFK. Being a big fan and admirer, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and hoped to get back to indulge in all of the wonderful sites we had yet to see. Luckily, we decided to once again travel to Cape Cod this year and finish off some items from the bucket list created in preparation for last years trip. My brother Michael joined us on the 2014 voyage to Hyannis and I was so happy he could experience this with us. Everyone should go to Cape Cod at least once in their life time. Some highlights from the trip include:

• The JFK Museum
• Nantucket
• Being out on the open waters to travel to Nantucket
• Celebrating my birthday, which also happens to be the same day as JFK's birthday!, in and around his hometown
• Nauset beach and the lighthouse (this lighthouse is on the Cape Cod potato chip bag)
• Seeing the Kennedy Compound up close in person
• Seeing JFK and Jackie's house from street level
• Climbing to the top of the Highland Lighthouse
• The Truro Vineyard
• The Chatham Lighthouse
• Eating at Columbo's, The Chatham Squire, Moby Dick's, The Black Cat, and The Dockside
• Finally, the hotel itself will always hold a special place in my heart. Having tea in the library, the amazing view from out deck of the harbor, having breakfast in the library and gazing across the harbor, and most of all, sitting by the fire pit in adirondack chairs, sipping on some beer while reminiscing about life and looking upon the ships entering and leaving the harbor.

“I always go to Hyannisport to be revived, to know again the power of the sea and the Master who rules over it and all of us.””

— John F. Kennedy

Blooming Blossoms

The Washington D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival 2014

The arrival of Spring brings a renewed hope in life from the warmer weather, bountiful sunshine, and life "springing" up from all around. The grass and trees start to get greener, the newborn animals play, and the flowers begin to bloom bringing splendid color and fragrances with them.  I look forward to the Cherry Blossom Festival, not only visit one of the greatest cities, but mainly to experience and capture the beauty of the blossoming trees as they bring forth a wondrous feeling of awe.

Weather wise, the sun shined at high capacity and the temperature reached a max of 80 degrees. Absolutely perfect for walking around and taking pictures of the beauteous blossoms. My friend Mike, who lives in Maryland, invited my husband and I down for the weekend so we could all visit D.C. Finding shaded areas with the blossoms proved to provide the best results picture wise. We all had a fabulous time and hope to get there next year! Without further ado, here are some photos from the trip!