Time for a Road Trip by Amanda Maldonado

    Every year, my family and I go on vacation. We have gone to the beach, mountains, and big cities. In the summer of 2013, my family and I went on a road trip to New Jersey. This was my first road trip and it sure was interesting.

            Like every vacation we take, the first thing we have to do is plan. My dad usually does this part and I help out. The plan was to make a few stops on the way to New Jersey. Then on the way back home we would go another way, and then make a few stops.

            When the day had arrived, we had to wake up at 2 in the morning. This was WAY too early. No one wanted to wake up. But my parents of course had to ruin it. “If you don’t get up now you won’t go,” said my annoying mother. Finally I had to get up and finish getting ready.

            After everyone got dressed, it was time to pack up the car. That car was packed to the max. We were going away for about 10 days and there were six people and a dog going.  The whole back of the car was stuffed.  My bags might have been part of the problem. I might have a tendency to slightly over-pack.  If I would have packed one more thing, the car might have burst at the seams. Once the car was good, we were off.

            The first place we went to was Gettysburg. The town was beautiful. It had a peaceful slow pace feel. We stayed for only one day and we barely did anything. We toured the battle field and went to a museum. Then for dinner we went to a Chinese restaurant. This was by far the best Chinese food I have ever had. The food was so juicy and cooked perfectly. My brother who doesn’t eat anything said, “Why can’t this place be at home!” After dinner we went back to the hotel and recollected our first day on vacation.

            Next we went to Amish country in Pennsylvania.  We only drove through the town, but it was so pretty. All that was there were farms and more farms.  We stopped at a hotel/restaurant that my parents have been to. The hotel rooms were train cars.  I wish we could have stayed there but all of the rooms were taken.  After we rested, it was back on the road.

            After a few more hours, we finally got to New Jersey. Both my parents are from New Jersey so they know the entire state very well. Most of the things that we have done there, they have done many times. Since my family is from New Jersey, instead of staying in a hotel, we stay with my uncle. We decided to stay for a day so we would still have time for the rest of the trip.

            During our stay there, we visited many family and friends. It is always fun to see people we haven’t seen in a while. One day we also went around Jersey City, visiting all the places my parents lived, went to school and work, and hung out.  We have done this almost every time we go, but this time I really understood the stories.  

            My favorite thing we did there was go to the Meadowlands Fair. This is the state fair for New Jersey.  It was so much fun!  There were so many people there that it made me feel like I was being crushed like a bug. That was about the worst thing.  The rides were fun and made we so dizzy and the food was delicious. The funny thing is that when we were leaving, we couldn’t find the car. It took about 15 minutes to find the car. I will never forget losing the car.

             The next day we were leaving.  My grandma was staying with my uncle for the summer so it was super hard to say good bye to both of them. Then we were on the road again.

            The next stop was a town with big casino and huge hotels, Atlantic City. After we checked into a hotel that took dogs, we went out to dinner at one of these huge hotels. There were so many hotels with all different menus. The one we picked was a huge buffet. When we walked into the hotel, a gigantic crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. It looked like a million rainbows were hanging from the lobby. Once we got seated in the hotel, it was time to eat. I have never seen that nice of food in a buffet. “This is probably the worst food in Atlantic City I have had,” my dad said. I was flabbergasted. How could this food be bad when it was some of the best food I have ever had! When dinner ended, we were all stuffed. Then were went back to the hotel and went to sleep for the last time of our vacation.

            After we left Atlantic City we were on our way back home. We took a few more pit stops to stretch our car bound legs and let my dog out. After having a fun but stressful vacation, it was nice to be on our way home. Being with my family for that long in a car, we learned how far we could push each other. That way on the next one we can make sure that we would have as many problems. With all of the places that we went to and all that I experienced on my first road trip, I hope that we can go on another exciting road trip again.