In 2006, my family and I, which included my father, mother and brother, went on a road trip to New York, with a stop in Washington D.C. for two days. We were ultimately going to New York because one of my cousins was having his reception wedding. Since I was pretty young, I was not used to this long of a journey. I would always be asking, “Are we there yet?” and my dad would say, “We aren’t even out of Florida.” The drive to D.C. and eventually to New York was definitely the worst part of the road trip for me. It was especially hard because I used to get motion sickness very easily, so I had to resist the urge to vomit during the entire car ride.
Once we set foot in D.C., the trip had instantly become better. The city life was breathtaking. I was really amazed by its magnificent size as my home in Daytona Beach pales in comparison. I remember having my first meal there, and I remember really loving it (I think it was a sandwich place, but I do not remember too well). After eating, we just rested for the rest of the day. The next day was basically touring the city. My uncle used to work for the government, and he was able to give us a tour around the U.S. Capitol building. I felt really special because I was in somewhere many others would not have seen. I also really liked visiting the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the White House. Out of all the places I visited, the most memorable one was the Smithsonian. This was my first introduction to a museum, and I really enjoyed the historical information that was represented. I was able to learn a lot from the museum and the information that my dad gave me as we were going through the museum. I especially enjoyed the big Tyrannosaurus Rex model, as I really loved (and still love) dinosaurs.
The next day, my family and I headed to New York. This trip was not as bad as the one to D.C. since I was asleep for most of the trip. I was extremely shocked to see the towering New York City with its many skyscrapers piercing through the sky. I remember how good the pizza was in New York, and I felt special when my dad told me New York style pizza is really famous in America. I remember the wedding being really fun, especially when I was able to go on a limo to the reception wedding venue. The food was Bengali style, and it was phenomenal. After the wedding, the rest of the trip was just going around New York, seeing the Empire State building, going shopping and playing video games with my cousins. Overall, this road trip was extremely fun, and it sparked my interests in traveling to more places, like Tokyo, Los Angeles and Paris.