With the trips that my family goes on, there is no doubt that we are going to come home with a few chaotic stories. Being in a family with two older brothers and fun parents we are perfect candidates to get caught up in some interesting situation. Two years ago we made our second trip to Las Vegas to visit family and tour the area for a second time. We stayed in a cottage type house on my cousins ranch, in the middle of the desert where the closest civilization was approximately a 20 minute drive. During the middle of the week we decided to be adventurous and climb a section of the mountain filled with cactus's and other unknown exotic creatures. We started our journey well equipped with water and a camera, hoping to come back with all limbs. The climb was extremely tough but we made it to the top and it was an amazing view. Shortly after arriving at the top we decided to climb back down except my oldest brother wanted to keep hiking. My parents were a little hesitant towards him roaming the desert but he was 20 at the time and knew how to handle himself (or so we thought). He agreed when they told him to be back in maximum an hour and a half so we parted ways. Back at the ranch we made lunch and waited for Shea (my oldest brother) to come back. After two hours he wasn't back, but no reason to panic we thought, he is a slow person. Another hour passed by and naturally my mother started getting paranoid and thinking of every possible way that he could be in danger. Her thoughts started to rub off on the rest of us so my dad and other brother decided to climb back up the hill in hopes of finding him. At this point my mother was in full out panic mode and knew that leaving him up there was a horrible decision, i was a little concerned too. My mom and i located the ranch keepers to tell them what happened so they offered to drive around the ranch hoping to find him. At this point we had a man hunt going on for my brother, i just wanted him to come back and tell him how dumb he was. After half an hour of my dad and brothers going to find him we saw him in the distance climbing back down the hill. Furious, my mother lectured him on how his actions were irresponsible and caused all of us grief and that the rest of our family is currently out searching for him. Once they came back and saw Shea my brother just started yelling at him. In that moment i couldn't help but feel fortunate enough that we are alone on this ranch because this is a dysfunctional family at its finest. Once everyone calmed down and was just glad Shea was fine, my mother and i decided we needed some sort of therapy so we drove into town to get pedicures to forget our troubles.
This trip taught me that although my families craziness can be a little much at times, why would i want to have a "normal" family. I decided this way of living is much more fun and entertaining. We were in the middle of the desert for a week, no phones, computers or friends to distract us. It was just the five of us. At first i thought this trip was going to be mediocre but i really enjoyed myself, we found entertainment in simple things  and we somehow managed to have fun while doing nothing too exciting. Now that my brothers have both moved out i think it's important we spend more time together like that week in Las Vegas, and i realized that i would go back in a heartbeat.

It's the one place that no matter how many times I go I will be doing something new. It's the place that has a frightening population of 8 million yet I still haven't encountered anyone frightening. It's the one place where I will walk for hours and hours despite the fact that my feet are throbbing only because I’m dying to know what else there is to do. It's my favourite place in the world, it's New York City.
They call it the city that never sleeps for a reason. I have been fortunate enough to visit NYC ten times in the past few years and I am never bored, something is always happening no matter where you are or what time of day it is. Everything is better happier and more exciting in the big Apple. Every time I have visited NYC I have gone to time square, yet I still look around in awe as if it is my first time being surrounded by all the bright lights and tall buildings. A typical trip to New York lasts around four days but I always find myself thinking that four days is never enough. It is never enough to take a look in all the stores, try new food and discover new attractions. I think that is why I continuously have this desire to go back, there's so much more that I have not experienced despite the amount of times I have been there. With so much going on in one day, I find New York very spontaneous. Whether you're walking down the streets looking for a certain store called Top Shop and only find it hours later because you just happen to unexpectedly look in every boutique or cafe along the way. Or maybe it is because you just happen to make dinner plans at a fancy restaurant so you need to go to H&M to find a decent outfit then find a bathroom to change in.

All those spontaneous moments are what make New York City amazing but there was one time where I knew it was a place like no other. One night after we just finished dinner in Little Italy we stepped out side to track down a taxi when we saw a nice black limo stopped along the curb in front of our restaurant. Not only was it right in front of us, it was empty "Do you want a ride?" the taxi driver asked. All of us looked at each other while a huge smile crept across mine and my friends face. Her parents shrugged and said "Sure, why not"?  So we ended up taking a ten minute limo ride back to our hotel and it ended up being some of the best ten minutes of the trip. I cannot think of a reason why we would ever take a taxi from a restaurant to my house here in Ottawa, but when you're in New York City it's different. It's all about going with the flow and seeing where you end up, and that is my favourite way to live. So far out of all the places I have traveled to i have yet to experience a place as unique and wild as New York City. I believe it is one of a kind and i only hope that i can continue to bring home stories that take place in the City.

I wanted to come home with memories and stories, and i did. I learned that it was extremely difficult to leave a place that was associated with so many memories and laughs despite the fact that we were only there for one week. Looking back on that one week we easily concluded that it was one of the best weeks of our lives, making coming home even tougher. One week was all it took before we found our selves dying with laughter while leaving all our previous problems behind, doing our best to embrace our vacation. In just one week we met some hilarious friends and we felt as though we have already known them for months, it was refreshing to be in a new place with new people and new opportunities. That week made me realize how easy it was to let go of fears, try new things and laugh uncontrollably with some amazing people. The people, some i have known for years and some i just met a few days ago all made the trip amazing. We had fun, we laughed and smiled for one week straight, no matter what we were doing. There was one particular moment where i realized that we always turned something simple into something memorable. It was Saturday night and it happened to be our last night, unfortunately. As myself and my two friends were finishing up our hair our moms  were jokingly talking about how stressful of a week it has been and how they needed to let loose for the first time all week. Laughing, we all joined in carrying on the joke while the song Saturday came on by the Bay City Rollers and before we knew it we turned up the song all the way and were singing a long to the lyrics with smiles spread from ear to ear. Us six girls in one room began chanting a long to the song spelling out Saturday confidently, not caring about how loud or ridiculous we sounded. Just minutes before we were upset over the fact that it was our last time getting ready for dinner together and now we were having the time of our lives singing to a song. Little things like that left me feeling blessed and happy that i was on this trip with some of my best friends, creating stories that will last a life time.Now that the trip is done, all i can ask is that these memories do in fact last a life time, because i know i will want to remember this trip for as long as i can.

Excited and eager, i write this post from the hotel lobby i am staying at over night. We arrived in Montreal earlier this Saturday evening as we finally leave for the Dominican Republic tomorrow morning at nine. After two stressful weeks of school filled with assignments and quizzes i could not be more thankful to be escaping for a whole week where my only worry will be if i applied enough sun screen or not. This next week is going to be everything i look forward to feeling on vacation; relaxed, blessed and just feeling care free. I love everything about what the next week has to offer. I love waking up at an absurd time in the morning  to catch my flight where it`s so early that the streets and highways are only being lit by the dim lighting the street lamps offer as opposed to the bright red lights from the speeding cars. I love arriving at the airport because that is when the whole reality of the trip sets in and i love walking down the long narrow plane aisle and finally spotting my seat (preferably a window seat ofcourse). I love finally taking off and leaving my city and worries behind for one week straight. Evidently I could write a post on why i love the pre-vacation excitement so passionately but what i really look forward to is knowing that in just 24 hours i will be lying on the beach with two of my best friends and our wild, fun loving mothers. I happen to have an amazing group of friends and an even more amazing mother who planned this March break get-away for all of us. So far we are only seven hours into our trip and it has already been filled with laughter and good times, just a preview of what is more to come later on. I can`t express how amazing it feels knowing that i will be going to sleep in a whole new country tomorrow night. A country with no snow, just infinte amounts of sand, warm weather, a salty ocean, unlimited amounts of food and a country that provides a great vacation. Most importantly this trip is providing me with the opportunity to make new memories and experiences, which is the ultimate reasoning behind my love for travelling.  I know i will be coming home in a week with a few tan lines, sandy hair and burnt shoulders but i also look forward to coming home with new stories. Hopefully stories that i will be looking forward to being able to write about in detail, reminiscing on every aspect. With that being said it is time for me to head back to my room and hopefully get some sleep so i am more then ready to begin my much anticipated journey tomorrow.

I've always loved travelling. The idea of it all never failed to excite me but there was one particular vacation where i came to the realization that i want to continue exploring the world.  It was March Break of 2011 and i was on a family vacation in Honolulu, Hawaii. When you're in Hawaii i figured it would be considered a crime to come home and not par take in a surfing lesson. With that in mind my aunt and i signed ourselves up for a lesson and we could hardly contain our smiles full of excitement. The morning of our lesson i put on my Roxy bathing suit in hopes of fitting in with the surfer style and we made our way down to the beach. During our lesson i found myself beginning to become a little more hesitant of the whole idea as our instructors were warning us about jelly fish, strong tides and safety precautions for when/if you fall off your board. Trying to put my fears in the back of my head and focus on my initial excitement we got on our boards and paddled out to the buoy. Once we arrived and i got in line i was beginning to feel very scared and regretting my spontaneous decision. When i was told it was my turn my stomach dropped and i wondered why i ever thought i was capable of doing such a thing. I quickly realized i was wrong as i was standing up on my board and looking out to the shore. With the Hawaiian sun beating down on my sun burnt face while surfing the waves of the pacific ocean i couldn't help but realize how amazing this moment was. Not only did i end up forming a love for surfing i conquered a fear and learnt a lot about my self that morning. Something i would have never had the opportunity to learn at home. The thought of surfing was frightening because i had no clue what to expect, i was afraid of the unknown. But what i realized was that i'm not one to let fears stop me and that i love trying new things. From trying surfing and benefiting immensely from it i couldn't help but think what else is out there that i can try. Conquering a fear by stepping outside my comfort zone provided such an amazing feeling that i want to continue to make new memories similar to this one. What better way is there to explore yourself by exploring the world as well. So, not only did i come home with a new interest i came home with a deeper knowledge of who i am and that is something unforgettable.

I recently came across a quote that read "the world is like a book and those who do not travel only read one page." This quote has stuck with me ever since as it gets the point across that the world has a lot to offer, a lot to see and a lot to experience. There is so much to learn from visiting a new place by experiencing  their ways of life and it is not something you can read about online, look at pictures or hear about, it's all about you being there and creating your own memories. In the past years i have been fortunate enough to read many pages of my own "book". Not only do i come home with the post vacation effects of burnt skin, constant feeling of being bloated and great pictures i come home with a new lesson learned. A lesson i learnt  not by anyone teaching it to me or anything along those lines. It is always a lesson i learnt on my own, and those seem to be the most important ones.
Travelling is a huge interest to me and i feel as though i have a lot to share. As i speak so highly of travelling and creating memories and learning lessons i do not believe you are a person without interest if you do not travel (just to clear the air). From my experiences i have nothing but amazing things to say so i decided why not share and explain my self all the while deeply enjoying my topic. No i do not travel the world on a monthly basis. Not even close. But i have been to a few interesting places that have really opened my eyes to the world and what i know about it. With that being said i am looking forward to posting entries about my travelling stories and i hope readers enjoy it too!