Back in Time

I love going to events like different types of festivals. I usually find such interesting people which make for beautiful moments to photograph. Yesterday, I went to the Renaissance Festival in Annapolis. I have never seen or heard of it before. So, it was nice to see they went all out to relive 16th century England.

Destination: Ontario

Our trip to Ontario was fueled by the initial idea of going to Boston. Why not go to more places? And, to more places we went! We rode the L and L tours from Chinatown, New York to the Corning Museum upstate to Niagara Falls to Toronto and to Thousand Island. It was an awesome three day trip in a bus filled with people from all over the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. We made friends, traded stories and took pictures. Niagara Falls was really beautiful. It was a misty day so I was glad we ate at the revolving restaurant at Skylon tower so we were able to see the great view we couldn’t from below. Although Toronto is a famous city and I think of myself as a city girl, the place did not appeal to me as I thought it would. I found it a little lacking in culture or maybe the place was too neat and clean for my taste. I guess if you are a lover of Manila and New York City, a city that is perfectly shaded in the middle without stray marks is just odd.

Destination: All over East Coast

When I meet my friend Dane every year, we have this pattern of who visits who. We usually start our adventures in Maryland and move up to New York and wherever else we feel like going. We pretty much covered the usual tourist spots in the past. So this time, we mostly explored the Naval Academy. We were able to eat lunch with the students, a cool privilege if you know someone from the inside. After that, majority of our vacation was spent in New York. I feel like there is so much to document in this city, and I come home with so little. One of our more notable destinations was the Brooklyn Flea Market, supposedly one of the biggest in the area. If only I had means to bring home those trinkets!  After settling down for a few weeks, we decided we wanted a bigger adventure. Dane wanted to go to Boston, and I wanted it to be cheap. Haha So, I scoured the internet for the best of both worlds and stumbled upon the Chinese bus tours. The Boston deal was a two day trip that stops over Rhode Island and Connecticut. So, three state visit for cheap was a no-brainer.  In Massachusetts, we were able to visit a few areas. We visited famous schools in Cambridge, area of first settlers in Plymouth and tourist spots in Boston. The downside of joining a bus tour is the limited time. It was such a short visit that I was unable to really document the city and others we visited. Good thing I was able to visit Massachusetts before. I must say that I find Boston to be one of the prettiest cities. This place has a quaint charm unique only to Boston. Our visit to Connecticut was brief. I honestly don't think there is much going on in Connecticut. We made stops at the Submarine Force Library and Museum and Yale University. We then stopped over Newport, Rhode Island. This small city is home to dozens of mansions of prominent American families in the Gilded Age. We visited The Breakers, the grandest “summer cottage” of the area. I have never seen such an elaborate and beautiful place. They put in so much detail from whatever metal that doesn't tarnish to both electricity and gas for fixtures to a dozen intercoms to just the finest materials out there. This was all done in the 1800s. So yes, I tried very hard to keep my jaw from constantly dropping. Unfortunately, no pictures inside. As for exploring New Jersey, I am happy to report buses were not involved. Haha We mostly had food trips in Jersey City and Atlantic City. If you are in an area without Filipino food, Jersey City is the place to go. If you are into shopping, gambling and partying, given you have money to burn, then, Atlantic City is for you. I had fun in Atlantic City but I think a really long stay would not appeal to me. I guess I am an up and about kind of girl.