Chicago, IL

If you want to visit a city that has a big city feel but not too much of the hustle and bustle of New York City, Chicago is the perfect place for you to visit. A bigger city without the crazy feel of really big cities, it literally has something to offer for everyone.

The first place I suggest you visit is Millenium Park where "the Bean" is located. Here's me with "the Bean". 

"The Bean" which is actually called Cloud Gate is a artistic's rendition of liquid mercury. The outside distorts the city skyline and when you stand under it there is a concave chamber that warps and multiplies reflections. Definitely a cool place for anyone to visit.

The next place in Chicago that should make you want to visit is Navy Pier. It is located on the coast of Lake Michigan and is 3,300 feet long. Originally a cargo facility for lake freighters, it is now Chicago's number one tourist attraction. 

Main attractions located on the pier include an IMAX movie theater, a huge ferris wheel,  the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Amazing Chicago's Funhouse Maze, the Chicago Children's Museum, and the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows. There are also various food and shopping opportunities appropriate for all ages and interests.

The third place I suggest you visit in Chicago is called the "Magnificent Mile". A prime shopping opportunity for anyone who loves retail therapy or finding the latest fashions. It's 3,100,000 square feet is occupied by restaurants, hotels, stores, and some of the tallest buildings in the United States. The Mile includes top notch stores such as Chanel, Vera Wang, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, and Gucci, just to name a handful. 

In order to find out more information about the shopping on Michigan Avenue, click here. However, I assure you there is something for everyone!

Happy traveling.

all images other than my own were found on Google Images.

Cocoa Beach, Florida

To keep with the theme of me chatting with you about places that I love to visit, let me tell you about Cocoa Beach. If you want to stay right off the beach and Florida, but don't want to deal with a town that is too tourist-centered, you should check this place out. Not only are there many places to fish and boat (and see manatees while you're doing it) there is also a local beach where you can spend time in the sun along with golf courses and many shopping opportunities in town.

Not only does Cocoa Beach, Florida remind me of an awesome vacation spot and days on the beach I have spent there, it also has a more sentimental meaning for me. Growing up, for as long as I can remember, my grandparents lived in Cocoa Beach. I think about eating breakfast in their cozy apartment with a balcony overlooking a lake that connects right to the ocean every morning I woke up. I think about watching the manatees with my Oma, and my cousin catching a blowfish one day when fishing off the dock.

As a child, I wasn't able to visit my grandparents as often as I would have liked to. We sometimes talked on the phone but my family living in Maryland and then moving to Ohio was not optimal for us to be traveling all of the time. One day in middle school I found out that my Oma was sick and dying of cancer. As a young child, this was hard for me to comprehend, and the next time I was visiting Cocoa Beach it was to scatter my grandmother's ashes in the ocean, just as she wanted. Living in Cocoa Beach was such a big part of my grandparents' life; watching the manatees, sitting on the dock, watching the sunset from the balcony.

For more information on this quintessential beach town you can click here for more information on the town, or here.


Happy traveling.

The Jersey Shore

No, not that Jersey Shore. Ocean City New Jersey is a place that I have been visiting since I was little and will be the first place on our trip. I really like spending time in OCNJ for many reasons and I think you will too.

There's something to do for everyone:

• THE BEACH -buy beach tags here : https://store.ocnj.us/ beach tags for the whole weekend are around $20


• a small amusement park for kids


• bars for adults


• shopping all along the boardwalk, right next to the beach


• a multitude of restaurants with many different food options

Some specific places I suggest you visit include Kohrs Brothers custard, Mac and Mancos pizza, and the navy pier. Also, don't forget to take a surrey down the boardwalk to see all it has to offer.



Perhaps my favorite part about Ocean City, NJ is that its a very family-centered atmosphere with both a vacation and small town feeling. For example, on April 28 there will be a city-wide yard sale in which you can just walk around town to find bargains. How cool is that?

Here's the official Ocean City Website if you want to find out more about specific events that are going on when you go visit!



http://www.oceancityvacation.com/

Happy traveling.

Bienvenidos

Hello world!

Welcome to my blog about traveling the United States. Over the next couple of weeks I will post telling about a potential trip across the United States while hi-lighting specific places that I think would be interesting to visit and experience.

Enjoy and happy traveling!

Sydney