Winter Break — Part Two

I have been so busy this semester that I haven’t had a chance to write about part two of my adventures over winter! Seeing as the time has come and gone, I will try and keep it brief as I’m sure most of you know what I was up to anyway through Facebook or my mum!

PRINCETON

Claire and I took a day trip on Boxing Day to the town of Princeton, home to one of America’s Ivy League universities. I can see some similarities to towns like Oxford and Cambridge in England, with the town being based around such a high-class, prestigious university. It is so lovely there, with some cute little shops and plenty of things to see. It wasn’t too busy as it was the winter break, so it was nice to get the chance to have a look around (and see how the other half live!).

MARTHA’S VINEYARD

Claire’s family own a summer home on an island off Massachussetts called Martha’s Vineyard. It is a popular destination for many people to escape to over the summer, including the President and his family! I know you’re thinking, “But, you went in the winter?!” Despite having said this, it was still a lovely short break, just Susan (Claire’s mum), the dogs and myself. It was nice to see where Claire has worked over the past couple of summers and to experience a proper American seaside town. It reminded me a lot of our towns by the sea in England, but that was probably because it was cold! There are some cute little houses on the island that are known as ‘gingerbread houses’ because of their pastel and vibrantly painted panels.

We managed to catch a sunset over the ocean one evening, and if you know me well, you know it is one of my favourite things in the world to watch and experience. It was a lovely trip and I really appreciate and want to thank Susan for taking me on the super long drive to get there!

WASHINGTON, D.C.

I was lucky enough to also get to stay at Susan’s apartment in DC for a couple of days as she works there. Becky was in the area around the same time so it was lovely to meet up with her again and explore DC together! When I say it was cold, I mean it was absolutely freezing (around minus 10 celcius). We went and had a look around all the monuments near to the White House, and even made it to the zoo on one occasion! I wasn’t surprised to find that most of the animals weren’t on exhibit as it was waaaaaay to cold for them (and us, crazy people!). We also had a look around many of the free Smithsonian museums on the mall, including the Natural History museum and the American History Museum. They are all really fascinating and definitely worth a quick look in, especially seeing as they are free!

As Becky left to continue on her travels, Claire came to DC for the weekend, so it was good that I was never really alone in my adventure! I experienced Obama’s helicopter flying over me, so I will class that as getting to see him… We checked out a museum called Newseum which focused on recent news — so recent, in fact, that it included information about the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France the day after it happened. It was fascinating, including every front page of each State’s newspaper for that day outside the front of the museum and had the significant and momentous front pages from the past inside the museum. It was hard to see it all in one day, but luckily the ticket allows you free entry for the next day too, so we went back to complete it all! It was well worth a visit. We also checked out the Library of Congress, the Botanical Gardens and the National Archives. Claire and I had cocktails at a rooftop bar that overlooked the White House, which was pretty awesome (and we watched the sunset!!). All in all, I loved DC. I definitely want to go back. Even though I fitted so much into such a short space of time, there is still so much more to discover there. Maybe next time it will be a bit warmer!

PHILADEPHIA

The journey back to New Jersey from DC had to go through Philadelphia, so we decided that it might be worth a visit as it is a famous place with some significant history behind it (it was the meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the US). We went to find the iconic Liberty Bell and the surrounding area — it was pretty interesting, but after having seen the history behind the Declaration of Independence etc in Washington, D.C. we weren’t too moved by it unfortunately. The Bell was pretty cool though…

There are loads more pictures on my Facebook page if you haven’t already seen them, but this is just a quick overview of what else I got up to over the break!

I just want to send a special thanks and a shoutout to Claire and her family for letting me stay with them and giving me all of these amazing opportunities to experience. I had a wonderful time and hope to visit them again sometime in the future!

Helen, xoxo

Also, just wanted to say RIP to this beautiful and amazing little doggy, Finch. He was a great companion, loved by an amazing family, and I am so saddened by the Hilsinger’s loss. Sending my love ❤