“My Great Vacation Travels.”
Summer vacations is the time that everyone looks forward to during the year. When I think of vacations, I think of packing, flying or driving, and relaxing. It is exciting to go on vacation and have new experiences. One of my favorite places is the State of Florida. It is a relaxing place, beautiful, with many attractions, and the sunny and warm weather invites the people to enjoy the beaches, in other words, the ideal place to have wonderful vacations. Since 2015, I have been living in New Jersey, far from Cuba, where I am from. Here, I live with my husband, but part of my family lives in Florida. Since I arrived in the country, I hadn’t been able to see them, so last summer my husband and I decided to travel to Florida to spend our vacation there. They are the only family that I have here and with them I feel safe, in peace, and loved like the place where I grew up. Every trip we make is a new and exciting experience of life.
The morning on August 11th we arrived at the Newark Airport. I was nervous because it was my second flight experience. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 10:30 PM. The flight was punctual, and luckily, I got the window seat. At first, my ears buzzed when the plane increased the height, but then everything was fine. I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until I heard the captain announce, “We will be landing in Florida in 30 minutes.”` I was anxious to arrive, but the view from above impressed me. The roads looked like bright illuminated lines. The houses and cars appeared like toys, and the clouds in the sky like giant marshmallows. The water of the ocean was light blue color that you could see what was under it. The shining sun, the yachts, and boats gave it a magical touch. Everything seemed as a true paradise. When we got off the plane my family was waiting for us.
My family lives in West Palm Beach, a city located in South Florida. Most of them came from Cuba more than 20 years ago and have lived there ever since. Everyone already has children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren, it is a big family. On that occasion, we stayed in my cousin Clara’s house. She is the soul of the family, she is a person on whom everyone counts to do something fun. She is my favorite cousin, who is a kind, fun, and a helpful person. Her house is my house, that is something she always tells me, and the truth is that her house transmits peace and joy, so that my husband and I love being there. When we arrived at the house, they had prepared us a welcome party with many friends and family, some that I haven’t seen for a long time and others that I didn’t know them. The pool area, located in the yard back of the house, was prepared and decorated with tables, chairs and music to dance. Main plates were: roasted pork, congri rice, yucca with mojo, among others. The desserts were so many and varied. Everyone was very happy to have us there, and we were happy too. The good music was present, we danced all night to exhaustion. It was very nice and fun sharing with all them.
Going to the beach is one of the things that I enjoy when I’m on vacation. Literally, everyone likes the beach because it includes so many things to do, like fishing, swimming, surfing, and building castles. One of my husband’s favorite pastimes is fishing, so one morning we decided to do a fishing trip in my uncle’s boat with my cousins. We carried fishing poles, bait, and cold drinks. I had never done it before, but it sounded fun. Soon, we found a shady spot, fixed the bait, threw our lines into the water and we waited. A half an hour later, there were still no signs of any fish. Suddenly, my husband shouted with enthusiasm that he felt a strong pull on his line. We also got excited and helped him to pull in the fish, since it was heavy. He was glad to see the huge fish. We tried our luck again and waited patiently. In one moment, I felt a strong pull, but it turned out to be an old rusty can. Everyone laughed a lot and threw back the can. I was quite disappointed because I couldn’t catch any fish. We drank some cold orange juice and chatted for a while. After a while trying without luck, we decided to leave, we were all very tired. When we returned to the house, we started to prepare the fish for dinner. It was delicious. The trip was good fishing attempt, but I hope to get a better catch next time.
Another moment important to remember was my birthday surprise. My birthday morning, my husband and I got up early because we wanted to go to Miami. Along the way, I realized that we had deviated from the route and had stopped at an airport called Opa/Locka. I didn’t understand what was happening, so I asked to my husband, and he told me, “Happy Birthday Sweetheart” with a laugh on his face. We were greeted by a well-dressed man who turned out to be the pilot, who invited us to climb into his helicopter. My husband had booked a helicopter tour of South Florida. I didn’t know what to do. I felt happy, but nervous at the same time. I had never flown in a helicopter before. It climbed up to 500 feet. Everything looked so beautiful from above, and the pilot told us about every place where we passed. During the tour, we flew over Sun Life Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, a huge stadium with modern architecture. We saw the center of Miami Skyline, the most beautiful beaches in Miami, such as Hallandale Beach, Golden Beach, Sunny Isles, and Haulover Beach. In addition, we could observe some cruises with tourists sunbathing on the deck and others inside the pool. I was impressed with the Indian Creek Mansions, a most of expensive properties in South Florida, according to the guide. Upon returning to the Opa/Locka airport we went through Oleta River Park. That was a great day!
In conclusion, my vacation to Florida will always remain memorable and special. During the years, I have been sort of jealous of my friends who told me about their vacations to paradise, but I realized soon that I would never trade my experiences for any of theirs. Why? Because I have something more important than anything else: a family that likes to have fun, cares for each other, and would do anything to make us happy. I have beautiful memories of that vacation.
