Travel

The Adventure Begins… Summer Travels Planning

March 21, 2014 /
I had something else I was going to blog about tonight but after doing something that some may consider stupid or crazy, I decided I wanted to blog about how I’m spending my Travel Supermarket prize money. Because tonight I spent half of it on flights.
As some of you may remember, I’ve been umming and ahhing over what to use my £1000 prize money for that I won with my Holiday Postcards entry last summer. It’s been sat in my savings account since then and quite frankly I have been desperate to spend it. My mum agreed to have Little Miss for a total of nine days (seven days holiday, two days of travelling) so I can go somewhere on my travel bucket list. I had to wait until Summer 2014 to go as my mum will be off for her summer holiday. It’s a long time to go without Little Miss, but I have to focus on the fact it’s a dream come true. Travelling was something I’d put behind me the day I found out I was going to be a mother, yet I’m so lucky that my own mother knows I live with itchy feet and until my daughter is old enough to be my holiday companion, she’s happy to babysit while I continue to explore as my dreams of immigrating are out the window these days.
So, after narrowing it down to somewhere in the US, I settled on the East Coast. My main reasoning being that it’s familiar. I’ve been there twice, the last time flying myself. Plus it’s not a painfully long flight to endure alone. After watching the flight prices and them not dipping lower than £500 for a non-stop flight, I decided to pay the extra £30 and book different airports with STA Travel.
Now, i’m booked onto a flight out of the UK in August to Washington DC!
Yes, Washington DC is my first stop. I have ALWAYS wanted to go here since I was a little girl. I love American History just a little too much and this place is the heart of it all. Plenty to do and see, free museums to wander around and I’ve been told the transport network is pretty good, always a plus when you don’t know where you’re going. I’ve tackled the tube in London, the subway in NYC and the metro in Paris, lets add the Washington DC underground to the list. At the moment, I’m planning three full days there before taking the bus (yes the bus, it’s only three hours people, Hayley takes an over night bus up to visit me all on her own) to my next stop.
Since I won my prize by writing about NYC, I feel like I should make a return. I have a few friends in the area that I’d enjoy seeing, I want to go see a show (I missed it last time) and just soak up the atmosphere. Not to mention find that bloody carousel in Central Park! I’ve done all the main sights now although I might do Rockefeller again or even go up the Statue of Liberty. I guess that’s all the fun in planning. This leg of my journey is subject to change depending on whether i’m staying in a hotel (which I’ve budgeted for) or with a friend.
I’m rounding off my trip with a trip to see Niagara Falls. I have found an overnight tour online for less than £100 incl travel and a hotel, however I have been discussing with a friend the possibility of a road trip and then over into Toronto so again, this is all up in the air at the moment, as long as I’m back to NYC for my flight home, I don’t mind whether I do the tour or go with my friend. I am definitely going upstate to see the falls this time.
At the moment, that’s all I have. Apart from a million or so lists that have happened over the course of today. And that I’ve booked my hotel in Washington DC as any friends I see while there don’t live in the city and I want to be in the heart of it. It’s four stars and was insanely cheap, but I want to share that with you all next time. I have so much planning to do, I have to sort my visa, book airport transfers, train tickets, bus tickets, airport hotels but who cares? I’m so excited I might burst!

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Thank you so much for taking time to read my blog. I appreciate all comments & will check out any links to blogs. It's my readers that often make my day! - Amy x