Spring Break Vaca!

I had the absolute best SB EVER! Really it was so much fun! My family and I went to NYC through Wednesday and then DC through Friday! My family literally hasn't taken a true family vacation in like....gosh at least 5 years. Every  so called "beach vacation" or anything of that sort was actually a disguise for a softball tournament or volleyball tournament. And don't get me wrong, those were a blast because I had my family and my best friends with me, what more could I ask for right? But it was def time for a real, non-athletic associated, Mason family vacation... And that we got!

So here's a synopsis...may get lengthy.. hang in there I can promise at least 2 stomach cramping laughs (well at least they were in person!) :)

So the trip starts out with Momma and I packing the luggage into the car..It was actually more like a logic puzzle. We twisted and turned and moved the luggage until there was a precisely perfect fit! And of course, Mom had me crawling in and fitting and pulling everything....and we actually found I was a perfect fit in a little nook between the luggage! Ha...

The travel up was fun, but pretty much un eventful...so fast-forward! We arrive in NYC on Sunday night at like 11:00 PM. Driving into the city was one of the most exciting parts of the trip! Neither my sister, mom, or I have ever been to New York, so we were like little kids constantly saying, "Ooohh Mom/Dad, look over here! Look at that! Ahh!". Ha it was great! Once in the hotel we discover that we may possibly have the tiniest room that has ever held 4 humans. Really it was hysterical! But hey, what else do you expect on a family vaca besides extreme bonding! We just through our bags down and immediately went walking through Times Square at midnight. Walking around in the city for the first time was so neat. Lights? Umm.. woah serious electrical bill there. Like it was crazy how bright and crowded and intense things were at midnight on a Sunday! We walked around for about an hour then went back and crashed for the night!

Monday: We woke up "bright-eyed and bushy tailed" (my dad's favorite morning-time quote ha) and ready to take on the city. Its literally almost like a blur all that we did because we did so much! We toured the empire state building and went up to the observation deck, where you can look off and see literally the next state (New Jersey). It was such an incredible view.

After the Empire State building we went to St. Pauls Chapel and Ground Zero. St. Pauls was incredible. That church is across the street from where the twin towers stood, and with all the damage done to buildings 5 blocks away, this church stood across the street untouched. Coincidence? I think not! The church was beautiful and the stories and moments that were captured in that sanctuary following the days of 9/11 as it served as a resting area for rescue workers to get sleep between shifts and everything else that it stood for itself are undescrible. Really, just standing in that building there is an immediate sense of awe.

Then we treked on following the pack leader, Mom, to the Brooklyn bridge. It was as expected, awesome! But I'm pretty sure it would have been alot more enjoyable if my mom hadn't have thought there was a prize for crossing it in record time. Im serious...the woman can power walk. She left my dad, sister and I in the dust... it was intense. But we got some great pictures and it was comical relief!

Following that we road the Stanton Island ferry and saw the Statue of Liberty. Pretty neat. But it was soooo cold! And it was nearing the end of the day and seeing as we had conquured 5 major tourist sights by 6 PM... we were so tired...

But dinner and more exploring were the obvious actions we took!

Tuesday we explored Central Park and Chinatown! My 2 favs!! The history and movies filmed in Central Park is awesome to see. Not to mention the GORGEOUS trees and flowers and awesome running trails (true love). Now Chinatown....my guilty pleasure. I could walk up and down that street and be taken in a hundred different secret rooms and allys to see purses, watches, jewelry, anything and everything for super cheap. Now if it's real authentic stuff....I don't know, but if its fakes then someone went to a lot of trouble mimicing the pieces so closely! I don't care though, I loved it! As my mom said when we first started with our first journey to buy things in chinatown.. "Oh no Andy...Amanda's in her element, shopping.." and sad but true. Its a weakness of mine.

Oh we also ate at the Shake Shack on tuesday and got to meet the chef/owner who apparently through google is a HUGE DEAL chef... pretty neat. Oh and the food was delicious! (Actually only my mom, sister, and I ate, while my sweet Daddy stood in line for show tickets!) We saw Mamma Mia Tuesday night and it was so great! It was hysterical, the music was so fun, and the main character, (Sophie's Mom) was absolutely incredible! I could watch her act and sing every day! Such an awesome experience.

Oh here's the first big laugh of the trip. So we are walking back to our hotel after the show. I have to give you the set up first for you to understand. Cara Lee and I are in front, with CL closest to the street..Dad and Mom are behind us with Dad closest to the street. Ok...so were walking along and literally out of nowhere I feel this grabbing on my shoulders and back, and by the time I can turn back to see what in the world it is...I see out of the corner of my eye, my mom literally rolling off the sidewalk and into the street! Hahahahahha. And I mean rolling with velocity. She popped up faster than she fell and continued on...but the other 3 of us couldn't continue on because we could not breath for laughing so uncontrollably. My dad kept saying he thought she'd been tackled ha, but she claims she hit an unraising in the sidewalk ha. It was so great! Although, poor thing now has a bruise that covers her entire left hip....I couldn't fall asleep that night because everytime I closed my eyes I saw mom rolling. Priceless. Oh and that grabbing on my shoulders and back I felt...that was mom grasping for something to break her fall, thanks mom.

Here's a few more NYC photos!

Oh and one of the neatest things we saw was a simple metal fence near Soho that was covered with tiles that had been decorated by children all over America, showing their support for our troops overseas. It was absolutely precious! I took, like 25 pictures of it and its only like 12 ft long...but I was obsessed! Here it is!

That pretty much concludes our major stories and adventures in NYC, but it most definitely does not justify our time there. We had the best time ever! But it was on to DC!

Here's funny story number 2! So on the way to DC we drove through this huge state park that had massive mountains up to 4000 feet. My dad was driving and we were just riding along enjoying the scenery when we saw a side of my dad none of us knew! As were climbing up the mountians (by car of course) Dad keeps getting more nervous and states that his hands are sweating haha. After about 10 minutes of his nervousness my mom finally insisted he pull off and let her drive! My dad immediately did! He was SO scared of how high we were and how close we were to the sides. It was hysterical. I know it sounds mean, but this is coming from a man who flies every single wk and overseas at least 3x a year. Fear of heights should have been conquered about 25 years prior to this experience! ha. It progressed to the point where he grabbed a pillow my sister was using and leaned over in the seat burrying his face in the pillow, in his lap, while saying, "Don't laugh at me, I think I'm getting sick". I know this story sounds mean  probably for us laughing at him, but you would have laughed too. It was so funny! My dad isn't chicken about anything...but woah did we find a fear he has! It was super funny, yet enlightening haha.

DC was a lot of fun, but less eventful and exciting than NYC. We toured the capital, where we actually got to see the president and his 400 secret service men enter the capitol...and that was super cool to see! We had a really great time in DC seeing all the monuments and things!

We got home on Friday night about midnight and all crashed all day Saturday! The trip was very much a success! It was so awesome to spend the wk with my family, away from any schoolwork and stress. I am very adament and truthful when I say that I have without a doubt the best parents I could ever have and possibly the coolest little sister ever... (really, try me! I am obsessed with my family! I love them more than they know.) and this trip verified it all! They're the best!

Oh and to top it off...I had an adult test on Monday at 8 AM the wk after SB.... and with one night to study.. (when I normally study for ab 4 days)..... I proudly pulled in an 89! Like I said earlier....everything about the past 10 days has been perfect...I just love it all and especially this Spring weather!

-Amanda