WHEN I was a child, I always looked forward to our family trips. This would usually be a few days at a local beach. It was hard to leave the country as a family because of the business. Whether it was the Hundred Islands in Pangasinan, or Hidden Valley in Laguna, I remember the excitement in exploring something new as a family. When I had my own family, I hoped to provide the same memories to my own children.
This year I wanted to plan a vacation where each one got to experience what they liked. I thought of New York and Orlando. My husband was able to do his morning runs in the nice parks and reminisce finishing the New York marathon. My daughter got to enjoy the Barnes & Noble bookstore on 5th Avenue and enjoy the biggest Harry Potter wonderland in the world. My son got to see in Legoland the entire block play he likes. And for me, I got to learn something new and finally show my kids my most favorite city in the world: New York City.
I loved this trip because everyone was involved from the start. My husband did the bookings. I was in charge of the tours and theme parks. Meagan researched and booked the restaurants at Open Table. She did the Excel sheet for our schedule, and even remembered to do online check-in for us. Marcus researched the opening and closing hours of the theme parks and was our timekeeper the whole trip.
Our four-day itinerary in New York included visiting Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, the American Museum of Natural History, a walking tour of Wall Street and watching Hamilton in Broadway. It was a good idea to have tried the Circle Line cruises. It allowed us to have a quick look of New York City, as well as get a nice view of the Statue of Liberty and the three major bridges. A trip to New York wouldn’t be complete without good food. We enjoyed Casa Mono’s tapas, Peter Luger’s steaks, Junior’s cheesecake, Joe’s Pizza at Times Square and my son’s favorite Shake Shack burgers.
For Orlando, it was two out of the four parks of Disneyworld—Epcot and Hollywood Studios—Universal Studios, where the two amazing Harry Potter theme parks were; Legoland, Crayola Experience and the Kennedy Space Center. It was a feat in itself that I was able to walk that much, but it was fun to see my kids enjoy the rides. I particularly enjoyed Jimmy Fallon’s ride in Universal Studios.
At the end of our trip, I simply felt it had been a good one. I wanted to know if my kids felt the same way, so I asked them to write a simple essay about it. I was very touched by Meagan’s composition below:
“All my life, I’ve been an indecisive person. Unsure with what to eat, what to wear, what to do. But the most memorable thing about stepping foot outside JFK and seeing the big picture was stepping into the taxi, walking around the busy streets and confirming in my brain that my weird indecisive self, after one day of being in New York, was a hundred percent sure that I Ioved it. I absolutely loved it.
“Of course, being in a new country, almost everything else was memorable, too. First was Hamilton. It was hands down one of the most exciting moments in my life. Not to mention the scrumptious Joe’s Pizza and Junior’s cheesecake we enjoyed just before the show. The first step inside the theater, I was ecstatic and thrilled for the show to begin. When it began, it was awe-inspiring. It was a spectacular work of rhythmic art. It certainly didn’t fail to impress.
“Second, there was Universal Studios Orlando. The thing that made it memorable was something that brought me back to my first time riding Space Mountain—thrill. The thrill and anxiety a rider faces before getting on the amazing rides. The ones I enjoyed the most were the Hollywood Rip Rock It, the Hulk Coaster, and Dudley Do Right’s Ripsaw Falls.
“Third was the shopping. As I said, I’m an incredibly indecisive person and being in Woodbury, a place with a billion options, I was lost. I was thrilled but absolutely stressed with choosing outfits and shoes. Not just that, I really enjoyed shopping and laughing with auntie Lyn Lyn.
“I also enjoyed hanging out with Donovan, Duncan and Colleen. It was really weird how we became so comfortable with each other so fast. Last, and definitely not the least, was the food…the wonderful food in New York. Although Florida’s food was good, let’s just say chicken breast nuggets and burgers aren’t healthy on a daily diet.
“In New York, though, we ate steak like there was no tomorrow. In shoti’s [younger brother] exact words, ‘It was fantastic, more than fantastic!!!!! [with five exclamation points].’”
“I definitely want to take my future children to these places where I’ve so much to teach them, the same lessons I learned from my parents, and to show them the experiences I’ve had here.
“In addition to having fun, I also learned some valuable lessons and things about myself in this trip. I learned that in order to have fun and enjoy, we must learn how to work hard to earn a vacation. I’m very thankful that my parents taught me through example that working hard is just as important as relaxing once in a while.”