On the one time I flew first class

Maybe you fly first class all the time and think I'm stupid for thinking this is worth a post, but hey, I wanna be able to look back at this, so I'm writing it down! And as you know, this blog is my diary.

It all started with me procrastinating. We had all kinds of issues on our flight from Philly to Charlotte, I wasn't too worried because after about twenty minutes, I had already accepted the fact that we were gonna miss our flight (we had a 40 minute layover). So I settled in, at this point just hoping that we would be in the plane long enough for me to finish Avengers. 

So, here's where the procrastination comes in. When we landed, the pilot rattled off a number to call to be able to set up a new connection. I, of course, was too engrossed in the ending of the movie to catch the number, and not worried - as always - waited until it was over to text Julia and ask her what it was. (She had already booked her next flight.) I call, and the lady goes on to tell me that all they have left is first class, and boom looks like that's what I'll have to take. 

Julia looked at me in dismay when I revealed the news, mainly because she was being punished for being proactive. She immediately demanded my mini bottles, which I dutifully handed over - it was the least I could do.

They called for first class boarding, and I gave her one last, "Um, so, how I am supposed to act?" She responded with a not-too-helpful shrug. So, 11 businessmen (between the ages of 45 and 60) and a grinning 21 year-old boarded the plane ahead of everyone else. I think I fit in well enough though, I ordered a glass of wine - just like many of them had. We were sipping on our drinks before the economy people even boarded!!

Then, I saw my sister walk onto the plane. This is the distinct moment that I gave myself away as a newbie. "Julia! Take my picture??!!!"

Now, I didn't realize that since we were given wine before the plane took off that we would have to finish the wine BEFORE take-off. I had about a third of my wine left when the flight attendant asked for my wine glass, I looked at her in horror and then gulped the last bit down, because you know me - I hate to be wasteful. 

Once we got into the air, the man next to me started up a conversation with, "Do you play sports?" This is not entirely uncommon, I mean I don't look like I sit on my ass all day. I told him I had played soccer in high school, and he responded with something that I had definitely never heard before. "Oh, really? I thought you were in crew. I've been looking at you and your shoulders are definitely rowing shoulders, but then I saw your hands and realized that you didn't have callouses, so I started second guessing myself. Also, you are the spitting image of my daughter, and SHE does crew, so I figured that you must too, that and your very broad shoulders."

I definitely stared at him for a couple of seconds before responding. Throughout our initial five-minute conversation, I think he mentioned four times that my shoulders looked like I was a rower - thank you, stranger, for pointing out that I have man shoulders. 

Granted, not only did I think it was hilarious, but the flight attendant had just given me more wine, so I just got back to my magazine. I could relay every conversation with this man, but I don't think anyone cares QUITE that much about that, so I will get to the landing...

Once we were about to disembark, he looked at me in dismay. "Not only was the wine shitty, but now I have to get my own suit. What is this?!" I laughed along as if I had also thought that these things were absolutely sooo ridiculous. According to him, these two things made the ride disastrous. But if you ask me? It was PERFECTION. 

On Niagara Falls and beer and wine

Meet my travel buddies for this trip:

If you live seven hours or less from Niagara Falls, like we do, then it is a PERFECT weekend trip. I can't believe that I haven't gone before! Well, I did, but I was two or three - all I remember from that trip is a waterbed, but no falls.

We got off to a late start due to a certain travel companion, but after a good bit of traffic getting out of Jersey, it was smooth sailing. When we hit the Canadian border, Julia, of course, failed miserably. Cops make her feel guilty; we clearly should have taken that into account before having her get us over the border. When asked the simple question, "What is the purpose of your visit?" her reply was, "uuum, er-uhh." Thankfully I was feeling heroic and came to the rescue with a loud, "Tourism" from the back seat, which she ever gratefully repeated and nodded along to. Like I said, we barely made it over the border.

First thing to do was see the falls, so we took on the five minute walk, which I'd say was pretty worth it. We felt the spray from the American Falls before they even came into view, and when they did, it was a sight to behold -  they were lit up and as powerful as ever. (Or so we thought, come to find out, only half the amount of water that goes over the falls during the day goes over at night. They divert the other half to serve as a power source. It is restored to its full glory during the day for the sake of the tourists.)

We then meandered over to the 'Beer Garden Karaoke Patio'. My three favorite things all put into one - genius!! Even in high tourist areas, you can always get a decent priced beer - perks of having brothers that helped me acquire the taste! Julie, Julia and I performed, of course, as "Darren and the Jersey Girls," minus Darren. Super stoked about our Kesha pick, we were taken aback when Nicki Minaj came on, but being in the spotlight, we quickly adjusted and actually kept the people on the dance floor quite happy (believe it or not.)

After an overpriced midnight snack at Denny's and a Cuban cigar (of course, although I think they might be legal in the US now that the embargo is lifted? don't quote me on that) we meandered back to our hotel, welcoming our beds after the long day of travel.

Saturday began with the Horn Blower cruise for a very up close and personal view of the Falls. I would HIGHLY recommend it! Great views and perfect way to cool off on a hot day!!

American Falls

American Falls, along with Rainbow bridge, which is how we crossed the border into Canada

The legendary Horseshoe Falls! The one that people used to go down in barrels due to the fact that it didn't have the deadly rocks at the bottom like American Falls has... Definitely doesn't make it all that much safer though. 

Next, was the museum that Julia and Chris were adamant about going to (OK, I totally wanted to go too). We walked for what seemed like forever, only to realize that the main thing that we wanted to see (the array of barrels that made the trip over the Falls) was moved to the IMAX of all places. After a quick break in the air conditioned museum, we made our way to lunch where we learned what plum sauce (sweet and sour sauce) and peameal (Canadian bacon) were. Our ignorance quickly gave us away as Americans.

We were finally able to see the barrels which were super cool and interesting to read about! We got to read all about who ventured over Horseshoe Falls, why they did it, what mechanism they used to go over and if they survived or not. There were even some videos too! 

Next came the wonderful wine route. On this part of our journey we visited four different wineries, learning all about the Ontario wine region and their famous ice wine - which can only be harvested when it has been in -10 degrees Celsius for three days. 

Although it might not look like it, this was Chris's favorite place.

After the wineries, we were directed to an awesome brewery, Oast, which Julia, Julie and I would highly recommend to all beer lovers. Although, I think Chris and Darren even enjoyed their time there too - they had ping-pong and everything!

Sometimes I try to be artsy. 

A wonderful person at the brewery directed us to an awesome spot for dinner. Basically all we did to find all these awesome spots was ask. Canadians are so nice.

We then had another wonderful night hanging at the beer garden where we actually sang Kesha this time. OOPS. Not a crowd favorite. Who knew us singing Nicki Minaj would be a much better hit? We also went to the Casino, where Julia was once again looking suspicious as we handed over our IDs to the bouncers, "How old are you?" Julia's reply, "Oh, ha, uh - twenty-four!" Not entirely believing her, but with no other reason to doubt her than her guilty face, they let her through.

On Sunday we finally walked down to Horseshoe Falls for an absolutely incredible view. I never would have been able to even imagine the amount of power plummeting over the edge of that cliff.

After grabbing some Canadian candies that are just to die for, we hit the road once more and headed home! Clearly I'm a fan, you in? Get a passport so you can go to the jaw-dropping Canadian side!!

The Dominican: The definition of vacation

The vast majority of my posts are on trips that I go on... adventures where I spontaneously wander here and there, exploring and getting lost. This was very different. Instead of spending my nights planning my train for the next day, hostel for the weekend and flight out of the country that week, I relaxed - in essence - I vacationed.

This was planned far in advance. It was my "graduation vacation." OR "We need an excuse to get away . . . hey, you just graduated!" You're welcome, guys. I'm sure we could have thought of something else if I hadn't made it. 

Meet my wonderful vacation buddies! The guys are always thrilled for pictures.

We booked the vacation as a package - flight, resort, food and drinks all included. We stayed at Bahia Principe Ambar - which was the adults-only section of a gigantic resort. There were thousands of rooms just in our section! 

Before we arrived in the Dominican, we had all these high and lofty plans about how we were going to explore the country during our stay. Before the first day was even over, we had decided that such exploration would not be necessary - the resort met all our present goals: water, sun, drinks.

Our first night there, after being greeted with drinks at check-in and stuffing our faces at the buffet, we headed to the beach party, which believe it or not, was just like it always is in the movies. Hundreds of people dancing and drinking - all dressed in white! It was just so cool. It was the perfect ending to a very long travel day.

The next morning, we realized what a tough dilemma we would be facing every day: beach or pool first? Early on in the week, we settled on a beach first, pool after lunch routine. It worked splendidly. 

One morning, Julia and I woke up earlier to take some pictures on the beach.

Every night we ate at fabulous restaurants, often after meeting for drinks first. At some point each meal, we went over highs and lows of the day, which were endlessly entertaining. The lows ranging from, "I hit my head on that umbrella at the beach," to "this lady at the pool somehow had a plumber's crack in a one-piece swimsuit." When THAT is what your lows are - you have truly arrived in paradise.

We each had a day of being sick from the food - but hey, that's the worst that happened? THAT I can handle.

We took the kayaks out one day, Phil and Melissa took the paddle boats out another, and the unanimously voted best outing was the speed boats that we drove to a beautiful snorkeling spot! (And by "we," I mean I drove for about two minutes, and after nearly capsizing the boat, scrambled out of the driver's seat and handed the steering wheel back to Julia.) Our guide offered to take me out and teach me how to drive his boat, but I mysteriously disappeared when we arrived back at the beach, so said "date" never occurred.

Our resort had some bars and clubs, which Julia and I went to a few times. Our "gaydar" was very broken on this trip. We kept chatting with all these guys, thinking that they were gay, only realizing all too late that we were getting hit on - but that's a story to ask me about in person.

It was a week of reading books for hours on the beach, bartenders knowing our favorite drink (Sapphire and tonic, of course), water aerobics with instructors who insisted on being called "Jose Sexy Number ONE," and then having the same instructor for yoga (ah, RUN!), watching the sunrise over the water and just chatting with my favorite people at the pool bar. 

Took a walk down the beach to this super weird, but kind of cool palm tree that we had spotted while kayaking!

So this post goes against the very obvious theme of my blog - "getting lost," I get that. I promise you I would have gotten lost at this massive resort if my brothers didn't lead the way everywhere we went. I never knew where any restaurants were, just blindly and happily followed. And the few times that I was alone, there were golf carts with drivers that were more than happy to give a ride to the blonde girl who was grinning and saying, "la playa?" But there is one thing that I hope I accomplished in this post - a real vacation in the Caribbean for YOU in the future possibly? 

Me? I'm headed to Boston and Newport this week and Niagara the week after, and don't worry, something is bound to go wrong in my upcoming travels.

On how Vegas became 3 posts...

My last day I woke up early so that I could get to the pool right as it opened. My reasoning was that I could just sleep when I got down to the pool... which obviously didn't happen. I got too excited when I got down there. Too many people to see and eavesdrop on - you'd be surprised how many early risers there are - even in casinos!

Even after I checked out, I just brought my computer to the pool and worked under palm trees all day - not a bad office setup, eh? Granted, it also doesn't hurt when guys buy you beer while you work, using smooth pick-up lines such as, "You look really smart..." Do I really? Or am I just the only girl with a computer. Hmmmm....

I also made friends with the a guy who worked at the Monte Carlo coffeeshop, where I would charge my computer, who gave great discounts! All you gotta do is be chatty and indecisive - it works wonders!

I then headed out on the town for a few more hours of strolling down Las Vegas Blvd. I put together a super fun outfit for my last night there, a decision that took a rather drastic turn for the worse. I thought that wedges would look sweet with my skirt, and I figured that wedges were created so that you could wear heels, but not be in pain, right? WRONG. I am also not one of those people who can withstand the pain for the "beauty". After about 20 minutes of walking on them, I ripped them off and walked to the Vegas strip BAREFOOT. Gross? YES. Painful? NOPE.

That took A LOT of scrubbing to get rid of all the gross things that sunk their way into my feet, but now they are none worse for the wear.

I was able to experience the magic of the Bellagio and Caesar's Palace one last time - and watch the beautiful fountains... and once again contemplate robbing the Bellagio, and once again decide against it.

Solomon, a man I chatted with on the strip on my first day there, was right. He said Vegas can only truly be appreciated at night. And boy was he right. I then walked up and around to the front of the Bellagio and had my favorite view of the lights...

Not quite like Paris, France, but they did pretty well if you ask me!

Can I just say that climbing stairs in that skirt caused me to fear for my life so much more than hiking down the muddy Grand Canyon? It was TERRIFYING. I was sweating so much and had to keep letting people pass me because I kept tripping on myself. But man, it was worth it. Shoes weren't. Skirt was.

Leaving Vegas was a chore. I scheduled an airport shuttle to pick me up at 9pm. 9:15 - still no shuttle. I called the company to ask where they were, and they hung up on me! Thankfully another couple had scheduled a shuttle and I just went with them. Spirit had canceled their flight, so they were headed to the airport to tell them what's what. I commiserated, feeling so thankful that I was NOT in their shoes again. How fitting that my trip would begin and end with swearing to never fly Spirit again. We'll see what happens though when I look for Vegas tickets in a few months and they're over $100 cheaper... It's a risk, but you have to decide for yourself - is it worth it?