Category Archives: Travel Guide

Travel Guide: Southern California

Monday, 2 January 2017 Rebecca Michelle 4 Comments

For about three years, I’ve been saying that someday I’m going to fly to San Diego, rent a car, and drive up the California coast to San Francisco. For whatever reason, I always envisioned spending two or three weeks alone and contemplating life’s purpose along the way. Somewhat of an On the Road dream, I suppose.

This year, for the first time, I didn’t spend the holidays with my family. Instead, I flew to LAX, rented a car, drove to San Diego to visit a friend who I haven’t seen since June, and then drove up the California coast to Costa Mesa to visit another friend who I haven’t seen since September, venturing further north to Malibu from there. Over the course of the week I met a number of people who had me laughing more than I have laughed in months. I felt light, carefree, happy, and optimistic about what is possible. The second half of 2016 was really tough for me and I could not have been happier to feel like my old self again.

San Diego and Around
With the aid of a cute little red rental car and a San Diego native (with whom I traveled to Laos in June) as my tour guide, I saw quite a bit of San Diego County and ate the most delicious Mexican food item I have ever had – a chile relleno burrito! Some of our stops included:

Del Mar, my first California beach experience:

Mount Soledad, with beautiful views of San Diego:

PB (Pacific Beach), where I got a real kick out of winter Christmas decoration with palm trees and the beach in the background:

Coronado, which was just stunning:

Julian, an absolute gem of a town that looks like time forgot about it:

The interior of that used bookstore looked like this:

And you know how I feel about books!

We took a beautiful drive back from Julian along Route 78 and I took a break from driving to gaze out the window at the stunning valley:

Sunshine, blue skies, mountains, oceans. It’s no wonder everyone was so friendly and welcoming and actually seemed to care about the answer to the generic, “Hi, how are you?” that I heard everywhere I went.

Costa Mesa and Around
After three nights in San Diego, it was time to drive north to Costa Mesa. I’d originally driven south from LAX in the dark so it was nice to see the same roads in daylight. The blue skies, beaches, and mountains adventure continued with a best friend from high school (also a travel partner in Hong Kong and Thailand) who moved to California three years ago. Our exploring included:

Top of the World hike at Laguna Beach, which was the warmest day of the week:

A drive to Long Beach to meet some more people, eat dinner, and have a night out:

Santa Monica, which we visited on a damp, chilly day that was still iconic and beautiful:

Los Angeles, where we took a quick nighttime walk around Staples Center before seeing a concert at the LA Convention Center:

Newport Beach, which was adorable and thoroughly enjoyable even though we got caught in the rain:

County Line Beach in Malibu to watch a stunning sunset on New Year’s Day:

This week was the perfect way to put a positive spin on the end of a strange year, as well as the perfect way to begin a new year – time with friends, full of laughter, exploring beautiful places.

I didn’t realize how much I needed this week and time with these people until I was fully immersed in it. As soon as I got in a taxi on the way to the airport in New York I felt a weight lift that I didn’t realize I was carrying. There was a physical lightness in my body for the week that I spent in California. The tension I normally carry in my back went away after a few days. Being around such good friends in such a beautiful place was physically and emotionally rejuvenating, which is all I can ask for.

Hopefully in a summer or three I’ll fly again to LAX, rent a car, and drive up the California coast to San Francisco. I’m already excited for everything there is to see and experience. And something tells me I won’t be doing it alone.

Travel Guide

Down by the Lake

Monday, 5 September 2016 Rebecca Michelle Leave a comment

Happy Labor Day to all those celebrating here in the US! I used the long weekend to drive down to Starrucca, Pennsylvania with my friend Ally and a couple of her friends from college. Another one of my high school friends joined us for on the second night, too! It was a lot of fun to be in a completely different environment from the city, meet new people, and reconnect with people who I have known for almost half my life. This weekend was rejuvenating and I needed it.

The largest town near Ally’s family’s lake house is actually just over the border in New York State so there’s really nothing around. That’s what made it incredibly relaxing. I had zero cell service so my phone remained on airplane mode for the weekend and acted merely as my camera, which was a much-needed break from my current preoccupations.

Other than visiting a farm stand to pick up some corn and peaches . . .

. . . and a smoke house to buy delicious cheese and check out the selection of smoked meats and fish . . .

. . . we opted to spend the weekend eating, drinking, laughing, and playing on the water.

Wouldn’t you?

Both the air and water were chillier than we were hoping, so we voted for boats instead of swimming. Island Lake is so named because of a small tree island towards the center, which I explored with the aid of a canoe. I haven’t canoed since summer camp as a kid and had never been responsible for a row boat, which we also took out. If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you already know that I adore boats and anything to do with being on the water. I was very much in a happy place.

When the sun went down, we entertained ourselves over a 550-piece puzzle! We remained surprisingly focused throughout and completed it in about 4 hours. If anything, the margaritas that we made to go with our tacos were quite the asset to our puzzling. The margaritas and the “all the hits” radio station that played all weekend long. They literally meant all. There were eras of hits.

The second night was the warmer of the two and we made a fire and roasted s’mores after dinner. My favorite part was looking up at the sky and seeing nothing but stars. (I will never forget our school trip to Battambang, Cambodia last January when that’s the first thing the students commented on when we arrived. I heard their voices in my head and felt their excitement.)

The cloudless sky over the water made the world seem so much bigger and emptier than it did during the day. It was a stark reminder of how small we all are in such vast space. Simultaneously, however, mesmerized by fire as I always am, I was reminded of how interconnected we are as a collective humanity. It was a strange juxtaposition that I continued to acutely feel and notice until we let the fire die and went inside. While it’s not new, the idea of being so insignificant and yet so integral to the existence of every other person is humbling and difficult to comprehend. I can still feel that weight in my heart.

What I appreciated most about the lake was not the break from the city or the weekend with friends, though both were delightful. I was not expecting the sense of peace that came over me when I went out on a paddle board for the first time on Sunday. I regularly make an effort to seek out and do things that scare me but I’ve always avoided paddle boarding out of fear of falling into the water, which is a bit silly since I’m a decent swimmer. (And what’s the worst thing that can happen when you fall into the water? You get wet.)

The silence I experienced in the middle of the lake took me pleasantly by surprise and I appreciated the opportunity to seek out serenity, alone with my thoughts. There’s a lot of uncertainty in my present daily life and it makes me uncomfortable. There’s even more in the near future that has me questioning everything I’ve ever wanted, anticipated, or dreamed about. Alone on the paddle board in the middle of the lake, I asked myself the hard questions that I usually avoid (mostly questions starting with, “What if . . .”) and let myself reflect on the very honest answers that I also usually avoid. (Are you sensing a theme?) The whole experience was eye-opening and, ironically, significantly scarier than first standing up on the paddle board.

Not that it matters, but I didn’t fall.

Summer is now officially over because I start with students tomorrow! I’m also moving next weekend and eagerly anticipating a change of pace. The personal goal that I am setting for this fall (I have seasons now!) is to continue asking myself hard questions and, more importantly, being honest about the answers. Hopefully I’ll be able to continue finding the peace that came to me on the paddle board on Island Lake.

I hope it’s been a wonderful weekend, wherever you are. As always, thanks for reading. Thank you for journeying with me.

Travel Guide

Travel Guide: Philadelphia, PA

Tuesday, 26 July 2016 Rebecca Michelle 1 Comment

In all my travel blogging, this is only the second blog post about the US! I’ve been other places, really.

Last week my parents and I turned a wedding in New Jersey into a short vacation that included three days in the City of Brotherly Love. My dad has been there a number of times for conferences, but neither my mum nor I had ever visited. We loved the architecture we saw, the history we learned, and the food we ate.

Philadelphia looks like this:

Anyone who has ever studied American history knows that many discussions about the formation of the US took place here. We visited Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed . . .

. . . Congress Hall where the first US Congresses met, way back when Congress actually did anything . . .

. . . and the Liberty Bell, so named because it has been the symbol of liberty for various groups working for freedom and justice in this country. . . .

We spent a while in the National Museum of American Jewish History, too. I particularly liked the section on Judaism in colonial America because that’s what I know the least about. My knowledge of modern Jewish history is much better. As a result, I wasn’t as captivated by the museum’s exhibits as someone new to the topic might be. The museum was really well done, and I’d recommend a visit.

For a dose of local life and fresh vegetables, we visited Reading Terminal Market on three separate occasions, which I absolutely loved:

Philadelphia is also home to Eastern State Penitentiary, which struck me as ironic considering the love infused in so much of Philadelphia’s portrayal of itself. There is a dark side to everything human, a side that reminds us that there is more than one story. Through audio testimony, we learned how prison design and the purpose of prison in the US has changed over time. The exhibits also asked visitors to consider important questions about the prison system today, like whether prison is rehabilitative, whether it is objective, and whether punishments truly fit crimes. That was the most important section for me because it put visitors in uncomfortable positions and asked them to think about humans rather than numbers.

We also spent a good deal of time at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which has multiple buildings with a wide variety of exhibits. Tickets are good for the day of purchase and the following day, so we took advantage of that. That’s where the Rocky statue and steps are, too. Yes, I ran up the steps and I’m pretty sure my mum took a video as proof.