My Northeast Coast Trip

I had a one week east coast trip to New York City, Washington D.C., Niagara Falls, and New Jersey. The pictures in this blog post were taken on this trip.

Day 1

We reached Washington D.C. late at night and we got to our hotel around midnight. We didn't get a lot of sleep that night but we knew about the big day ahead of us so we slept as soon as possible.

Day 2

Today we explored Washington D.C. after eating a marvelous breakfast from our hotel. First, we went to the Washington Monument. Because of the earthquake a while ago, the monument is in the process of restoration. Every night, it glows and it's ravishing. After that, we visited the Lincoln Memorial which was huge! The view from it was wonderful; you could see a big fountain, the Washington Monument, and more. Shortly after the Lincoln Memorial, we had a quick lunch, and we headed to the Smithsonian Museum. We saw the Hope Diamond, from India, and one of the most famous gems in the world! Later, we went to one of my favorite parts of the trip, Madame Tussauds. If you haven't heard of it, it's a wax museum filled with all the US presidents and famous people in the past and present. The wax statues look like real people! Once my mom was trying to take a quick picture and bumped into a wax photographer. She thought she was real so she apologized but we all had a laugh after that! Some examples of present celebrities that were there are Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Will Smith, Beyonce, and much more! After that we had dinner at a wonderful Asian restaurant and went back to our hotel.

Washington Monument--It has "braces" like me!

The Hope Diamond! About 45 carats! So beautiful!

The great Lincoln Memorial!

Selena Gomez at Madame Tussauds!

Day 3

On our third day, we went to the Jefferson Memorial, saw the Pentagon, went on the "hop on hop off" bus tours, and visited the Capitol! Sadly it was closed and same with the Library of Congress. I wanted to see it again (This would be my third time)! It's the largest library in the world! We also saw the front side of the White House! Did you know that in pictures, the side you usually see of the White House is the back side? Weird, huh? Today we also rented a bigger car.

The Capitol!

Thomas Jeffferson

The White House

 Day 4

 Today we went to the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. It's the sixth largest church in the world! From the highest floor, you can get a clear view of downtown Washington D.C. The church is truly grand and marvelous! After that we headed towards New Jersey to our next hotel. We reached NJ in the evening so we were basically in the car for a long time. It was better than our first one in my opinion. The best part was we could see the skyline of NYC! I went swimming with my cousin and we had a great dinner from Chipotle! We didn't explore much today...

The National Cathedral

Day 5

Today we went to the Statue of Liberty! That was my third time! But every time I go, SOMETHING happens. Well, the first time I went I was a baby, so I don't remember anything. The second time, I was sick and I my stomach was upset and the third time, I was REALLY mad at my parents, so I didn't really enjoy it. But at least I saw it right? I had the most exquisite panini for lunch. Later, we went to the 9/11 Memorial. It was really sad for everyone. Just looking at the engraved names left a big hole in my heart. The Survivor Tree was what caught my attention. It has been there for a really long time, even before 9/11. It went through repairs, but it's still standing today. Later, everyone was starving, so we went to the hotel and everyone else had Indian food for dinner while I finished leftovers from Chipotle.

New York City Skyline

Statue of Liberty

9/11 Memorial

Day 6

Today we went to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. I'm not really interested in that topic so I didn't enjoy it as much as the others. The museum is literally a boat...no joke! The story of the ship is interesting though. The eating options aren't bad but there's only one place, Au Bon Pain. I had a cold sandwich, and a delicious French vanilla cupcake. After that, we went on the "hop on hop off" bus tours and I saw this super thin triangular building! I wondered what was in it but sadly I never found out. There was a Madame Tussauds in NYC which was much bigger than the one in D.C., but we never went in it. Apparently they have more pop stars, more Hollywood stars, athletes, and even Bollywood stars! Next time I go, I will visit this one instead of the one in D.C. After the Intrepid Museum, we went to the Empire State Building. It was my first time going there even though I've been to NYC three times. The view from the building was spectacular! You could see everything, even a small glimpse of Central Park! A note to visitors: There are two gift shops, the one downstairs has more selection and variety and it's also less expensive. The one upstairs does not have a lot of variety and it's more expensive. So when you visit the building, shop downstairs first, then head upstairs to see the view. There were many things still left to do, but all we needed was time! Instead of the Intrepid Museum, I wanted to see the Ripley's Believe It or Not! in Times Square and also get a studio tour of NBC. But next time, I hope to see more of NYC!

At the Intrepid Museum. The white bottle in the picture is for space use when fruits or vegetables go bad.

The company of that bottle was founded by a close family friend! We were so surprised when we saw one of his amazing products!

NYC

View from the Empire State Building

Day 7

Today we had a seven hour drive to Niagara Falls! Though it felt like three or four hours to me. :-) We left our hotel around 11 A.M. We watched Wreck-It Ralph and Jack the Giant Slayer. Wreck-It Ralph was good but the second one was kind of boring. We got to our hotel around 10 P.M. after stopping for lunch, snack, and dinner. Our hotel was a higher standard but the biggest room they had available for five people was a room with two queens. The lounge was extra comfortable and big! It also had a Starbucks and a TGI Friday's attached. 

Day 8

Niagara Falls

Beautiful, isn't it?

Today was a full day at Niagara Falls! First, we went on the Maid of the Mist boat ride. We were in a part of Canada when we rode to Horseshoe Falls. Don't let the name confuse you--it's more like a shower instead of a "mist". I loved the ride though! The best part was the Hurricane Deck! You get soaked! The water hit my face so hard that my ears started hurting! After that natural shower (haha), we went to the hotel and changed and went to TGI Friday's. My trip was wonderful and I'll never forget it!