It was early September 2012. My mom, Tom, and I had landed after a long plane ride. As soon as we stepped off, we instantly felt the hot, heavy air stick to our skin. I wasn’t familiar with humidity, and I was not exactly enjoying it. We were finally in Pennsylvania; exhausted and hungry.

“All passengers leaving for Detroit, board the plane now. We will be taking flight shortly,” the overhead speakers boomed.

“Let’s go get our luggage,” my mom said.

We got our luggage and headed towards the rental car dealership. A grey Ford Focus was our final decision- I said we should get a Camaro but whatever- and we drove and drove. Three hours to a condo in Wildwood, New Jersey, was so close yet so far. We passed by all of Philadelphia’s stadiums, bridges and exits. I didn’t think it was possible but there actually is an EXIT ZERO; from there on is nothing but salt water, oceans, and ships.

At last we turned on the Jersey turnpike and arrived in Wildwood. It was about 85 degrees outside, and it didn’t help that I was wearing a sweatshirt.

From the hot black pavement the small condo looked like all of the rest, dull and lifeless. As soon as we stepped inside, you could tell that work was put in the place. Coral pink walls, decorated with seashells and lifeguard signs. That was only the living room! Every wall was a different color, from ocean blue to plum purple. The walls were covered in fish outlets, sailboat pictures, and it felt peaceful.

I headed up the three flights of stairs to a choice of two rooms; a black and white with twin beds, or a peach with a queen size and a view of the ocean. I chose the ocean view room that attached to a bright, lemon yellow bathroom. This bathroom was at first blinding to look at, but I got used to it. I was too excited to even be there so I didn’t even unpack my clothes and accessories.

At about 3PM that afternoon, we went shopping for groceries at the local market. We bought toothbrushes and deodorant, root beer and muffins. We had to bag our own groceries because there weren’t enough workers on sight to assist us. An hour or two later we headed home with bags and bags of groceries. 5PM and we were home, unpacking groceries and relaxing. I cracked open a Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Root Beer. The red, sweet liquid tingled on my lips, and I was speechless. That was the best root beer I had ever tasted.

“Do you want to check out the Boardwalk?” my mom asked me.

“Uh duh. I, I mean yes please.” I smiled.

“Let’s go then,” she said.

I was so excited. The sun was going down as we arrived. The big, blue sign with seashells read, “Welcome to the Boardwalk. Fun memories are this way!”

That night we walked the entire Boardwalk, and I had an ice cream with jimmies (they were the same as sprinkles but called jimmies). We walked over to a balcony that led off to the sandy beaches and ocean. I sat there, listening to the waves crashing against the sand and couldn’t help but think, this is my kind of paradise.

The sounds of roller coaster passengers interrupted my peace. My mom motioned me to leave and that night I slept like a baby.

The next morning the sun peeked through my blinds and woke me up. 8:30, and I wasn’t tired. The smell of bacon and eggs filled the air. I headed downstairs, with my pajamas and my hair in a bun.

“Should we go down the shore today?” my step dad, Tom, asked us.

“Of course. As soon as we eat and get ready,” my mom added.

I ate my breakfast and got ready as fast as I could. We proceeded for the shore in our tank tops and flip flops. I couldn’t wait!

We arrived 15 minutes later when I saw it. Hundreds of people out on a Sunday afternoon were buying shirts and candy. Ice cold root beer being poured for thirsty customers and little children laughing were all around us. That first step on the wooden board brought summer to life. The roller coasters were alive with shrieks and squeals.

There it was. Light blue salty oceans, hot sand under my toes, and seagulls everywhere. Plover Ring birds running up and down with the tides eating washed up bugs. Around me were children surfing, dogs running and salt water with endless possibilities. I didn’t want to leave. Ever.

Buried deep in the sand were indigo, purple color seashells with white stripes. I didn’t care that my pockets were getting wet and sandy; I had to have those beautiful shells.

“Welcome to Sam’s Pizzeria. How can I help ya?” Danny asked.

“Two cheese, one buffalo, and three small drinks,” Tom answered.

When Danny brought out my fresh slice, my mouth was already watering. Mozzarella cheese with the best pizza sauce and light, fluffy dough was the perfect fit for our craving of pizza.

We walked around the boardwalk for easily another 2 hours. Lucky for us there was a motorcycle rally going on, so we got a show. There had to have been at least 200 motorcycles filling the walk. After all the bikes had circled through once or twice, we went home.

Later that night we went to Owen’s Pub and Grill. That place is known for their world famous Philly cheese steaks. Green peppers and onions with creamy, melting cheese filled my stomach, and I still had half a sandwich left, which was my breakfast the next morning.

My mom and Tom were invited to Tom’s nephew’s wedding. Of course children weren’t allowed. It was ironic because that was the entire reason we went on the trip. Once they left I decided to do my pages and pages of homework. That night I went to bed, and they still weren’t home yet. Little did I know they got lost and didn’t arrive home until 2AM.

When I woke up everybody was asleep, so I went downstairs and read my book until everybody was up.
Our day consisted of driving up to Philadelphia and seeing Tom’s relatives and eating a gourmet home cooked meal. I had a lot of fun that night just hanging out with people I didn’t even know. It didn’t matter because technically they were my family too.

When we got home that night we were still stuffed from an early dinner so we could not eat anymore. Instead we watched TV and drifted off to sleep.

I knew we had to leave in a few days, and I wanted to make the most of this day.
We drove out to the ferry and paid the fee and climbed aboard. I was hoping to see dolphins or whales, but I guess it wasn’t my day. It was a long ride, but we arrived in Delaware and had lunch. It was a small bakery. I had macaroni and cheese with Cheetos crumbled on top. It sounded weird but tasted amazing.

We only had an hour, and with our luck we missed the bus back. We had to walk, and it was not the best walk we had. It was hot, noisy, and we had cramps from just eating. Luckily, we made it to the enormous ship just as it was leaving.

We took the journey back and headed home. I had an eventful but fun day so it all worked out. When we got back to Jersey, we relaxed and went swimming in the condo’s pool.

The next morning we didn’t know what to do, so Tom suggested we go crabbing. Crabbing is when you take fish on a piece of string and slowly bring the string back up and crabs are on the end. You put them in an onion bag and keep them to eat. The only rule is to put the females back to repopulate. We did just that. Our bunker (fish) head caught maybe 30 crabs, but that wasn’t enough for a three person meal.

Afterwards, we ate at a hot dog joint that served their meals in plastic dog bowls. Yes, dog bowls. I had the best chili cheese dog that was loaded and spilling over my hand.

It was our last day in the big NJ, and I was sad to leave. We traveled to the Boardwalk one last time and walked down to the ocean. We stayed for an hour or two trying to soak up the sun.

Sadly we had to leave Jersey and come back to the Rockies. I knew the end of the trip was coming when we dropped off the keys to the man up front. A bus picked us up at the dealership and brought us to the airport.

The bus driver turned up the radio because the Philadelphia Eagles were winning. When we arrived, the Eagles had won and everybody on the bus was ecstatic.

We boarded our plane at 6PM and took our extra-long flight back. It took longer than expected because of turbulence in the air. Our dinner on the plane consisted of Chinese food and Sprite.

At last we landed at D.I.A. and picked up our car. We drove from Denver to Castlerock- to drop off Tom- and then to Lakewood. We arrived in Lakewood at 11PM.

This trip brought new experiences and awesome times. I learned to take every breath you have, because in a matter of hours the day is over.