Hey guys!! I can’t believe this is my last post on this site. :/ I’ve had so much fun telling you guys all about my adventures! As some of you may know from previous posts, I’m from Long Island, NY. I live on the east end of the island just half an hour away from The Hamptons. Growing up I spent so much of my summers in The Hamptons, and made some of the greatest memories with both friends and family, in this post I’ll tell you guys about some of my favorite spots.

The Hamptons has the best beaches on Long Island and my absolute favorite beach on Long Island, Cupsogue Beach. This past summer I spent much of my time at Cupsogue with some of my best friends and I’m hoping coronavirus won’t ruin that for us this summer. We would leave our houses somewhat early to make sure we got a spot since the beach closes once the parking lot fills up. We usually stopped to pick up sandwiches for lunch on the way and we headed to the beach for the day. After the beach, sometimes we pick a place to go for ice cream at one of the many spots on Main Street in Westhampton.

Beach day at Cupsogue

Another one of my favorite beaches on Long Island is Shinnecock Beach in Southampton. My family and I have been going to Shinnecock for as long as I can remember and we’ve made so many memories there. There’s also a campground there and my family used to camp there when I was little. What’s really unique about this beach is that it has the beach on one side and if you walk to the other side you’re at the bay. In more recent times Shinnecock has become more crowded but I remember growing up it was kind of like a hidden treasure, there were never really many people there.

Shinnecock Bay

Another one of my absolute favorite places is in Easthampton, Levain Bakery, this place has the most amazing cookies ever. Levain has a few locations in New York City as well as their Easthampton location. I first heard about Levain on Kim Kardashian’s best friend Jonathan Cheban’s Instagram. Jonathan spends much of his summers in the Hamptons and he’s the ultimate foodie so I had to try this place. While the amount of chocolate in these cookies is extremely unhealthy they’re amazing.

Cookies from Levain

While there are so many more places in The Hamptons that I love, I’ll mention just one more. Just beyond The Hamptons is a little town called Montauk. My family and I love to take trips to the Montauk Lighthouse, this is the easternmost point of the island and I’ve seen some pretty amazing things here. Near the lighthouse, there’s a trail that goes all along the beach to a secluded part of the beach that not many people know about. If you walk to this part of the beach in the spring, it’s common to see seals in the water out on the rocks. Montauk is one amazing place, since its primarily a summer town I love to visit in the off-season because it’s so peaceful.

Montauk Beach

Montauk Lighthouse

Seals out on the rocks!

Thanks for keeping up with my adventures! I have loved writing each and every post on this site and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them just as much. Writing these blog posts has inspired me to possibly start a blog as a way of reflecting on my travels and adventures in the future. You can also follow me on Instagram to see some more of my adventures @marc.g0nzalez

Hey guys! Hope you’re all doing well with online classes and continuing to stay healthy in this crazy time! This week I wanted to tell you guys about a fun day I had with my mom and niece while trying to steer clear of coronavirus.

This whole quarantine has really had my family and I sick of being in the house so we decided to get out and take a ride to the beach. There is always deer at the beach and these deer have become used to getting most of their food from humans as the beach/ county park is usually very crowded in the summer months. We felt bad for the deer so we decided to bring them some carrots.

Since they’re so used to being fed by people they came right up to us when we jumped out of the car and ate right out of our hands. They were so hungry and ate a big bag of carrots in like two minutes.

After feeding the deer we walked onto the beach. My niece was really excited to look for shells. At first, we didn’t plan on being at the beach for too long since it was cloudy but suddenly the sun came out and we were really enjoying ourselves. Besides the fact that I just love to be at the beach, I basically grew up on the beach living just 5 min away, I was thrilled to be out of the house!

Our walk down the beach and back took us about an hour as we stopped to look for shells and take pictures. It was low tide and as you looked down the beach there were tons of sandbars some of which the water around was shallow enough that you could walk to them. If you’ve read some of my other blogs, you already know I had to walk out to the sandbar haha.

This was just a great trip to the beach. It’s such a hectic time not only for our nation, but our world right now. While I was at the beach I felt like I had escaped the messiness that’s going on and it was amazing. There was nobody around, just my mom, my niece, and I. We enjoyed the sunshine and the sound of the waves crashing as well as each other’s company.

Hey guys! Heres part 2 of my amazing, and much needed, vacation in Fort Lauderdale, FL. So in my last post, I told you guys all about my first four days in Fort Lauderdale and all the amazing places I went to. In this post, I’ll cover the second half. Also, if you didn’t see the video in my last blog post, you should go watch it because it’s pretty cool.

So on the fifth day, my family and I went on another boat ride down the canal. This is absolutely my favorite place in Fort Lauderdale. The first section of the canal where there are many amazing homes is referred to as “Millionaire’s Row.” As I mentioned last week, this is where many celebrities and CEO’s have homes in Fort Lauderdale and I love seeing them each year. On this boat ride, we saw some more amazing homes and yachts that we had missed the day before. It was extremely hot out this day, temperatures were in the high 80’s, so after the boat ride, we returned to the condo and went straight to the beach.

Amazing yachts and houses on the canal.

View from the sandbar.

The next day we decided to go to a place called Butterfly World. My niece and my mom love this place. Not only are there thousands of butterflies, but there are also some pretty cool birds too. My niece and I love to feed the birds there, its something we look forward to every year. After Butterfly World we spent the rest of the day by the pool. At night we went to my absolute favorite bakery/ gelato shop called Pan’e Dolci. They have the most amazing gelato and macarons I’ve ever had.

Feeding the lorikeets at Butterfly World.

Gelato at Pan’e Dolci.

On our last full day in Fort Lauderdale, we spent the entirety of the day at the pool and the beach. While at the beach, we also made some friends who also happened to be from New York. They had been staying in Florida for three weeks, I was totally jealous of them being that I had to go home the next day! After spending hours at the beach, we went back to the condo to pack before going in the pool and hot tub.

The next day we had breakfast on the balcony before making sure we had all our belongings and heading to the airport. This week was a much needed week of fun and relaxation. Also, although I had no idea of the amount of work I would face the week after in my adjustment to online classes, it was a great way to unwind and just enjoy time with my family before it all started.

Until next year, Fort Lauderdale!

Over spring break my family and I took a trip to our condo in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This was an amazing trip that we didn’t let coronavirus affect. Since we did so many amazing things throughout the week that I want to be able to tell you guys all about while not making this post too long, I decided to split it into two parts. In this post, I will focus on the first half of the week. Each day throughout the week we took little trips to see some great places in the mornings and then spent our afternoons at the beach and pool.

The Beach at the condo

On Saturday morning my family and I left our house at 3 a.m. to make it to JFK airport (which is an hour away) for out 6:30 a.m. flight to Fort Lauderdale. After trouble getting tags for our bags and long lines we just made the flight as they called the final boarding call. During the 2 1/2 hour flight I listened to music and slept.

Flying to Fort Lauderdale

Once we landed in Fort Lauderdale I was so excited to be there. After retrieving our bags and getting our rental car we headed to breakfast at the pier near the condo. I ordered my usual, chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries on top and a side of bacon. After an amazing breakfast, we went to the condo and spent the rest of the day at the beach and in the pool and hot tub.

On the second day, we went to a place called Lion Country Safari. My family and I love to come here every year. This drive-through safari has so many amazing animals like giraffes, zebras, rhinos and so much more that walk right up to the car. After the safari, we go to the small amusement park and petting zoo that is also there.

Rhinos at Lion Country

Feeding birds at the petting zoo

On Monday, our third day in Fort Lauderdale, we went to Flamingo Gardens. As you could probably guess they have flamingos there but they also have so many more cool animals as well as other amazing natural sights on this historic property. We took a tour of the property and fed the flamingos and other animals.

Flamingo Gardens

On our fourth day in Fort Lauderdale, Tuesday, we spent our day on the beach relaxing and enjoying the warm water. After spending the day at the beach we went on a cruise called the Jungle Queen down the New River in Central Fort Lauderdale. I mentioned this cruise in my blog post about my last trip to Fort Lauderdale but this time there were so many new sights to see. The cruise brought us down the New River past the section of homes referred to as Millionaire’s Row and other multi-million dollar homes. Every year I look forward to seeing these $20 million + homes and hearing about the people that own them. Some of the most incredible homes belong to big CEO’s like the CEO of Ray-ban as well as the producer of the show Miami Vice, and athletes such as Tiger Woods, amongst other celebrities.

Beautiful homes on the canal

Beautiful multi-million dollar yachts

Fun Fact: Florida has been referred to as “the yachting capital of the world”

I hope you enjoyed the first half of my spring vacation blog, come back next week to hear about the rest of this incredible week. Below is also a rlly cool GoPro montage I made from clips I took throughout the week.

Growing up I spent most of my summers at my family’s beach house in Long Beach Island, NJ. One of my first blogs was about my time in LBI for my 18th birthday, but this week I want to tell you guys all about my favorite places on LBI.

My family has owned our beach house for many years, but in 2012 it was ultimately destroyed due to flooding from Hurricane Sandy. The floods caused the house to fill up with four feet of water throughout. After a really long renovation process, we also made the decision to raise the house to prevent further tragedy in possible future natural disasters.

Our beach house

While you could probably tell from previous blogs, the beach is most definitely my favorite place to visit, I’ve also found some really cool spots on Long Beach Island. One of my favorite places to go is Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. I often go there with my family to see the lighthouse and walk along the fishing pier to the end where there’s a really nice beach with tons of shells and a great view of the lighthouse. We usually spend a really long time here because there’s so much to see.

Barnegat lighthouse

Some nights we go to a small amusement park in LBI called Fantasy Island. This amusement park has a whole bunch of rides and an arcade too. My siblings and I have been going here ever since we were little so this has been a really big part of my trips to LBI.

Fantasy Island Amusement Park

Thundering Surf Waterpark is also another place that I’ve loved to visit when I spend time in LBI. My niece and I love to go on the waterslides and ride on tubes down the lazy river. After spending the day at the waterpark were usually exhausted and end up going back to the house to relax.

Waterslides at Thundering Surf

As I mentioned before, I always look forward to just spending time on the beach with my family. I’ve been going to LBI since I was a baby and each and every summer my family and I spend many days of our time down in LBI at the beach for hours at a time. Beach days are what my family and I look forward to the most because even though we live 5 minutes away from the beach at home, it’s just different on LBI.

The beach at the end of our street

Another great part of Long Beach Island is the amazing food. I love to go to the Blue Water Cafe or Dockside Diner for breakfast. Some of my favorite restaurants for dinner include The Beach House, Howards, and Robertos. I also like to go to Rita’s for Italian ices.

My Favorite Restaurant in LBI

Trips to LBI have been a big part of my summers my whole life and I look forward to spending as much time there as possible each and every year. This year I’m so excited that I’ll get to see my college friends on Long Beach Island. One of my best friends here at Penn State also has a beach house in LBI just 5 minutes away from mine. I’m so excited!

Carnival Sunshine

This week, I want to tell you guys all about another ship that I’ve traveled on. In the summer of 2017, my family and I sailed on the Carnival Sunshine from New York to Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas. While this ship was smaller than the ships we typically sail on, it was still an amazing time. The Carnival Sunshine holds 2,642 passengers and has a crew of 1,150, so you can see that it is significantly smaller than the previous ships which I have written about.

Carnival Sunshine docked in Grand Turk

When first boarding the ship, we entered into the main lobby which perfectly resembled the name of the ship. The Lights above the bar were designed to look like sunshine. When we first boarded, we had to wait for our room to be ready so during the wait we explored the ship.

Carnival Sunshine main lobby

At the time, the Carnival Sunshine had been newly renovated and one of the biggest changes during the renovation was the addition of water slides. These sides were huge, to get to the top we had to climb about five flights of stairs but once we got to the top it was totally worth it. My niece and I spent most of our time at sea racing each other down these slides as the two main slides were meant for racing.

Carnival Sunshine water slides

While aboard the Carnival Sunshine we also enjoyed the pools and hot tubs and just relaxing poolside. We also enjoyed the ropes courses and the mini-golf range, and some nights there was even the option to watch a movie on the big screen on the pool deck.

Carnival Sunshine main pool

The food aboard the Carnival Sunshine was amazing too. There were so many options that we typically switched it up and tried something new at every meal. Some of my favorite places included the pasta bar which we went to a few times for lunch on days when we were at sea and the shake spot where I usually got a milkshake while waiting to disembark to the islands for the day. Many nights we ate dinner at the main dining room which was usually a lot of fun. There was usually a different theme every night and the waiters and waitresses typically put on some sort of show whether it was singing or dancing.

Carnival Sunshine main dining room

As usual, I also really enjoyed the views from the ship. Watching the sunrise and sunset throughout the week was amazing. One sunset which was especially amazing was when we were returning back to New York. Although I wasn’t too happy that the vacation was over, the sunrise over the city was breathtaking.

The view when returning into NYC

Carnival has recently come out with some new, amazing ships like the Carnival Panorama, and the Carnival Mardi Gras launching this year, as well as renovating some old ships to their former glory. I would really like to try a cruise on Panorama or Mardi Gras sometime in the future.

The proposed Carnival Mardi Gras which is currently being built and will launch November 2020.

This week I decided to switch it up a little and talk about a place which sometimes I miss most of all, my home. I decided to take you guys on a little trip to my home in a little suburban town in Long Island, NY called Miller Place. While my trip home usually takes me about seven hours in total, I have been able to go home a few times throughout the year to see my friends and family and I get so excited each and every time. While I’m only home for a short amount of time, it’s totally worth it.

Friends and family surprised me with a visit the first time I came back home

The trip back home to Long Island is certainly a long one. It begins by taking an uber to Walmart on Atherton to catch the bus to New York City. The bus to New York City usually takes about five hours due to traffic. Once I get to New York City I either get a ride home from my uncle who lives in the city or I take the train to Long Island and get picked up by my parents. It’s so much more convenient when my uncle drives me home because when I have to take the train I have to run four blocks to Penn Station with all my stuff. Either way, the trip from the city to home usually takes about an hour and a half.

Arriving in New York City

Although it depends on what time I’m able to leave State, it’s usually pretty late by the time I get home. Regardless of the time though, I usually hang out with my friends. I’m always so excited to see my friends, most of them commute to colleges close to home or dorm at colleges very close to home so they’re always there when I get home.

My house 🙂

One of my favorite things to do with my friends once I’m home is to go on a ride to the beach. I’ve always lived so close to a beach growing up on Long Island so it’s become such a big part of my life, regardless of the seasons. In the winter we love to just sit at the beach in the car and catch up with each other while in the warmer months we spend our whole day on the beach. Another place we like to go at any time of day is a little park called Satterly Landing, we drive up to the water and just sit and talk.

The beach near where I live

Saturdays on weekends when I go home are usually spent with my family. Sometimes we will hang out at home and have family over while other times we go shopping. I always look forward to just spending time with my family during the day on Saturdays. Because I live so far away its usually pretty hard for them to come to visit me at school.

Hanging out at home with my dog

My friends usually work on Saturdays so on Saturday nights after they get out of work we usually just hang out or go to dinner together. My favorite dinners are when we get food that is just so much better at home, specifically pizza. The pizza back home is just so much better and that’s not up for debate. My favorite place to go is a little place called The Pie. They make so many different kinds of pizza and while it’s kind of expensive, its totally worth it when you haven’t had a good slice of pizza in months.

My favorite Pizza from The Pie

Sunday mornings my friends and I usually go to breakfast before I head back to the city to catch the bus to State College, this all usually depends on if we can get up early enough though. One of my favorite places to go is a little place called Brekky. Brekky is a little acai spot with some of the best acai bowls I’ve ever had. It’s also located right near the beach so my friends and I usually sit at the beach and eat our bowls. If we don’t go for acai, we usually go for bagels. (Sidenote: another topic not up for debate is NY bagels. They’re superior and we all know it.) I usually order an egg sandwich which is always amazing.

Getting acai at my favorite place

After having a great weekend with friends and family, I either take the train into New York City to catch the bus or get driven there. The trip back to State is about another five hours and I sleep almost the whole way.

Heading back into the city to catch the bus

Norwegian Escape docked in Bermuda

This week I’m going to tell you all about another amazing cruise ship I have been on, the Norwegian Escape. My family and I sailed on the Escape, which left from New York and docked in Bermuda for 3 days, in the summer of 2018. This gigantic cruise ship has a maximum capacity of 4,266 passengers along with its 1,733 crew members.

Guy Harvey artwork on the Bow of the ship

When we boarded the ship, we were fascinated not only by the beauty of the inside of the ship but the abundance of things to do all throughout the boat. There were many pools and hot tubs, waterslides, a mini-golf course, and even a grotto! The grotto was by far the coolest part of the onboard activities. This was such a unique thing, out of all the cruises I’ve been on I had never seen anything like it. My family and I loved walking through it.

Central lobby of the Norwegian Escape

The grotto aboard the ship

Another thing I loved about the Norwegian Escape was the abundance of cool little places to sit along the side of the ship and just watch the view as we were cruising. My family and I often sat in these spots to watch the sunset which seemed to get better and better every night.

Watching the sunset from the ship

Besides the fact that the food was amazing, the dining rooms were extravagant. We often requested to sit at a table near the window and had an amazing view of the water while eating dinner. One day while eating lunch we requested to sit by the window, it was raining for a while and as soon as the rain stopped, we saw a rainbow.

Main dining room aboard the Escape

The typical view at dinner

On the days that we were at sea on our way to and from Bermuda, my family and I often sat near the pool and enjoyed the waterslides or went to watch one of the many shows that they had to offer. We often went to look around in the many different shops aboard the ship and enjoyed other parts of the ship such as the arcade.

Norwegian Escape waterslides and pool

Another really cool part of the ship that I was too nervous to try was the plank. On the ropes course, there’s a plank that comes out of the side of the ship, hanging over the water. As part of the ropes course, you can ‘walk the plank.’ While I was too scared to do it, many people were trying it and it seemed really cool. Looking back on it now I probably should’ve tried it.

“Walking the plank” on Norwegian Escape

The Norwegian Escape was an amazing ship that I would definitely cruise on again. I also want to cruise on some of the newest Norwegian ships like the Norwegian Bliss as well as the whole new class of ships set to launch in 2022.

Anthem of the Seas docked in Haiti

So far I’ve been fortunate enough to have been on 6 cruises throughout my life. I’ve been on Carnival, Norwegian, Disney, and Royal Caribbean cruises. Today I’m going to tell you guys all about my experience on my favorite cruise ship thus far, Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas. I vacationed on this ship, which was the 4th largest cruise ship in the world at the time (now the 12th largest),  in the summer of 2016. During this 8 day cruise, we sailed from New Jersey to Bermuda, St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Haiti.

This huge ship which holds over 4,900 passengers had so many things to do within its 16 passenger decks throughout our time aboard. Throughout the week we went to the escape room aboard the ship, went in the indoor skydiving simulator, enjoyed the many different swimming pools, and so much more.

iFly skydiving simulator

One of the most amazing things we did while aboard the ship was when we went on what they called the north star. The north star is hard to explain but I guess you could consider it as a little pod type thing that holds about 7-10 people and then goes up into the air over the ship. The views from inside the north star were amazing.

North Star on Anthem of the Seas

View of the ship from the North Star

Another fun thing that we did while on the Anthem of the Seas was riding the bumper cars. Anthem had so many fun things to do that at some times it was easy to forget you were aboard a ship. There were basketball courts, videogame rooms, a rock-climbing wall, and so much more.

Bumper cars on Anthem of the Seas

Another fascinating feature of the ship was the bionic bar, a robot that made the drinks which you ordered off of a kiosk. Additionally, the food choices were endless. We were able to try a new restaurant for dinner every night and many nights after dinner we usually went to see one of the many different shows.

Anthem of the Seas Bionic Bar

Although my family and I hated leaving each beautiful island we visited at the end of the day, it made it a little easier knowing we were coming back to an amazing ship with so much to do. I’m hoping to set sail on Royal Carribean’s Harmony of the seas soon and I’m also very excited for Royal Carribean’s newest ships, The Odyssey of the Seas and the Wonder of the Seas, which are coming soon.

I love these pictures and chose to include them here at the end because they help to illustrate just how big this ship really is.

Come back next week to hear all about another amazing cruise ship I’ve been on, The Norwegian Escape!

Hey guys, I’m so glad to be writing this blog again this semester, writing about one of the things I love to do the most, travel. Today I’ll be telling you guys all about my experiences in my travels to St. Thomas, a part of the U.S. Virgin Islands located in the Caribbean.

View of St. Thomas from the ship

As some of you know from last semester, my family and I go on a cruise basically every summer. On these cruises, I have been able to see some pretty amazing places, I’ve gone to quite a few awesome beaches and that’s exactly what I did during my time in St. Thomas.

Sapphire Beach, St. Thomas

During my last trip to St. Thomas, my family and I got onto an open vehicle, kind of like a jeep, and we were taken across the island to Sapphire Beach. This calm little beach, away from the crowdedness and noise of the usual tourist areas of the island was truly beautiful. As I looked down the shore, the beach seemed to continue on forever. I decided to take a walk down the coastline and found so many little cool and secluded spots along the water.

More views of Sapphire Beach

While we were at Sapphire Beach, we rented snorkeling equipment which allowed us to see so many colorful fish under the bright blue water. As we swam and relaxed on the shore, we also saw some of the biggest pelicans we had ever seen. They would fly over the water and hover before diving in to catch fish.

We enjoyed an amazing day at the beach but the fun and sightseeing wasn’t over yet. On the way back to the cruise ship, we had plenty of time until we needed to board the boat for departure, so our tour guide stopped at an overlook with breathtaking views of the island. When we stopped at the overlook, there were different stands set up with locals selling different souvenirs which they had made.

Amazing views from the overlook

The views from the overlook were amazing. We spent quite a while here because none of us wanted to leave. I got some amazing pictures of the island and you could also see our cruise ship in the photo as well! This was one part of this trip to St. Thomas that I’ll never forget and this is the first thing that comes to my mind whenever I think of St. Thomas.

Once we returned to the ship after an amazing day, we sat at the back of the boat for lunch to watch the view as we departed from the amazing island of St. Thomas.

Views from the back of the ship