It’s everybody’s dream to go to the United States of America but for us Filipinos, it’s quite challenging. We need to secure a visa to enter their territory and the application is quite tough. It’s good that I have mine already.
In February 2011, I got my US visa and I immediately scheduled for a travel in September. It’s supposed to be in August, unfortunately, as per my work rotation it’s not possible.
My port of entry and exit was at the JFK International Airport in New York. I flew with Emirates Airlines whose flying that time one of the first Airbus A380s and as per Emirates A380 routes, New York JFK was one of their first eight destinations. My ticket was only Economy and I was very lucky to be upgraded to Business Class for FREE.
I only have 12 days of vacation in the US. I stayed with Maribeth’s family in Long Island. Starting from New York where my friends live, we drove to Maryland and Washington DC to see the US Capitol, the White House, Lincoln Memorial and the rest of the park. Then we had a stopover at Annapolis, Maryland for dinner and a stroll at the place before heading back to Baltimore. The next day, we drove back to New York with a stopover at Philadelphia for the Liberty Bell. We tried to catch the last ferry going to the Statue of Liberty at the Liberty State Park New Jersey, unfortunately, we missed the trip just for 15 minutes. We just had a quick stroll before going home in Long Island.
On my sixth day, we drove to Buffalo, NY for Niagara Falls. We started driving in the afternoon after the class of my teacher friend, Roy. It was quite a long drive that took us eight hours to reach Buffalo at midnight. The next day, we packed early for the Maid of the Mist ride towards Niagara Falls. In the afternoon, back to driving again for another 8-9 hours now heading to Michigan at Janelle’s place. Very good dinner was prepared by Janelle’s husband, Brian and at last we saw Jan’s 3-week old baby Nate. My US friends were united upon my visit.
The next day, Beth’s family and Roy will be going back to NY and I was left at Janelle’s place. But before they leave, we went to Post Farms for the blueberries. It’s such a nice experience and we really enjoyed picking fresh blueberries at the farm. I stayed at Janelle’s place for three days before going to Chicago.
When I arrived at the Chicago Union Station, another friend Romeo came to pick me up and toured me around the city. We also went to Willis Tower after roaming around Millennium Park. He even took me to the Planetarium to catch a wonderful view of Chicago’s Skyline. After that whole afternoon stroll, he took me to Ate Ellen’s place where I spent a night before flying back to New York.
Thursday noon, I flew with American Airlines from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to New York La Guardia Airport. This time I will stay at Woodside, NY with my former officemate in Manila, Pepe. We watched Broadway shows in Manhattan. We also went clubbing and barhopping after the show. The next day, I wandered at the Central Park alone and I am amazed how big the park is. We watched again another Broadway show in the evening.
It’s weekend and I am with Roy again. We went to the Statue of Liberty and roamed around Manhattan. At night, I met my former sales colleague Popoy and we went to the bars and karaoke the whole night. Roy and I should have to go to the Top of the Rock on Sunday but due to shopping sale at the Rockefeller, we were not able to go to. And finally, before we end our day, another high school batchmate of ours wanted to see us. We met Irish at BestBuy 5th Ave and walked towards Bryant Park for chitchat. At 8PM we parted ways with Irish. Roy and I went back to his apartment in Woodside to pick-up my bag before going back to Beth’s place in Long Island.
My flight will be on the following night so I packed my luggage first before sleeping. Beth and Jing drop me at the airport Monday night for my departure.
It was a well-spent vacation. I’ve met my friends and spent some quality time with them. I enjoyed the tour in which they really exerted an effort of taking me here and there. I am so thankful for their hospitality
America is so big, where I’ve been was only a portion of it! For sure there will be a comeback before my visa will expire in 2021. 🙂
Been here : September 5-19, 2011
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