Will and I decided to turn our drive up to New York City for my 3-week summer program into a little vacation. Luckily we have friends and family perfectly situated along the way so we got to stay with them (free lodging!) and spend time exploring new places.
Day 1
There’s nothing much going on this day except for roads and rest stops. It’s about a 9 hour drive from Orlando to Raleigh where one of my good friend, Beka, and her husband live.
Day 2 – Fourth of July
We wanted to make sure we got to spend today with our friends since they both have off work. Nothing was on the agenda per se, we just explored the Raleigh-area: nature hike, pool time, & fireworks.
Day 3
Will and I hung out in Sola Coffee for the morning to get some work done. And my friend happens to manage a local yoga studio so we got a little down dog in at noon. After our yoga session, we popped over to see Duke’s campus – holy gorgeous! It’s like the set of Harry Potter!
Day 4
On our way up to Washington, D.C. to stay with my cousin, Will and I stopped by the historic Colonial Williamsburg. I went as a kid ages ago and I couldn’t wait to show Will around the town. As a history buff this place is the stuff of my dreams! But all in all, it was a long day, about 3 hour drive from Raleigh to Williamsburg and then another three hours to D.C.
Day 5
We have both been to D.C. before a couple of times so there was no pressure to get up with the sun to see all the monuments which was a blessing because the previous day was long. My number one goal was the National Gallery of Art, because, shockingly, I’ve never been. And in the evening we wandered around cute downtown Georgetown and watch a movie on the park.
Read more: Doors of D.C.
Day 6 & 7
Last day of our road trip! We had brunch with my cousin and then prepared for the 5-ish hour drive up to NYC. My program doesn’t start until Monday but we got to check into the dorms early for free. Spent Saturday and Sunday just settling in and seeing my New York family.
JMF
