Tag: travel

New England Trip 2018 – Day 1 (Home to Boston)

by Simran Jayasinghe

We woke up on July 4th at 4:30 a.m. We were so excited! We were going to Boston! We got all our bags together and checked to make sure that we had packed everything we needed. We had gone shopping before the trip to get all of us our own suitcase, so that everyone could fit everything they needed. It took us some time to get out of the house, and we ended up leaving the house at 6:50 a.m. to drive to Los Angeles International Airport. We were supposed to board our flight at around 10:30, so we were all yelling at our dad to hurry up! We had a very exciting drive to LAX, as all of us were anticipating the start of our vacation!

We got to the airport at around 8:30 a.m , but we had to drive around looking for the long-term parking lot that was by the airport. The lot we had directions to was full, so we were directed to a second parking lot. Guess what? That was full too. Then we were sent to a different parking garage, the Wally Express, which, finally, did have space. We parked and took the Wally Shuttle to our terminal. Next came the long process of checking in our baggage, going through TSA check, and then actually finding our gate. We were flying on JetBlue, which was the airline we liked the most out of the two we had been on. By the way, if you ever are at a loss of what airline to fly with, pick JetBlue, its our personal favorite. At around 10:30 a.m, we heard our flight called and boarded our flight.  nAfter takeoff, we were served unlimited complimentary drinks and had the option to buy snack boxes. The three kids each got the Pick Me Up Box, which consists of three different types of cheese, crackers, and raisins. I entertained myself throughout the 5 and a half hour long flight by watching the movies, The Incredibles, and Jurassic Park. I also reread the book, When the Sea Turns Silver by Grace Lin. It was a riveting book, and helped pass some time of the flight. (For a book review on When the Sea Turns Silver, click here.) The enjoyable flight was full of relaxing, watching movies, reading, listening to music, and drinking lots and lots of ginger ale, (our parents argue that it is soda but I stubbornly disagree). After we landed, we were all We collected our luggage and took a shuttle to the rental car office.

There, our dad spent a good half-hour in line just to be told that he had been upgraded to be a ‘preferred member’ and had to go wait in a line at a different office!

In Boston with our rental car, a Chevrolet Equinox!

 

Shortly after, we got our rental car, a Chevrolet Equinox. It was the perfect car for this trip because it had enough space for all of our bags, and, trust me, we had a lot. The car was also very comfortable. The only thing that I did not like about the car, was that I did not have a seat warmer!

We drove to our hotel in Boston, a Homewood Inn and Suites by Hilton, and checked in. The room was not bad. It did have a decent amount of space, and it wasn’t too cramped. It had a King sized bed, and a couch pullout bed. It was clean, and we did not have any problems. We were very hungry after our long day and got takeout from The Best Burger Bar for dinner. We really didn’t have a choice in were to eat, as it was 10:30 at night! It was about a 5-10 minute walk from our hotel, so Dad, and the three kids walked there to get our food. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. After eating our dinner, we all went to bed, tired from our long day.

To see Svara’s restaurant review of The Best Burger Bar, click here.

La Quinta Resort and Spa – A Review

by Simran Jayasinghe

On a Thursday morning, in August of 2017, our family piled into our car with all of our suitcases and bags. Every year, at the end of summer, our family takes a vacation, to just relax. My sisters and I were excited. We had packed a deck of cards, and were ready to be stuck in a car for three hours on the way to Palm Springs!

Our first stop was the Cabazon Outlets. There, we stretched our legs, and enjoyed Wetzel Pretzel’s in the relaxing shade of a tree. We also shopped for back to school items, like new sneakers, etc. After we were done shopping, we drove to our hotel, the La Quinta Resort & Club.

Fountain at the Entrance of the La Quinta Resort and Club
Fountain at the Entrance of the La Quinta Resort and Club

When we arrived at the resort, we found out that there were 41 pools throughout the resort! This got our attention, as pools are really important to us because our whole family loves the water. We checked in, and got to our hotel room. Our dad had booked a Spa Villa for us. The hotel room was delightful, especially because the A.C. was on, and it was really hot outside. The hotel room had a small kitchen, with a full size refrigerator, a countertop microwave, and a stove. The room had a master bedroom and a living space with a couch, a T.V. and a fireplace.

Master bedroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Master bedroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Living room at the La Quinta Resort and Club.
Living room at the La Quinta Resort and Club.
Full Kitchen at the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Full Kitchen at the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club

 

 

 

 

 

The pullout bed in the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
The pullout bed in the Spa Villa at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Master bathroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Spa
Master bathroom in the spa villa at the La Quinta Resort and Spa

The couch was a pullout bed for my sisters and I, so that our parents got to sleep in the big bed in the master bedroom. There were two bathrooms, one off the master bedroom, and another in the living area. The room did have a sort of outdoor patio, but on the patio space right outside the kitchen, we did discover some rolled up dirty diapers! P.U! We notified the resort staff, and it was quickly taken care of.

It didn’t take long for us to get relaxed in the hotel room, and at about 7 p.m we went to the pool because it had cooled down a little. We were so happy because our room was right next to the pool! My sisters and I swam around and relaxed in the pool, taking turns splashing our dad, who just sat in the pool the whole time. Our parents went to find some food to have for dinner, and we ended up having Subway. Then, we all fell soundly asleep, to wake up the next morning in Palm Springs!

Relaxing at one of the 41 pools at the La Quinta Resort and Club
Relaxing at one of the 41 pools at the La Quinta Resort and Club

Our family stayed at the resort for five days, which let us experience many things. We to go relax at the pools, play tennis and golf, go to restaurants, and shop. Our family really liked this resort, and recommend it if you need a vacation in the beautiful desert city of Palm Springs!

Palm Springs – A Word on Travel

By Simran Jayasinghe

All smiles at the Homewood Suites!
All smiles at the Homewood Suites!

Not too long ago we went to Palm Springs for a relaxing vacation. It was the end of summer, everybody in our family needed a break from all our summer activities. We drove out to Palm Springs and stayed there for about 5 days. We started in San Diego, and traveled north on interstate 15 to the 79 east, then to the 371 east, and finally onto the 74 east which brought us to Indian Wells near Palm Springs. We drove through the Cahuilla Reservation, and the Santa Rosa and San Janito mountains. The scenery was beautiful, and the drive was enjoyable.

It was a nice, relaxing vacation, even though most days it was really, hot, usually around 105 degrees.  Since it was so hot outside, we took advantage of the hotel’s air conditioning, and stayed in the room all day playing Monopoly, cards, and other games we had brought along.  We stayed at a Homewood Inn and Suites. The hotel room was perfect for our family because it had a room with a king bed and a living area with a sofa bed. The room also had an oven, a microwave, a stove, and a sink.

The hotel had a complimentary breakfast, which was wonderful, and they also had an evening snack, that was scrumptious as well. The hotel had a nice pool and gym. We swam on a couple of days, and when we did, it was late in the evening because it was cooler. We used the gym a couple times too, all five of us, my Mom, Dad, two sisters, and I. The location of the hotel was convenient. Just next to the hotel was an Applebee’s, and we ended up ordering food from there most days.  Overall, the stay was relaxing and enjoyable,  and if we go to Palm Springs again, we will be sure to stay at the same hotel!