When I was planning this year, I didn't really think that much about living and studying and day-to-day life, I thought about all the places I want to travel. Lehigh is situated in this lovely, but very small, town with great connections to the rest of the East coast and after two weeks here, I'm ready to do some exploring. This semester is going to have to be pretty cheap as my scholarship money doesn't come through until December, but I hope to go to at least one big city each month. I have been lucky enough to wrangle my timetable so that I have every Friday off which should make weekend trips a lot easier!
September: New York
In three weeks time my parents are flying over to New York for the weekend and I'll get the bus to meet them. I am really excited to properly see New York for the first time (driving through wasn't quite the same!) and to see my family again! I am hoping to visit New York many, many times this year, but it is really nice to explore it with people first before I go and tackle it on my own.
October: Washington DC
I still haven't quite decided whether to go for Washington DC or Boston for the pacing break, I think it will depend a little on the weather and a little bit on hostel prices. For the moment I'm leaning towards Washington, but I may yet change my mind. Aside from the history and important landmarks such as the white house, part of my simply wants to go because of the scene in Forrest Gump with the Vietnam war protest and the fountain, it always makes me cry.
November: Philadelphia
One of my bucket list things for this year was to go see a concert, and when I saw that John Mayer was touring as a part of Dead and Company, I figured why not just go for it? So in November I have booked my tickets and my hostel to go for a weekend in Philadelphia. I have never actually stayed in a hostel on my own before, despite all the travelling I've done, so it is going to be a very different experience to my usual trips, but one I'm really looking forward to. I've always wanted to travel alone, so this year is a great opportunity for me to be independent and visit the places that I want to visit without any one else's opinions on what to do or see. Being on my own here has been a lot harder than I thought, so I'm sure that after a couple of solo trips I will be more than happy to travel with friends again!
December: Toronto
Over the Christmas holidays, I am hoping to go and stay with my Aunt and Uncle in Toronto, either in their house on the outskirts of the city or in their amazing cabin. I haven't been to visit since I was about thirteen, so it would be great to see them and explore Toronto once more! Though I reckon it will be a little bit colder than when I was last there in the summer!
So I have a lot to look forward to as I slog through my heap of reading, so many places are within my reach. Sometimes I wish that I was living in a big exciting city like Amsterdam, Berlin or San Diego, but then I remember how beautiful my campus is, wander across the bridge and down the river, book a couple of trips across the North East, and realise that it isn't all that bad after all.
