At a very young age, from two years old to six years old, I traveled the world with my parents. We would spend our winters in Anaheim, California and stay here in Carbondale for the nice summer days. My dad had a dream to explore the world and make memories with a family of his, and now this was his chance. A typical normal family would fly cross country to California, but we usually drove. Flying to California was never the same to us. We got to see and drive through every state than being up in the air where the clouds are in the way for seeing the view. My parents would always keep me occupied on these long car rides. Car rides like these my mother came prepared. I couldn't live without my Goldfish and Teddy Grahams, and my dad with his strawberry Twizzlers. My parents would always keep me occupied on these long car rides. My mother always held our thick DVD case that carried all my movies. I had so many DVD's that I had to replace some and leave some at home, which was very difficult for me since I cherished every single one. I had probably hit the world record for watching the movie Annie and High School Musical multiple times as a kid.
I of course, as an impatient child, would ask my dad every now and then “Are we there yet?”. My dad would look at me through the mirror and say “almost”, even if we left Pennsylvania 2 hours before. Driving through different towns and cities showed me different ethnic groups. I remember the way people in Georgia talked with their southern accents in Atlanta. The reason why we would always stop here for a few nights was because of their food that was never forgotten. You cannot go to Georgia and not order a bucket of fried chicken. Their chicken was somehow so sweet, tender, and greasy at the same time, but it was worth it. I would also eat their chicken and biscuits until I was blue in the face. The creamy gravy and the fluffy biscuits, that would just come out of the oven, would put this masterpiece all together on a plate. The tall and bright buildings amazed me like I have never seen a big building before. This city reminded me of New York City as the town always kept busy, traffic jams, and raging drivers on the roads. These southern people were either kind and humble to you or judged you by the color of your skin. Being five years old at the time, I never noticed these kinds of things. I never noticed how differently we were treated in some towns or how having different colored skin to them was odd.
My mother would always have this frightened look on her face as we arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana. We would always get here when it was dark outside and scary. It was a tradition to my dad stopping here to eat the best seafood, that was to die for. I was never interested into eating seafood, but not when it came eating desserts here. New Orleans make these scrumptious pastries called beignets, or how I used to call them, “powdered donuts”. They were pretty much a donut instead without the hole with powdered sugar on top that melts in your mouth. The best part of the dessert is biting into the moist dough. People would be walking on the narrow roads and dancing in the middle of the streets. Families at their homes would have balconies and would come out when they heard their unusual music playing. They would be very loud and hectic every night, keeping us awake in our hotel room. Every time we came here, I would get very sick. I would have these bad fevers and throw up everything I would consume. My mother would be right on me every moment and would make sure I took my Tylenol every few hours. Since my mom and I spend most of our free time in the hotel room, my dad would spend those few nights being bored and wandering around the streets by himself.
Going to Albuquerque, New Mexico was always a fun experience to me. People think New Mexico is a desert and tumbleweeds, but there's so much more. They have these fascinating paintings on sides of the buildings that were so unique and lifelike. There were many houses that were painted with exotic colors. The houses were either very small and old or they were mansions. The people here usually had big families that lived in these houses. The only thing I would eat in Albuquerque was white rice and tacos. They are known for their red and green Chiles, but unlike my mother who loves spicy food, I refuse to eat anything spicy. Different ages of girls would run around and dance with their ruffle skirts and use their castanets proudly. The families would be playing their music that would keep their feet going. This town and some parts did not have bright lights, busy roads, or loud people. These towns were my favorite to visit. They knew how to have a great time with their family and friends which made me happy. This town reminded me of an old mysterious western movie in some sort of way. The buildings were old, they were in a desert, and they didn’t used a lot of technology it seemed like. The mountains here never looked real to me. I would always stare at them and think how it looked like a painting somebody threw up there as a background.
The relief of entering in the state of California is a different feeling. We would first drive through downtown Los Angeles which was always shady down there. Yet there was tall buildings and palm trees in downtown Los Angeles, but there was a lot of crime involved. I can remember vividly the police cars and ambulances racing the streets. I used to think it was so funny how my dad knew almost every street in Los Angeles like it was in the back of his head. Our hotel that we stayed in Anaheim was very close to Knott's Berry Farm. We were so close to it, that we were able to see one of the rollercoaster rides from our window. I would sit by the window and watch how many times the people on the ride would go through the loop on the roller coaster. We would spend our Thanksgiving eating dinner at the Knott's Berry Farm. We would get this full course meal that included coded fried chicken, steaming hot mashed potatoes, and their homemade stuffing which I never liked. Coming here to California every winter seemed normal to me. I, for some reason, thought all families traveled like this and done this for a living. As I got older, I realized that my life was not any normal life. If I didn't travel like this as a kid, I think I would be living my life more different. My family showed me that life is precious and we only live once. They showed me to take risks in life and just to have fun, and I am thankful for that.