Nic Trips

2019 Road Trip, Stop #6 Savannah, GA Day 2 - Tybee Island To the east of Savannah, about a 25 minute drive from downtown is the Atlantic coast and BEACH on Tybee Island. On the northern end lies a few sight seeing spots! First is the Tybee Island Light Station (and museum), seen below. I didn't go into the museum, but the view from outside was great as well - especially in the beautiful weather that continues to follow me everywhere I go! Across from the lighthouse and parking lot for the beach is Fort Screven, which was built in 1899 and used for coastal defense until it was shut down in 1947. Now it stands as a historic site and museum and is open to tourists for an admission fee. If you continue walking north from the lighthouse, to the left of the fort, you'll find the entrance to "North Beach". The beach stretches the entire eastern front of the island and split into 3 sections: North Beach, Mid Beach, and South Beach. The entire length of the thre...

2019 Road Trip, Stop #6 Savannah, GA Day 1 - The Historic District Savannah is a beautiful city that I have not been to since I was very little. I love architecture, the lush greenery and the hanging moss that droops from the trees and blows in the wind. It gives a feeling of old nature and tranquility. The city is full of groomed, green squares, art and history. On the day that I spent exploring (or rather shown around by my aunt) the downtown historic district of Savannah, we parked in the center on the east side and started north. Following Abercorn Street and walking through Colonial Park Cemetery. This is not the most famous cemetery in Savannah, but my aunt shared an interesting bit of history with me - that many of the graves were emptied or looted and gravestones defiled, moved or dates changed by the Union soldiers that occupied the area at one point during the Civil War. Moving across the district, you will pass through several squares, one of which (pi...

2019 Road Trip, Stop #5 Greenville, SC My stop in South Carolina was mostly aimed at visiting some extended family members and catching up with them. We got dinner together the night I arrived and my cousin took me out for some drinks and to show my the city at night afterwards. But during the day on the following Saturday before I left for Georgia, they took me to this gorgeous park area near downtown Greenville called "Falls Park on the Reedy" (referring to the Reedy River). This park has a curved, single-sided, suspension bridge called "Liberty Bridge" which is the only of it's kind in the US. It over looks the waterfall and north through the rest of the park towards main street. The park follows the Reedy River about a half mile, with walking paths and beautiful buildings on either side. This historical building without windows is an iconic spot on the river bank: the Peace Center Wyche Pavilion. Another spot in the city I got t...

2019 Road Trip, Stop #3 Washington D.C. Day 2 For the 2nd and last day in Washington D.C. I wanted to spend some time in the Smithsonian Museums. Once day, I would love to come to this city and spend an entire week or more readying every piece of information available in every single museum around the National Mall, but since I only had a few hours to spare, I chose two. National Air and Space Museum I started with the National Air and Space Museum. I have been here a few times in the past: once or twice on family vacations, and I think once on a school field trip. But it's really an inspiring museum, and since I didn't have enough time to see things in the depth I'd prefer, I figured I'd do something familiar. Unfortunately, almost HALF of the museums exhibits were closed for renovations at the time, but I still got to see some of the more famous exhibits. Of course the main floor full of space crafts, satellites, and lunar module was open. They town ove...

2019 Road Trip, Stop #3 Washington D.C. Day 1 The National Mall of Washington, D.C. has more things to see than you could possibly manage in a week - let alone 2 days! Monuments, memorials, and museums galore! But I tried my best to see as much as possible in my short time with the sure intention that I'd be back again in the near future to more thoroughly explore this beautiful city in more detail. I started Day 1 of my explorations at the East end of the National Mall at the US Capitol building. The exterior of the southern half (where the House of Representatives resides) was under construction at the time, but the majestic building still made for a great picture! Above is the Western front of the building and below is the Eastern side. In front of the Eastern side of the building below the plaza lies the visitor entrance and shop. I didn't really have a plan ahead of time for my wanderings that day, and thought I might mosey over to check it out - maybe tak...

We returned to our hostel late that evening from our trip to the wall. As we started scouting out some dinner (which would end up consisting of tomato and egg soup with fried noodles), we decided to walk from our hostel all the way down to the Forbidden City in hopes of seeing the gate lit up at night. We were not disappointed. Although freezing, and we could barely stand to remove our hands from our gloves for more than a few seconds to snap some pictures, it was well worth the long walk. The following morning, we got an early start to the day, leaving our hostel at nearly 9 am. Our plan was to see as many things as possible, starting with the National Museum of China. To our dismay, however, we found that almost all of the popular tourist destinations in Beijing are  closed  on Mondays. Although the city itself was closed on Monday, the tourists are allowed to enter the front gate, called Tiananmen, which is the monumental entrance to the city that we saw lit up th...