Washington D.C.

When you live as close to the Nation's capitol as I do, you have no excuse not to visit.
It offers tourist attractions beyond the plain fact that it is the heart of the Nation.
Some attractions include the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and the Library of Congress.
You might also visit the International Spy Museum, National Gallery of Art, National Building Museum and a Textile Museum.
Each year the city holds the National Cherry Blossom Festival, this year was it's 96th. Thousands of people go to see the city during the time that the trees are blossoming and it really is beautiful.
Also recently, the city held one of the Nation's largest inaugural celebrations for President Obama.
D.C. is a historically rich city and a great place for a day trip, or two. You will definitely be able to keep busy between visiting different buildings, parks and museums throughout the area.

Viva Las Vegas!

Las Vegas is likely one of the most well known cities to visit in the United States. I drove through the city once when I was about 14. We were going to visit my brother who was stationed some where out there. The city looks pretty amazing from the sky, its like one huge light show.
Vegas has been featured in countless movies. Fear and Loathing, the Ocean's movies, and many more. I would have liked to have been able to stop and walk around, but my parents weren't too excited about it. So maybe sometime in the future I'll go back. I'm sure it will be much more exciting to me now, at legal age, than when I was 14.
This is personally one place I would really like to visit again within the States. Its kind of one of the cities you just have to see, like New York or D.C. Vegas is home to casinos, concerts and all kinds of shows.

Deep Creek Lake

A popular vacation spot in Maryland is Deep Creek Lake located in Garrett County.

The park surrounds the state's largest man-made lake. Hiking, picnicking, swimming and boating are some of the activities available.

The park is a good vacation spot for families or friends to go. The Meadow Mountain campground has over one hundred camp sites which can be reserved from the spring through the fall for up to two weeks. Twenty-six of these sites have electric hook up available.

Some place a little closer than Yellowstone National Park. Depending on what sounds like your kind of vacation, Deep Creek Lake is somewhere to consider. I'll bet it is cheaper than traveling across the country.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established in 1872, covers land in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

I am lucky to say that this is one of the places I have been able to visit within the United States. The park is home all kinds of animals such as grizzly bears, wolves, coyotes and moose. Yellowstone is also home to the well known Old Faithful geyser. It is an awesome place to visit.

While the park is beautiful it is also potentially threatening. The park sits on top of one of the world's largest super volcanoes. If sizable eruption were to occur the effects would be nationally devastating. It really is kind of unsettling when you think about what an eruption could do. However, experts say that another eruption of catastrophic size won't happen for a few thousand years.

You can check the information gathered by the scientists who monitor the volcano's activity here.

Spring Break

Instead of hitting the beaches for spring break, I traveled to Hungary for a week. It was probably the coolest thing I've ever gotten to do. Luckily, we knew some people who had traveled to the United States last summer to study so we had a place to stay and great tour guides.
Hungary is not the first place I would have thought to vacation to but I couldn't pass up the opportunity. We spent the first couple of days in Budapest, the capital, then traveled by train to Szeged, which is a big university town. While in Szeged we visited, among other places, a huge cathedral and the Szeged Plaza. It was amazing to see a place filled with so much history. In Budapest we visited their "Statue of Liberty" and the castle the city was originally built around. The cities were especially beautiful at night, as you can see in the picture. The architecture is nothing like the buildings we see here. I could go on and on about the experience but I'll stop here.
Unfortunately, the friend I was traveling with got pretty sick halfway through the trip so we spent more time inside than we would've liked. But in the short time I was there I met some amazing people who really seem to be proud of where they are from. I know there is much more that I was not able to see so hopefully I can make my way back there sometime in the not too distance future.

Baltimore Maryland

Sticking with the local venue theme, I'll talk about the Inner Harbor in Baltimore Maryland.

The Harbor is only about 45 minutes away from my home so it's some place I like to visit often. There are many attractions there such as the Science Center, the U.S.S Constellation, a shopping center, the Baltimore Aquarium and cruises on the Spirit of Baltimore. Not to mention, you're not far from Camden Yards, home of the Orioles and M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens.

If you're looking for some place to visit, keep the Harbor in mind. I know it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoy it. Spend the day by the water, visit a museum or do some shopping. And while you're there, grab some dinner at one of the restaurants on the water. Unfortunately, I don't have any of my pictures to post, my computer recently stopped working and I haven't found a way to get my pictures off of it yet.

A Little Closer to Home...

I decided that since all of the places I've been writing about have been pretty far away and would cost a good chunk of change to get there, I'll do some more local (to me) locations that are more affordable too.
I've lived in Maryland my whole life and always wanted to live on the water. This is probably because we have a boat we take out almost every weekend during the spring and summer and into the fall. Solomons Island is one of the places we have traveled, and it was quite different than the busy city life.
While there you can jetski, kayak or try to catch some fish. You can also charter a boat for big fishing on the Chesapeake or a sailboat for a more relaxing day. Whatever you decide to do on the water, you should try to visit the shops and grab a bite to eat.
Solomons Island is open all year. Visitors can make a day trip out of it or stay in a hotel or bed and breakfast. The island is quaint and full of relaxing charm.