My Top Ten Trips So Far
By Justine Seligson
Being the daughter of a travel writer, I get to go to lots of great places. I know I'm extraordinarily lucky, but then again, I'm helping my mom do her job. She asks me my opinion which helps her write her articles. Here are my favorite trips (along with what I remember most about each one), in no special order.
Smugglers’ Notch, Vermont. This is where I first started skiing. I’ll never forget Mogul Mouse, the resort’s mascot who was always wandering around the ski lift area. I also loved the outdoor pool here. We’d swim at night, looking up at the stars when it was freezing outside!
The Bahamas. We went there when I was five. It was the first time I Ieft the country. At the time, it seemed really foreign because we went to a Junkanoo party, where the locals danced in costumes and played the drums.
London. We traveled to London with three other kids and our parents. At one point, we all piled into one of those old British phone booths. It was a riot. What I’ll never forget about London was Princess Diana’s playground. It had all sorts of cool things, including a pirate’s ship, but the real thrill was being that close to royalty.
Washington, DC. Because of a family connection, we got a private tour of the White House including the West Wing with the Oval Office and the room where they do the press conferences. It was really cool.
Colonial Williamsburg. We went there when I was in the peak “American Girl Doll" years. I brought my doll Felicity, who represents a girl from that era, and she went everywhere with us. My mom could not get me to leave the house where they were going to be filming the Felicity movie. I was obsessed.
Arizona. Besides a trip to a dude ranch in Wyoming when I was one (not exactly riding at that point), it was my first trip to the West. I loved seeing the Grand Canyon and trying to imagine how long it took to be carved out like that. We hiked down into it, passing the donkey riders along the way.
Paris. I was nine when we flew across the Atlantic to Paris and it was the first time I went to a country where they didn’t speak English. It also was the first time I had escargot (not sure I’ve had them since). I loved walking along the Seine, looking for cats on the houseboats.
Greece. The one thing I had in my mind that I HAD to do in this country was ride the donkeys on one of the islands. I wanted to do this ever since I had seen Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I was able to do so on Santorini, up the side of the caldera. A little steep!
Hawaii. We went to two islands in Hawaii—Maui and Molokai. What I loved most were the smoothies, each one was better than the last. We rented a convertible on both islands and zipped around alongside the ocean. It was unbelievably beautiful.
Botswana and Zambia. Seeing animals—such as elephants, zebras, giraffes and lions—strolling around the savannah was amazing. One of the most unbelievable moments was when a baby elephant came right up to our deck.
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