Traveling with Sarah

My First Cruise!

2004-12-15T22:52:00.000-08:00

This December break I will be going on my first cruise! The name of the ship am going on is the Brilliance of the Seas . The cruise is 10 days long which means I will be spending News Years onboard. I am very eager to leave snowy Michigan and lay out in the sun. While I know most of my time will be spent on the pool deck, I am also excited to have fancy dinners, see the onboard shows, and dance in the club.

The cruise stops at many amazing ports. We start in Miami, Florida and travel to Aruba, Panama Canal, Costa Rica, and Grand Cayman. I am really excited to go to all of these cool places. The only port that I have been to before is Grand Cayman. I went there when I was much younger so I can't wait to go back and see what I remember. Below is a picture of the itinerary.

Chicago

2004-12-11T22:50:00.000-08:00

Since my sister moved to Chicago to attend Northwestern Law School, I have visited every chance I've gotten! When I drive it usually takes between 4 and 5 hours depending on traffic, and the train also leaves right from Ann Arbor, so it's a pretty easy trip. The law school is right downtown near the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Avenue shopping) so her apartment is also in that great area. There is so much to do in Chicago, and every time I go we do something different.

Last year I went for the Northwestern vs Michigan football game which was fun. It was crazy to see the size of their stadium compared to the Big House! I have also seen shows there such as Second City, been to amazing restaurants, and had drinks at the top of the John Hancock building. Last time I visited, I also went to a Cubs game and had my first time at Wrigleyville. To see my teammate's account of his visit to Wrigleyville and a link to a site click here.

Mexico

2004-12-03T22:53:00.000-08:00

Throughout my travels I have been lucky enough to experience Mexico four times!! My first trip was when I was still in middle school, and my family went to Cancun for a week. I can't remember much of that trip as it was so long ago, but one thing I know about it is that it was a very different trip than my other three times in Mexico. This is because the other times I went was for spring break with my friends!!!

Senior year spring break at my high school is a huge deal, and going to Cancun with most of my class was the trip of a lifetime. I had so much fun on that trip, that when spring break came again when I was a freshman in college, I had to return. To learn more about Mexico click here !!!

As a sophomore in college, I decided to change it up a little bit and go to Acapulco instead. The classy and more sophisticated clubs in Acapulco made for a nice change of scenery compared to Cancun. My favorite club was called Paladium and I went there 3 out of the 7 nights I was there.

At the Paladium, a guy known as the Devil comes out around 3-4am and dances in the middle of the club. It is soooo cool! Below is a picture of him:

Currently I am a junior, and I do not intend on going back to Mexico anytime soon. If you have any suggestions for a spring break trip for me this year - let me know!!

Miami

2004-11-30T22:25:00.000-08:00

Last summer, in August of 2004, my family and I traveled to Miami, Florida for my cousin's wedding. We stayed at The Palms Hotel South Beach . While in South Beach, I experienced the crazy nightlife on both Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive. I also got to see the famous Art Deco style that South Beach is famous for.

Mango's Bar was one of my favorite places. All of the walls were painted like a jungle making it an amazing atmosphere. Here is a picture:

Another one of my favorite places was Rascal House. This place has the best french toast in the world. Here is a picture:

During the time we spent in Miami we also visited where my Dad grew up. He showed us his old neighborhood and the house he lived in. It was very interesting to finally see all the places that I heard so much about. Overall, this was a great trip!

Arizona

2004-11-24T21:31:00.000-08:00

This past summer I spent a week in Scottsdale, Arizona for a leadership conference with Deloitte (one of the big four accounting firms). It was called the "Deloitte National Leadership Conference" and I stayed in a very nice resort with many other college students and Deloitte professionals from around the country.

Although the week was mostly meetings and activities in the resort, we were able to have some time for fun. During our free time of course the first thing I did was try to get some sun! I knew it was going to be hot, but I didn't realize exactly how hot it really was going to be! I was lucky enough to be there not only in the middle of July but also when it was unseasonably hot and around 110 degrees! But, the worst part wasn't laying in the sun, but the pool as it was not refreshing at all and felt like hot bath water!

Another fun thing we did was attend an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game. It was a very cool place, and I even got to see the swimming pool they have in there and are so famous for! Here is a link to a site showing the pool in the ballpark, along with the other suite options.

Teen Mission to Israel

2004-11-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

During the summer of 2000, I was fortunate to be able to go to Israel. The Teen Mission is an organized trip where 350 high school students from Metro-Detroit spend 6 weeks touring Israel. While there, we visited historical places such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Golan Heights. The most meaningful day was when we visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem. While there, it is customary to write a prayer on a small piece of paper and put it in a crack in the wall. After placing it in the wall I prayed along with hundreds of other people. Another memorable time was the time we floated in the Dead Sea. Visiting Israel with all of my friends was an amazing opportunity that I will always remember.

Test

2004-11-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

Sarah Williams

I am a student at the University of Michigan.

The OC

Sarah Williams, sawi@umich.edu