It’s been a long 18 months, for reasons we are all aware of. We live on the west coast and my husband’s family lives on the east coast. Unfortunately, we have not seen any family on my husband’s side for over a year and a half.
My daughter missed her cousins and her grandmother dearly. My in-laws live in Philadelphia, PA. Every year, my Mother-in-law plans a big family reunion trip. Unfortunately the family reunion trip was canceled last year because, well…..everyone’s plans got cancelled last year.
This year, she wanted to plan something special since it had been so long since the family was able to get together. We decided to go to Sea Isle City in New Jersey, aka the Jersey Shore!
The beach! The boardwalk! A road trip! The Food! The Salt Water Taffy!
Needless to say we were all very excited to finally travel again, see our family and THE BEACH!
I think we all needed a vacation after the last year.
The plan was for my lil’ fam to fly from Utah to Philly, then drive about 2.5 hours from Philly to Sea Isle City, NJ.
I have some very good friends. I am so lucky to have such good friends and one of those friends is Buick who was so very kind to loan me a 2021 Buick Encore GX Essence – AWD. Just take a look at that beauty below. It was even chili red to boot!
I was so so privileged to get this gorgeous Buick for the week. This five-person SUV was the perfect vehicle for a road trip. Now, we had all our luggage for our lil’ fam for 10 days fit comfortably in the back.
Now picture this; I pack a lot. I have to! An 11 day trip across the country where the weather is a little capricious to say the least. We live in the DRY rocky mountains. The humid summers always throw me for a loop. I’m melting hot in the day, goosebump cold at night and the random rain showers?!?!
This all equals lots of different clothes, depending on the coast’s weather decision of the day. Now, don’t get me started on the packing I did for my daughter! Moral of this long story is we had a lot of luggage. But it fit no problem in this girl.
In fact, if you need more space, all the seats in the back lie down to fit any of your needs for any needed extra cargo space. The 40/60 split rear seats allow you to lay down the seat and fit whatever you need, in our case, lots of luggage.
So, now that we got the back of the 2021 Buick Encore GX Essence out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff that comes with this fabulous vehicle:
- Panoramic sunroof
- Heated Steering Wheel
- Heated Front Seats
- Active Noise Cancellation
- Acoustic Laminated Glass
- Bose Premium Audio System
- Climate Control with dual zone controls
- Hands-Free Power Lift Gate
- Lane Assist
- Front Pedestrian braking
- Forward Collision Alert
- Following Distant Indicator
- Cruise Control
- Parking Assist (This was my absolute favorite feature)
- Teen Driver Mode
- Apple and Android Carplay
- Wireless Smartphone Charging
This was my most favorite feature of my Buick Encore GX Essence. I loved being able to see the entire SUV on the screen. Regular parking and parallel parking was a breeze!
Honestly, this SUV has so many amazing features, it was a JOY to drive. The perfect long road or short road vehicle.
This Buick had an awesome screen that popped up to see your MPH. I never had to take my eyes off the road. The safety features were top notch!
So let’s get driving on the ROAD TRIP! First stop is obviously Wawa to grab some snacks and drinks for the road!
What makes a good road trip? We all know the rules. Good tunes, yummy snacks and a smooth ride. What makes a good vacay? Good food, relaxing and unique experiences. Come with me on my road trip from Philly to the Jersey Shore.
The ride is so beautiful. We obviously had to stop at the side of the highway for some fresh Jersey tomatoes.
We made it! So happy to be at the beach!
The weather is beautiful, the sand is warm and the water is chill. Not cold, but chill. And what I love about the Atlantic Ocean is that it is not covered in seaweed! Look how pretty that sand is?
First stop on the trip is to Mike’s Seafood. The freshest seafood there is and I went for their lobster roll.
Our days were filled with relaxing at the beach during the day, hanging out at the boardwalk at night and an occasional breakfast at the pier for a pork-roll and egg sandwich.
The boardwalk is such a magical place. The ocean, the food and the amusement parks. Rides, games, the people, the sights! There really isn’t anything like it.
Food on the beach is just it’s own paradise.
Thanks for going on this road trip with me. This SUV is amazing and was such a fun adventure.
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