With Spring Break starting, some students are staying at home and sleeping in while others plan on traveling and get to enjoy the warm weather. Freshman Aspen Long plans on traveling to Pennsylvania during Spring Break with her mother and her younger brothers to visit her family. She hasn’t seen them since the pandemic outbreak, so she is looking forward to this trip. 

“I plan on spending time with my grandma and my uncle and his girlfriend and [getting to do some] activities,” Long said. 

With COVID-19, Long’s choice of activities are very limited. 

“We will probably walk the dogs [and] take them on hikes. We will [also] probably go shopping [and] play a lot of board games,” Long said.

Long’s family will leave right when Spring Break commences. 

“We get out of school Friday, [so] we’re going to leave Saturday morning [on April 3rd]. We’re going to come [back] home on Wednesday, [April 7th.]

With the pandemic around, travel has become a hard thing to do. Families have to take extra precaution and maintain themselves safe from others. Since Long will be traveling out of state, her family is ready to be cautious. 

“Both of my parents have [received] both of their COVID [vaccinations]. My grandma and my uncle and his girlfriend have been staying inside and not going out as much, [so when we do] go out, we’ll wear our masks,” Long said. 

While in Pennsylvania, Long’s family might drive or stop by famous cities.

“We might drive into Pittsburgh, since [my family] lives close to Pittsburgh. Other than that, we’ll stay with my family,” Long said. 

While some vacations are exciting and thrilling, Long’s family plan to chill out and just have fun. 

“It’ll be pretty laid back and chill. The most [intensive] thing we’ll probably do is going on hikes every morning. My uncle has two dobermans, so we’ll go on hikes with them every morning. Other than that, it’ll be pretty chill,” Long said. 

Long’s family likes to take a different route every time they set out to hike. 

“We usually hike for an hour and a half, but it depends on where we go [to hike],” Long said. 

Long has only ever traveled inside the United States for her vacations.

“I haven’t travelled outside of the USA. I’ve [only] been to New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland, so [I’ve been to] six [different states],” Long said.

With the five hour car ride, Long has thought of ways she will keep herself entertained throughout the way there and back. 

“Me and my brothers usually pack bags of things to color or draw. [Something else I like to do] is listen to music [on] my mom’s [radio],” Long said.