Students travel internationally for Spring Break

Seniors+gather+in+front+of+the+Rivera+Maya+sign+during+white+night+%28Photo+courtesy+of+Kim+Jackson%29.+

Seniors gather in front of the Rivera Maya sign during “white night” (Photo courtesy of Kim Jackson).

Mia Rice, Assistant Editors

As the snow started to melt away and the birds started to chirp, Milford High School’s students anxiously counted down the days until spring break. After two consecutive springs with pandemic safety procedures in place, it had been a while since many students were able to travel, so many were excited. “The anticipation was through the roof and I just wanted to get out of school and not worry about waking up and being able to sleep in,” Junior Jack Beyer said.

Each year many members of the senior class plan a spring break trip together. This year, 59 students went to Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Many students had fun and enjoyed their stay in Mexico.

“It was fun to spend time with my classmates outside of the school environment,” Maggie Brazier said. “I got to instruct on water aerobics. We went to a lazy river, which was super fun. For ‘white night’ it was very windy.” She then added, “It was sad seeing everyone, knowing that we might not see each other next year, but we took lots of pictures and made lots of memories.”

Other than staying in the resort, some left and had exciting adventures. “In the Gulf of Mexico I went deep sea fishing and we caught two Mahi-mahi, one Barracuda and one Sailfish,”  Senior Matt Rowe said, “The waves were rough. We also went to Xel-ha, which is an adventure park, and we had a lot of fun.”

Obviously not all of the seniors went to Mexico, and many traveled to Florida. Senior Sam Moule traveled with family and friends to Fort Lauderdale. “We went to different beaches throughout the week and got to do all sorts of fun things,” Moule said. “One of my favorite things we did was go wake surfing/wakeboarding in Miami. Overall, I had a super fun week and it was a great ‘last vacation’ for high school.”

Lots of other students traveled to different places in Florida, Junior Jack Stander went to Fort Myers, which is on the west side of the state. “My spring break was immaculate,” Stander said. “The weather was splendid and the views were magnificent. All in all, it was a great experience.” Florida has always been a popular vacation spot, especially at Milford.

There were a couple of students who traveled to other places. Senior Makayla Woolhiser went to France. Makayla planned to travel to France for her sixteenth birthday, but because of the pandemic it got rescheduled for this year. She said, “I really enjoyed being able to experience both urban and rural parts of France. I was surprised at how nice the people were compared to their stereotype.”

Senior Megan Rutherford went to Belize, Mexico. “I went snorkeling in the barrier reef,” Rutherford said. “I got to see a lot of different types of fish. I also went snorkeling with nurse sharks. On the mainland of Belize, I went tubing through a cave. I got to see a lot of iguanas and some monkeys while walking through the jungle. We also visited the Mayan ruins. I got to climb up these very tall tombs and sit right on the edge of the surface. I enjoyed all of my time there, the weather was beautiful, and so was the water.”

Traveling can also be difficult, especially when flights are delayed. “We were stuck in the airport for like eight hours due to short staff and flight complications,” Senior Ethan Groh said. I felt frustrated and exhausted and just wanted to go home.” There were also downsides of flights being canceled and some even had to drive home. “It was the worst thing ever. The drive up was so draining. I will not be flying anytime soon.” Senior Carson Chamberlain states.

Through these difficult experiences, the students at Milford had a great spring break. It was a much needed pause with the busy school year.