By: Sydney Brammer
Over the three weeks of Winter Break, Finnlee Morgan ’22 went to Long Beach to go on a Carnival Panorama Cruise to 3 ports in Mexico: Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, and Mazatlán. She was on the cruise for 8 days and spent 3 days off the ship in Mexico.
There were many activities to do on the cruise. Morgan’s favorites were the water slides, swimming in pools, and watching movies on a big screen on the top deck. There were also a variety of foods and shops to explore! Once Morgan got to Cabo San Lucas her and her family got on a party boat to a popular snorkeling spot to snorkel. According to Morgan, Mazatlán was very “city-like”. She explored many shops and artwork. And on her final destination, Puerto Vallarta, Morgan surfed all day there. A fun fact is Morgan used some of the Spanish she learned in high school while in Mexico.
Morgan’s highlight of the trip was traveling to a beach town near Puerto Vallarta called Sayulita. According to Morgan, “Sayulita was extremely beautiful as it was filled with palm trees and colorful flags… The small town just felt so home-like and safe, how could I not enjoy it?”
Jasmine Luna ’22 also went to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico over Winter Break. She was there for 10 days and was her first trip out of the United States by plane. While in Mexico, Luna stayed in a resort called the Sea Garden which had “a beautiful view of the sea and the sunsets were amazing.”
Luna tried delicious foods and went zip-lining through the mountains of Mexico and saw a beautiful waterfall. She also when scuba diving near a small island in Jalisco Mex and danced on a boat with many people of different culture. Every day of her visit, Luna explored some place new including her favorite place, an art walk filled with all things Frida Kahlo. Luna says, “It was amazing just to see how different the people live around the world and how the roads were designed.” Luna was “so happy to trace back to my Mexican roots.”
Ella Carney ’22 went to Las Vegas for 4 days over Winter Break. Each day, Carney walked to a variety of shops and went to a Body Exhibit. According to Carney, the Body Exhibit shows you real body parts and goes through how every part of your body works. Carney also went to the Titanic Exhibit. She got to act as a passenger on the ship and follow along with their life story. According to Carney, the exhibit was set up to where clothes, luggage, and rooms were all created to look real. She also says, “the movie even incorporated quotes written down by passengers and had actors cite them in the movie. The exhibit even had a replica of the iceberg and an original part of the real Titanic.
Carney also saw many shows such as The Mentalist. She says, “it was amazing and he could actually read peoples’ minds. I also loved that audience members could participate.” Another show Carney went to was “La Reve”. She says, “I couldn’t recommend this enough!” According to Carney, the show had actors and dancers act out a play on the water and told a story of a girl finding herself and the true meaning of love.
Carney’s highlight of the trip was the last show she saw, “La Reve”. She says, “I will never forget it. We also had front row seats, so it enhanced the experience.”
Sydney Brammer ’22 (me) went to Catalina Island for 3 days over Winter Break. I first, went to Long Beach to get on a ferry which took an hour long to get to Catalina. My family and I did a lot of walking around and shopping. One cool thing we did was go on a submarine and saw a lot of seaweed and fish and got to feed them. There were no cars on the island so everyone rode golf carts to explore the small island. I even got to drive it. There were many places we could drive so we got to see a lot of cool things. It was also really safe since there were no cars to look out for. We had a lot of good food and some crepes and acaí bowls from a place called Scoops.
A highlight from the trip would probably be the morning run I had one day because my dad and I were up early enough to catch the beautiful sunrise and we stood to enjoy it and the gorgeous weather for a few minutes.
Katie Hornbug ’22 went to Maui, Hawaii for 7 days over Winter Break. She went snorkeling, zip-lining, swimming, and did a lot of shopping. Hornburg also jumped off of Black Rock in Kaanapali which was “about 20 feet high” which was one of her favorite things that she did. She also ate a lot of shaved ice.
A highlight from her trip was snorkeling because she “really liked seeing all the different sea life, especially the turtles and it’s always a fun experience.”
These are just some of the students here at Redwood that traveled someplace cool over Winter Break! Sometimes it’s nice to get out of the Valley.