After juggling classes, extracurricular activities, internship interviews, amongst many other things this required from a college student, I decided to really make the most of my Spring Break. This year I looked for a more rewarding experience, something beyond the typical college Spring Break - so instead of doing the usual march madness at Miami or Cancun, I decided to visit a local U.S. city and a foreign one.
Thanks to my good friend Dimitri who is a sophomore at Pepperdine University, I got to enjoy free housing and free food upon my arrival to California. I really wanted to go back to California because the last time I was there was Summer of 2015 and my revisit was long overdue. Our first activity in California was sight-seeing in Downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Malibu and Bel Air. This was really cool because I got to see so many different areas of California and how the people lived out there, we even ran into some celebrity homes which was really inspiring to see. Our second adventure was taking a hike through the famous, Runyon Canyon, which took us at least three hours to complete. It was so great to see the amazing scenery and we also ran into actress, Ashley Tisdale while hiking, she was so cool and down to Earth.
Towards the end of our California adventures, we took a two-and-a-half-hour trip to San Diego to sightsee, party and jet ski. Jet skiing was the most amazing thing besides me getting pulled over by the sea police for speeding but while I was talking to the police officer a sea lion was approaching my jet ski and it was the coolest, scariest thing ever. That was the highlight of my day and something that I wish I got on camera for people to see. After we returned to Los Angeles from San Diego, it was time for me to be on my way to my second destination…Puerto Rico.
After spending time with my guy friend in California it was a must for me to enjoy my all girls trip to Puerto Rico with my girls from Hampton University. Puerto Rico was something very new for all of us but I was ready to take on the new adventures, experiences and cultural differences. We toured Old San Juan our first day and later went to the famous Senor Frogs restaurant and bar, we loved it there and met so many other college students from America. While walking around Puerto Rico some of the locals wanted to take pictures with my friends and I and the locals all commented on the Celtics basketball jersey I was wearing because they’re big fans of basketball and sports in Puerto Rico which I found to be pretty cool.
Long nights of turning up and exploring Puerto Rico kept us exhausted but we had to make sure we continued to tackle everything on our itinerary list because who knows the next time we’ll be in Puerto Rico. We enjoyed taking pictures, relaxing and jet skiing on Isla Very erde beach, although the weather could have been warmer is was still a great sight to see. It was some of my friends first time jet skiing so it was interesting to see how well they would take to the water. Three of us hopped on one jet ski and it was all fun and games until our boat flipped over not one, but three times while we were in the middle of the ocean, my friends freaked out but it was very entertaining to me at the same time. When that was all said and done we helped ourselves to a nice steak dinner after a chaotic day on the water which was a great way for my girls and I to end the night.
The day before we left we experienced something we’ve never done before which was riding ATV’s through the Carabali Rainforest. We saw a variety of parrots and parakeets flying over our heads and we got to swim in the mountain rivers/streams while drinking coconuts and eating kebabs. This made me really appreciate my time in Puerto Rico because it was something so different and so adventurous that it’ll be something I’ll always remember. This Spring Break 2017 was definitely one for the books and I can’t wait to start planning my next adventures for my Spring Break of 2018.