My family is known for our great spring break trips. We've traveled to Costa Rica, England, and Spain, to name a few. Yet the most memorable trip we took was not to another country. Spring break of 2010 my family flew 3,000 miles from North Carolina to the southwestern US, to view the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion. The trip was going perfectly as we drove from Zion to Bryce Canyon: 70 degree weather and clear skies. Yet on the drive, the temperature plummeted to the 20s and it began to snow—not just little flurries but huge, monstrous flakes that quickly blanketed our rented car, the road, and the surrounding landscape.
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We were in a white out. Literally, everything was white. We couldn’t see the sky, grass, much less the road. To make matters worse, we were the only car on the road. So there we were, a family of five from North Carolina in a rented car in a white out in Utah, the only car plunging through mounting snow, with at least 2 hours left in our drive. We continued on, and came upon a godsend: a snowplow. To this day I still think the snowplow is the greatest invention ever. We followed the snowplow and slowly treaded our way to Ruby’s Inn.
Fast forward two hours, and we were dining at Ruby’s Inn after checking in and dumping our luggage in our room. I ordered some kind of pasta with chicken in it, and ate it hungrily. Yet after getting back to our room, I felt slightly sick. Assuming it was just the jet lag and stress, I went to the bed I shared with my sister and fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night in our small, cramped room, crawled over my sister and stumbled to the bathroom. I threw up over and over again, and then had dry heaves, which made me sound like a dying seal. Round two came later in the night, and I threw up repeatedly in a towel, too tired to go to the bathroom.
In the morning, my brother, dad, and sister left to go see Bryce Canyon, while I stayed curled up in the bed under all of the covers. My mom wisely decided to call my pediatrician back home in Raleigh, but due to the snow and remoteness of our location, couldn’t get good reception. To get some fresh air, I’d dash out into the cold, then back into our room, doing suicides like an athlete. I stayed in bed for nearly the whole day, then feeling a little bit better, decided to walk around the gift shop in Ruby’s Inn. The song “Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band was playing, and I remember thinking, really? This song? It was so ironic that after getting food poisoning from chicken I heard a song about chicken. I quickly went back to the room.
The next day I decided to seize the day and bundled up in my warmest clothes to go see Bryce Canyon. We got to the gorgeous park and I was absolutely awestruck at its beauty—it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. While it was a tumultuous trip, everything went smoothly as we continued on the rest of our sightseeing journey. Little did I know that my experience with food poisoning in the spring break of 2010 would prepare me for the food poisoning I experienced in Madrid two spring breaks later…hopefully it is not a continuing trend!
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I had the chance to experience Denmark during the Christmas season, and it’s something I’ll always hold close to my heart. Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen felt like stepping into a storybook. The way the entire park was dressed in soft, glowing lights, handmade decorations, and the comforting scent of mulled wine in the air made every moment feel special.
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Of course, this beach town has lots more to offer but if you are willing to walk the lanes and dig a little bit, the history of the first Blacks and how much they contributed to protecting the colony is fascinating.
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