I’m sure you may be thinking, based on the title of this, that I went on some crazy spring break trip with my college friends, just like in the movie Spring Breakers. We did go on a spring break trip; we decided to take a different route than most college students do.
In the fall of 2025, we sat down and talked about doing a spring break trip. For reference, our friend group consists of 11 people: 8 guys and 3 girls. When talking about this trip, we did not want to go to Miami or Fort Lauderdale. We wanted to do more of an adventurous vacation. We started to look at Airbnb for different houses and ended up deciding on Mars Hill, North Carolina. We chose a huge cabin house that we had the opportunity to stay at from Sunday to Friday (the week of our college’s spring break).
In the months leading up to this trip, I had absolutely no idea where we were going. Other people in the group were doing the planning for the trip, so in my mind, all I had to do was pay for my portion, pack, and show up on the day of. What I did know was that it would be more of a rustic vacation. I have become an extremely open-minded person over the last year or two of my life. Because of this, I was excited for this experience as my family typically does not go on vacations like this.
We left on Sunday at 4:15 a.m. to embark on this journey. The car ride was 10 hours without stoppage time. In my car was my best friend, her boyfriend, and I. Our car ride was very good. We did not have any disagreements or anything like that. It was the perfect group of people to have for this long car ride. We arrived on Sunday night and spent the rest of the day in the hot tub, playing pool, and enjoying each other’s company.
We woke up on Monday ready to explore the area. The first place we wanted to go was Asheville, North Carolina. In late 2024, this area went through severe damage from a hurricane. So I was interested in seeing how the area had recovered from it. We first went on a nature hike, went shopping around the city, and finished with dinner. Overall, this was a beautiful area to visit. However, looking at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, I do not believe this would be an area I would want to attend school in. But it was definitely worth it for us to tour around.
The next day, we had plans to drive three hours to Charlotte. This was a massive drive, but worth it for me as I thrive in big cities. The group split up this day, which meant my best friend Kayla and I were going to navigate the city just the two of us. We got coffee, walked around a nature park together, toured the city, and took way too many pictures of each other. We ended the night with meeting up with the group and going to a Charlotte Hornets game. I am not a huge NBA fan, but a majority of the guys in our group were, so it was a worthwhile experience.
The last two days or so of the trip, we mostly spent at the house. I went on multiple walks each day to explore where we were staying. There is something so beautiful about connecting with nature in new places. The rest of the time was spent enjoying the time with those we were with. Playing games, cooking food, and just talking with the whole group. This trip gave me a sense of closeness to my friends that I had never really felt towards them before.
On Friday morning, it was time to pack up and leave. I spent the car ride home reflecting on the vacation. And overall, I am incredibly grateful to have gone on this trip. I love exploring new areas, and this is one I had never been to before. As well, I feel immensely closer to my friends than before. Living with each other for five days, you get to see different parts of each other for the worse or better that you have never seen before.
Although this was not the typical college spring break that most people have, I am so glad we chose to do this instead.