Camping

While some groups travel abroad, senior Shakthi Elangovan decided to go camping with a group of friends in Sunset Beach, near Watsonville.

“We wanted to have a senior trip, but one of our friends in our group is moving to India,” Elangovan said. “We knew it would be hard to plan one right after school ended, so we decided to have one over spring break so he could come.”

Elangovan’s friend group is divided into several smaller, more closely-knit bunches. The camping trip allowed the smaller group to bond by staying in nature away from the hectic society.

“I felt like this trip was what really brought us closer,” Elangovan said. “Especially because there wasn’t that much time where we were on our phones or had electronics because [we were] camping.”

While camping, Elangovan and his friends went hiking and ate food together. He considers these moments to have contributed to the trip’s being unique and holding a certain value for him.

“Every day we went to the beach and we were all together,” Elangovan said. “We all ate and made food. I think just being with the people there made it more fun and getting even closer to the people you love was the most fun.”

Maui

For senior Vishnu Palaniappan, his senior trip is divided into two parts, one part consisting of flying to Hawaii and the other going to Lake Tahoe in the summer with a few of his friends. In Hawaii, he and his group stayed at a studio owned by one of his friends’ parents for five days during President’s Break.

The trip allowed Palaniappan and his group to bond as the easygoing atmosphere cultivated more personal discussions among the members.

“During the trip, it was really chill,” Palaniappan said. “Since there weren’t any parents around, we all really got to know each other better. Everyone was really open with everything and it was a really relaxed vibe. We all got a lot closer, I can say that for sure.”

In fact, the best part of the trip, according to Palaniappan, occurred when the group went to the beachside restaurant and then played basketball at an arena where a college basketball tournament was hosted.

Although the senior trip was enjoyable for Palaniappan, he advises carefully planning the vacation in general.

“Plan ahead and prepare,” Palaniappan said. “If you’re planning to fly anywhere, all the tickets get really expensive, especially if you buy [them] really late. And another thing is I’d definitely look into logistics, because all the nitty gritty details are really important. And sometimes they can make or break the trip. Like, ‘Oh I didn’t know the car rental was this much,’ and the little things like that. But if you really pay attention to those details, you can really have a good time.”