Atlanta

My trip this past summer was to Atlanta, Georgia. I was super excited to go there and hear everyone’s southern accents! I was also super excited to eat southern food and see the city of Atlanta. We had some awesome fried chicken, great BBQ, and some delicious liquid nitrogen ice cream (a couple times). We also went to a big aquarium and saw all sorts of sea animals.

Going to Atlanta was awesome because of all of the different foods we ate. I honestly don’t remember doing much of anything except for eating at different restaurants and getting ice cream. The fried chicken place we went to was really good and the BBQ place we went to was also really good. They were definitely solid choices.

The most amazing part of this trip was that we received second in the nation for Parliamentary Procedure out of about 52 teams. It was a huge surprise to us and it was one of the best feelings ever.

Another super great (not) part of the trip was driving to Madison to fly out of there because we got cheaper tickets. It was all fine on the way there, but the ride home was so long, especially with 8 tired people going nuts in a car together.

Europe

Two years ago, I got to go to different parts of Europe with my parents and a bunch of other farmers. The purpose of the trip for them was to look at cows and drink beer, but that was not for me. I was there to see different cities and do stuff with my friend Hanna that I only get to see like every two years. We first flew into Copenhagen and spent the day touring the city and going on a boat ride.

When we were actually in Germany, we went to a few farms. The old people looked at cows while Hanna and I did anything else we could find to do. My favorite part was definitely the food we ate. I had the best sausage and potatoes I have ever eaten and I even figured out that I really like sauerkraut.

When we were in Austria, we went to the salt mines and toured there. It was actually pretty cool to see what they did in the mines and we even had to put on mining suits to look like them. We also went to a cattle show in Austria, which was pretty boring to me. My favorite part of this trip was seeing all of the different cities and seeing the beautiful mountains.

San Diego

My first trip was to San Diego, California the summer after my freshman year. I had gone on road trips to Colorado, Indiana, and Canada before this trip, but I had never flown on an airplane. I went on this trip with about 15 other students in high school and our chaperones. It was super a super fun trip and a great group of people to go with. We did many different things on this trip including going to the beach, walking down the boardwalk, going to many different restaurants, and competing in our FCCLA competition.

Having never flown anywhere, I did not know how I would like flying. Turns out, I am terrible at flying. I am not really afraid of it, but my stomach and head really just can’t handle it. I am also not really able to fall asleep on airplanes, so I don’t really enjoy it at all.

My favorite part of going to San Diego was definitely going to the beach. The part that wasn’t so great was walking so far to get there. We took a boat over to Coronado Island, and did not realize how far across the island we had to walk to get to the beach. I don’t know exactly how long of a walk it was, I just know it took forever to get there and back.

We were there over the Fourth of July, so we got to watch fireworks by the ocean, which made it 10 times better! We also made lots of new friends from different states and had a great overall experience.

The Start of Something New

In my freshman year of high school, I joined the Parliamentary Procedure team through my FCCLA chapter. Before joining, I hadn’t traveled a whole lot. We had gone on a few family trips to a couple different close by states and I had gone on short school trips in Wisconsin. Since joining FCCLA, I have gone to San Diego, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia. We recently competed at state FCCLA and advanced to nationals. That means we get to go to Anaheim, California this summer! Aside from traveling through FCCLA, I got the opportunity to go to Europe two years ago with my parents. They go about every two years with a group of other farmers if they can to tour farms. Thankfully, the trip was not just touring farms. We got to go to multiple cities and tour them as well.

Traveling is so awesome to me because I get to see what different places are like. Going to each of the different places I have been has given me a feel of what big cities are like and how people do things differently. Traveling really gives me something to look forward to.

I have found that traveling with some of your best friends is the best way to do it. Being with people I enjoy being around and having these new experiences makes it 10 times more enjoyable. I have gone to California, Tennessee, and Georgia with the same people each time and was so much fun. I also went to Europe with a really good friend of mine from Canada who I only get to see about every two years, so it was so fun to have that experience with her.

Traveling is one of the best things I think there is. It allows you to get away from your normal life for a while. The break from reality is great and brings a lot of joy to my life.