Over the past three years of college, I have never taken advantage of spring break. But in my final year, I decided to make up for lost time by cramming two trips into one week. First, I went to Davenport, Florida, where it was a beautiful 85 degrees. Then, for reasons I still can’t fully explain, I went to Montreal, where it was 28 degrees and snowing. The whiplash my body experienced was easily the worst part, but everything else was chaotic, poorly planned, slightly rushed, and somehow still a great time. My roommate Teagan came on both trips, which is probably the only reason everything didn’t completely fall apart.
We started strong with Florida, a trip that came together in the most disorganized way possible. I called up a friend from high school who lives there and said, ‘How would you feel if Teagan and I showed up in two weeks?’ and he immediately said, ‘I’m calling out of work now.’ Then I booked a flight.
The second we landed, I started sweating, which felt incredible after months of slipping on ice on the way to class. We spent our first day at the Strawberry Festival, which felt like Florida’s version of the Big E, just with… strawberries. We somehow walked in right as Joan Jett was performing, which felt both random and iconic.
The next day, we drove two hours to Clearwater Beach to ‘cool off,’ which really just meant sitting in direct sunlight for hours. The beach was perfect, the rooftop bar was great, and the sun was harsh. Teagan ended the day with an aggressive sunburn that set the tone for the rest of the trip. But we pushed forward, because why wouldn’t we spend the next day in the blaring sun again, but this time at Disney World? We took on all four parks in one day, which, in hindsight, was not the best idea. Between the 95-degree heat, exhaustion, and Teagan’s burn, it was a battle, but we survived and felt the Disney magic anyway. Then it was time to fly back to Newton to sleep.
We were back on campus for about ten hours before hitting the road for Canada. When we got to Montreal, we went straight to the Museum of Illusions, which was cool and a good spot for photos. Then we walked around Old Montreal, where the temperature change really hit us. It was snowing, it was 30 degrees, and we were not ready for it. Teagan’s sunburn may have finally felt some relief, but the rest of us were freezing.
We ended the day with an incredible dinner and gelato that I’m pretty sure was better than anything I’ve had in Italy, which feels controversial but true. At this point, exhaustion was setting in hard. If I had to describe this trip in one word, it would be tired, but in a fun way.
The next day, we went to the biggest casino in Canada, where we quickly learned that gambling is fun, but drinks are even more fun. After that, we attempted to go ice skating and were immediately humbled by Canadian children who had clearly been skating since birth. Once again, it started snowing, because apparently that’s just what Canada does, and for a moment it felt like we were in a movie until they shut the rink down because the snow got too intense.
On our last day, we did some shopping and went to a café inside an old bank, which absolutely carried the aesthetic of the trip. And then, just like that, we headed back to Newton to return to reality.
Going into this week, I thought spring break was all about escaping the brutal New England winter to somewhere warm and relaxing. After Florida and Canada back-to-back, I’ve realized it might actually be about making the most polar opposite decisions possible with your friends and somehow coming out of it with great stories and maybe a mild case of climate shock.
–April 7, 2026–
