College students aren’t necessarily known for their advanced planning, which means the decision to get out of Eugene for spring break may sometimes be a last-minute one. While short notice does eliminate some travel options, a spur of the moment journey can be even more fun than a thoroughly planned trip.
All of political science major Katie Darnell’s spring break excursions to date have been such.
“The last two spring breaks I went on last-minute trips,” Darnell said. “Last year I took a bus to Colorado to pick up a car and then my friends and I drove it through Utah and California and back into Oregon, camping along the way. I knew about a week beforehand that I was going to go. My other plans ended up not happening, so
I had to come up with something else.”
Darnell said that being spontaneous made her trips memorable and recommends other travelers do the same.
“Keep your schedule open — you’re not going to be able to do everything you want,” Darnell said. “Enjoy the unplanned things, bring lots of music to listen to and don’t make showering a priority.”
Last year, senior Steve Saldana and his roommates rented a car and took an impromptu trip to the Los Angeles area.
Saldana said the biggest problem on his trip was learning how to budget his money to be able to pay for gas.
“Make sure you have enough money to get there and back,” Saldana recommended. “Also make sure you get along with the people you’re going with.”
Education major Martha Mosqueda had similar advice. She said the people she vacationed with were what made the trip fun and memorable.
“Freshman year, I took a last-minute trip over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend up to Vancouver, B.C.,” Mosqueda said. “Going with laid-back people, who weren’t uptight about having everything planned, and people that I knew I could get along with really made things fun and less stressful.”
Since impulsive trips don’t usually involve making reservations at a hotel ahead of time, both Mosqueda and Darnell said it is a good idea to bring camping gear in case all rooms are booked in the area.
“Bring camping equipment because you don’t want to get stuck and have to sleep in your car,” Mosqueda said. “There’s usually a campground you can stay at if nothing else.”
A last-minute vacation doesn’t leave much time for the traveler to investigate the area beforehand, a good resource can be local residents.
“If you’re not familiar with the area, it is hard to know where the good bars and restaurants are. On one trip, we ended up talking to this woman at a clothing store who recommended this really cool bar,” Darnell said. “I was glad we took the time to talk to her.”
Those who had experience with unplanned outings agreed that the most important thing was to have a positive attitude and to not
get upset when things don’t
run smoothly.
“Those unplanned vacations were the best trips I’ve ever had,” Darnell said.