Whether Auburn University students are taking summer classes, working or interning; short vacations provide opportunities to make memories that will last forever.
Loren Tidmore, senior in apparel merchandising, took the fashionable route on a short weekend trip to Warehouse Row in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Warehouse Row is a shopping center converted from a Civil War Fort, which features unique architecture and is filled with a variety of artisan shops and boutiques.
"My experience at Warehouse Row was grander than expected," Tidmore said. "I expected chain boutiques, but was greeted with one-of-a-kind homes, fashion and art galleries."
Tidmore took the trip with her grandmother and said she enjoyed the design aspects of Warehouse Row.
"Table centerpieces were made of firehouse rope and screws and large stems of wheat," Tidmore said. "In one space, a large wooden table was set out with a life sized horse sitting on top of it."
Following the more traditional idea of a road trip, Emily McGee, senior in software engineering, traveled through 10 states in 33 hours over six days.
Traveling to a friend's wedding in Vernon, Texas, McGee left from Atlanta and made few stops en route to her destination.
However, on her return, McGee took a different route and made several stops.
"My favorite part was seeing all of our friends at the wedding," McGee said.
McGee traveled as far north as Illinois and as far south as Louisiana.
When planning a road trip, McGee encourages students to think ahead and look for fun opportunities.
Heather Lumley, senior in physics, took a different approach to the typical beach trip by going deep-sea fishing.
Lumley's friends, Melissa Cook and Kelley Moody, both juniors in organismal biology, also went along the trip with her.
"My favorite part was being out on the ocean and getting to experience fishing for the first time," Lumley said. "It's so exciting when something bites your line!"
Lumley said she loves being in the water and appreciated the adventure.
"We got to stay out fishing for a few hours and went to several different places and after we got back to shore they let us hang up our biggest fishes to take pictures with and then they helped us gut and clean the fish so we could take it home to cook," Lumley said.
Karen Dillon, junior in exercise science, could nearly call herself an adrenaline junkie.
As a birthday present from her parents, Dillon jumped out of a plane from 14,000 feet.
"I was terrified, but it has always been on my bucket list," Dillon said.
After ascending for 15 minutes, Dillon, strapped to a professional skydiver, jumped out of the plane over Huntsville.
"We were only in the air for about one minute," Dillon said. "It is not as bad as it seems."
According to Dillon, she was ready to skydive again as soon as she landed safely on the ground.
No matter the stress students may face over the span of the summer semester, students agree a short vacation filled with adrenaline, new experiences or relaxation can serve as the necessary stress-relief from the responsibilities of student life.
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