Spring Break
The Daily OrangeHit the open road: Students recount their summer roadtrip experiences
By Abram Brown
Posted: 4/28/09, 6:47 AM EST Section: Feature
Jeff Rabinak just couldn't decide what he wanted to do. Summer vacation was two weeks away. He didn't have an internship or job lined up.
Then it hit him: A cross country road trip.
Shortly after school let out, Rabinak and Erin Mulvehill, a senior photography major, packed up his Honda Civic and set off from Rochester, N.Y.
"It seemed like I was running out of opportunities to do it since I'm graduating soon," said Rabinak, a junior film major. "The whole thing was I wanted to get out of my element and experience something completely different."
With summer just days away, students might be wondering how to spend their months of freedom. Getting out on the road and seeing new places may be a good way to relax and enjoy what the country has to offer. It also gives you a chance to bond with friends.
Rabinak and Mulvehill planned to head north from Rochester, but the weather turned cold. So instead the pair decided to travel down the Blue Ridge Parkway, a highway down the East Coast that runs through various national and state parks.
The two students knew that they wanted to film and photograph their trip as much as possible. At one stop on the parkway, Rabinak and Mulvehill spotted a waterfall that they decided was a perfect spot to stop and take photos. Rabinak climbed up a few rocks to try and get closer to the waterfall to get a better photo, but he slipped and his lens cap tumbled into the water.
"It was just a reminder to keep my wits about me," Rabinak said.
They then headed west and arrived at the Grand Canyon about two weeks into the trip. As Rabinak and Mulvehill pulled in, they saw the sun set over the canyon.
"I had seen the Grand Canyon before but I was three so I didn't really remember, and Erin had never been before so it was pretty awesome," Rabinak said.
The two spent some time at the canyon and it was there Rabinak said he felt challenged to bring home footage. After all, every tourist with a camera has taken a picture or shot a frame with the Grand Canyon in it. Trying to find a new thing to photograph was something special, Rabinak said.
Then it hit him: A cross country road trip.
Shortly after school let out, Rabinak and Erin Mulvehill, a senior photography major, packed up his Honda Civic and set off from Rochester, N.Y.
"It seemed like I was running out of opportunities to do it since I'm graduating soon," said Rabinak, a junior film major. "The whole thing was I wanted to get out of my element and experience something completely different."
With summer just days away, students might be wondering how to spend their months of freedom. Getting out on the road and seeing new places may be a good way to relax and enjoy what the country has to offer. It also gives you a chance to bond with friends.
Rabinak and Mulvehill planned to head north from Rochester, but the weather turned cold. So instead the pair decided to travel down the Blue Ridge Parkway, a highway down the East Coast that runs through various national and state parks.
The two students knew that they wanted to film and photograph their trip as much as possible. At one stop on the parkway, Rabinak and Mulvehill spotted a waterfall that they decided was a perfect spot to stop and take photos. Rabinak climbed up a few rocks to try and get closer to the waterfall to get a better photo, but he slipped and his lens cap tumbled into the water.
"It was just a reminder to keep my wits about me," Rabinak said.
They then headed west and arrived at the Grand Canyon about two weeks into the trip. As Rabinak and Mulvehill pulled in, they saw the sun set over the canyon.
"I had seen the Grand Canyon before but I was three so I didn't really remember, and Erin had never been before so it was pretty awesome," Rabinak said.
The two spent some time at the canyon and it was there Rabinak said he felt challenged to bring home footage. After all, every tourist with a camera has taken a picture or shot a frame with the Grand Canyon in it. Trying to find a new thing to photograph was something special, Rabinak said.
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