Band members embarked once again on their annual three-day trip to Corpus Christi, a unique outing that combines both relaxing vacation and competition. It’s a famous trip; many of the students couldn’t wait to hit the beach, which was easily the biggest attraction of the stay.

“Everybody was on [the beach] all Saturday,” freshman Rhianna Rose said. “I haven’t been to the beach in a while, [so] it was just fun to get in the water.”

Before this however, the students were required to participate in a contest with other bands in the area. Although the competition wasn’t the main focus of the trip for the students, many of the bands didn’t disappoint. Fourth, third and second bands all got second place. First band, true to their name, sealed the deal by placing first.

After this however, the students were free to do whatever they wanted to; from wrestling tournaments to eating delicious food, Corpus had it all.

“Everybody’s kind of tired when they first get there, but once it gets going it’s a lot of fun,” freshman Sophie Werkenthin said. “There was a big volleyball tournament where you would sign up ahead of time. A lot of people got into it. My room didn’t do it, but we watched a lot of people do it. We basically had the rest of the weekend to ourselves to go to the beach and hang out with friends.”

Unlike most trips, where the food is usually provided for them, the students themselves were required to prepare their own food.

“When we got there we just went to H-E-B and got our groceries for the weekend,” Sophie said. “You had to be really careful about getting all the food you needed on Friday because it’s really hectic in H-E-B. It’s a lot harder to find things since it’s so big.”

The trip gave the students not only a well-deserved break but also provided many of them (especially younger students) a taste of independence desperately needed for the later years, i.e. college. Many of the students took these lessons in self-sufficiency and fond memories of the beach to heart, veterans to the Corpus journey or not, and held nothing but praise for the vacation.

“You either hung out on the beach, or you were up in your condo making food,” Rhianna said.  “It was a lot of fun. It was really interesting to stay overnight with your friends and have to cook your own food.”