Spring Break: Unplugged

Nikki Kroushl

For starters, we weren’t really “unplugged”—we had our phones the whole time and took copious amounts of photos. The “unplugged” part of the Honors spring break trip in Asheville was more a state of mind. And to be fair, when you’re standing on top of Jump Off Rock at sunset, or looking out over the mountains from the Blue Ridge Parkway, or eating lunch on smooth stones at the foot of Triple Falls, you might stop to snap some photos... but before long, you’re too mesmerized to think about that little electronic ball and chain.

The other slightly misleading thing about the Honors College’s Asheville spring break trip was that we didn’t actually stay in Asheville. We stayed at Highland Lake Cove, a secluded retreat center in Flat Rock, NC, about 20 miles from downtown Asheville. The retreat center property was expansive and beautiful, full of little lakes and quaint cabins. We ate breakfast every morning and unwound with party games every evening in a common area overlooking a pond (the only area with Internet). Only five students went on the spring break trip to Asheville, but so did Dr. Bingham and Dr. Grove, making for quite the interesting group.

We did not get the concrete itinerary we were promised when we left for the trip, but we did get a week crammed full of adventures. We started off visiting the Moog synthesizer factory and learning about the history of the instruments. We slurped drinkable chocolate (much different from hot cocoa) at the iconic Chocolate Lounge. We visited Carl Sandberg’s house and petted the many, many descendants of Mrs. Sandberg’s goats. We hiked Triple Falls, discovering a gorgeous waterfall. We watched Dr. Grove take a glassblowing workshop and visited Asheville Bookworks, learning how to print and bind our own miniature books. We wandered the downtown areas of Hendersonville and Asheville (and we students completed an escape room while we were at it). We put together homemade pizzas and ate at local hotspots. We built a campfire and roasted marshmallows as the stars winked above.

I think of peace and quiet when I think of retreats— this was not that. But it was an incredibly reflective experience, especially as my graduation date crept closer and I had fewer and fewer ideas of my post-grad plans. We spent a lot of time talking about how future Honors students can use time like this to reflect and think about their future. Not so much in the sense of what they want to do someday, but in the sense of who they want to be.

Nature can be transformative and so can extended periods of time spent with the same people. (After all: the rest of us will never be quite the same after listening to Evan Heit’s piercing, continuous five-hour sing-alongs.) I have never really thought of myself as the kind of person who likes the outdoors, but man, how a quiet half hour sitting by a tranquil creek or a bubbling waterfall can change that. Man, how a sunset over the Blue Ridge can change that.