By Gracie Watkins
One of the best things about living in a bustling college town is, well, leaving it. From classes, to homework, to frats, to parties, to bars, to game days, to horrifying hangovers at Bagel Crust, sometimes, it all becomes too much. Where is my time to stop and smell the roses? And, as I walk down the built-up crowded streets of college avenue, I wonder, where even are these roses?
They aren’t here, not in the crevices of a frat house, not outside of Doggies Pub, and definitely not in my public speaking classroom. So, my advice today, in light of our football team’s biweek, is get out. The party is over, and it’s time to go touch some grass.
This weekend, I was amongst the lucky ones. I was invited on a cute little camping trip with my friend group from home. It’s just going to be a wholesome group of friends around a campfire in the middle of nowhere Happy Valley (and exactly what I needed after closing out Pmans last night). It got me thinking, as one of the biggest party schools in the country, where do our fellow students go to get away?
I consulted my best and most reliable sources for places to go: my friends. They, like myself, have made plans in the absence of a football game all across the State College area. With about 4 tables pushed together, we talk about those plans over Caesar salad and French fries at Café 210 West.
About 20 minutes away, on a beautiful strip of land with little ponds and willow trees is the first destination: Mount Nittany Vineyard. My friend Phoebe went last year for a joint birthday celebration with her big. She talked about how the women that worked there were so passionate and cute, and, of course, how amazing the wine was. In long dresses, surrounded by about 25 of their closest friends, they made a charcuterie board and sipped wine under a pavilion.
The second place is quite close to my campgrounds, but instead of tall grass and trees, it is on a beautiful body of water. On random warm Saturdays, countless friends of mine take a boat across the waters. They flip each other on tubes and soak up the last glimpse of sunshine in State College before the winter.
Of course, you could always be like a few of my friends who go on short little outings before coming home to hit the bars. There’s hiking at Mount Nittany, the farmers market, and pumpkin patches in the fall. So many ways to be wholesome before you have to return to the hectic life of a Penn State Student.
Update: My camping trip was not as wholesome as we intended. But, at least I got to go touch some grass. I guess the party is just never over.
Until next time,
Gracie
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