Despite the current economic crunch, some Baker students and their families have found room in their budgets for some much-needed rest and relaxation during spring break.

Students are gassing up their cars and cashing in their rewards points in order to get to their destinations.

Locations such as California, New Mexico and Colorado are just few vacation spots that have been plotted out on their maps.

Freshman Andrew Woodworth is traveling by car to Forbes Park, Colo., to visit his grandparents with his girlfriend, freshman Loryn Walrod, and his mom, brother and sister.

Woodworth said they plan to go fishing and experience a lot of wildlife while on vacation.   

Since his mother will be paying for the gas and any food they eat while on the road, Woodworth said the trip will be affordable.

He said they are staying at his grandparents’ house, so they will not have to spend money on meals during their vacation.

“We are not staying in any hotels, and we are just driving straight there, so there really isn’t any expenses,” Woodworth said.

Junior Caitlin Murray is switching climates during her spring break and heading to San Diego with her family.

She is flying there with her mom, dad and sister. They will be staying at a hotel that is close to the beach.

“I’m hoping for sunshine,” Murray said. “I’m expecting a vacation where I can relax.”

Murray said she has never been to California. Her family is planning to go to the beach, the zoo and shopping.

They also are attending the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. Murray said it is supposed to be really cool.

They are going to try to not eat out a whole lot and save money for other things. The hotel has a fridge, Murray said, so they can go to the store and buy the essentials for sandwiches and have some cereal on hand.

“We managed pretty well,” Murray said.

“Our credit card reward points paid for our flight and our hotel. Those were obviously two large aspects of the cost.”

Junior Avaree McDonald said she and her mom are going on a road trip to Roswell, N.M.

She has always wanted to go to Roswell because she is interested in the government cover-ups and alien conspiracies that surround this area of the country.  

Due to concerns about cost, they decided to drive because gas prices currently are not too outrageous, and they will pack snacks for the road.

The biggest expense will be the three nights they spend in a motel, McDonald said.  <br/>"I tried to think of something that would be decently inexpensive," she said."I tried to think of something that would be decently inexpensive," she said.
“I tried to think of something that would be decently inexpensive,” she said.

Originally, McDonald and her mom talked about taking this vacation during the summer, but then decided to do it during spring break.

“I think spring break is a time to do stuff that you don’t normally get to do,” McDonald said.

Instead of crisscrossing the country, some students are planning on having a fulfilling spring break without ever leaving the Midwest.

Freshman Stephanie Morse is going on a series of day trips with her family to parts of Missouri and western Kansas.

She will be traveling with her mom, dad, sister and grandfather.

The trip is to reconnect with her mom’s side of the family and visit some places that are special to her family.

Morse said they have been meaning to take this trip for a while.

“The goal for this spring break is to fill in our family tree because the generations are turning over,” she said.

Morse said the trip will be relatively inexpensive because they are packing their own food and traveling by car.

They are only planning to stay overnight in one place.

“I am very excited,” Morse said. “The only connections I have to my mom’s side of the family are the rare trips to Bethel, Mo.”