They landed late in Arizona. The kind of arrival where everything feels quiet and slowed down.
There was no sightseeing that first night. No rushing to fit in plans. Just a rental car, a dark highway and a straight drive to the hotel.
“We didn’t do anything the first day,” said Sara Anaee ’27. “We got there late at night, picked up the rental car and went straight to the hotel.”
By morning, the trip began to take shape.
Breakfast at her cousin’s house turned into a conversation about the week ahead — loose plans built around time together: visiting resorts, walking through malls, going out to dinner. Nothing too structured. Nothing too rushed.
Then came the boat.
“The boat ride was six hours,” Anaee said. “We tanned, drove the boat and just hung out.”
It wasn’t extravagant. It wasn’t packed with activity. But it became the moment that defined the trip.
Anaee had been to Arizona before. This time felt different.
It had been three years since she had seen her aunt and cousins. The distance made the reunion feel less like a visit — and more like returning to something familiar.
“Seeing them again was my favorite part,” she said. “It felt like home.”
The rest of the week followed that same rhythm.
They visited three malls. One outdoors, another just for walking.
“We didn’t buy anything,” Anaee said. “We just walked around and looked at stuff.”
There were small traditions, too. Stops at In-N-Out Burger and drinks from Dutch Bros Coffee — twice.
“It was kind of our thing,” she said.
Back at the hotel, time slowed again. Anaee swam in the pool, spent time in the workout room with her cousin and stayed nearby while their parents talked.
“I didn’t realize how much I missed them,” she said.
On the final night, no one wanted to say goodbye.
They stayed up late, talking and laughing until the conversation faded into quiet.
“I didn’t want this vacation to end,” she said.
In a world often focused on packed itineraries and picture-perfect moments, Anaee’s trip was something quieter.
Six hours on the water. A few walks through the mall. Late-night conversations.
And the kind of memories that don’t need much planning to last.
