Mission Point

Before the trip, I wasn't too thrilled to go because I can't swim and the water doesn't sound too fun. But paddleboarding didn't sound so bad. I wouldn't be surprised if I fell in the water.

Setting up was okay, when we began getting on top of the paddleboard it started to feel unbalanced. The deeper out into the water I went, the scarier it got. I was sitting down most of the time because I felt like if I stood up, I would fall. And I was right, the second I got the courage to stand up and try to balance a big hand of water just grabs my whole waist and pulls me straight in. It felt like there was nothing my life jacket could do to save me at that moment, but it did. It stayed on and kept me floating, I thought I was a goner. I instantly try swimming towards the paddle board but it just keeps floating further away.

 I swam with all my might to catch up with it, once I got my first hand on it I crawled on top and started paddling. I paddled faster than ever to return to the dry grounds. An experience like never before, shook me straight. After that I knew I wouldn't go out into the water by myself, maybe never again.

 I am glad we were able to just build sand castles after, I didn't even wanna look at the big body of water anymore. For my sand castle I made a small bottom base to keep it high up and look nice. After a big rectangle I build round pillars to go on the corners of the base. I built walls to give it the structure of a castle, I filled it in and used the buckets to make a nice sharp roof with cool patterns. I added small windows for extra detail and when it was done it was the nicest sand castle I’d ever seen with my own 2 eyes. 

I took pictures of my friends trying it out, it was funny to see them in the middle of the water, helpless. Sebastian didn't take off his socks when he went in the water for some reason which was funny. At the end of the trip I was more than ready to go home because I had enough. On my way back to school I thought to myself it was a chill day, although it wasn't completely chill. Most of it was.

Before the trip I was feeling fine. I felt hungry and tired. During the trip I was just with my friend Tyler walking around in the sand. Paddleboarding I did not do because I had jeans on and I didn’t feel like getting wet that day, I was already cold. We were supposed to make a  Sand castle for the sand castle group I was in but building one sucked because it kept falling apart so I gave up on it because I couldn’t make it work. We both stopped trying.

 During the sand group I got put in I took some good photos of people paddleboarding. It was a clean picture of the whole board and everyone was spread out so it was possible to see everyone who was paddle boarding.

The best moment watching people paddleboard was when I saw my friend Sebastian fall off the board. I found that funny. After the trip I was feeling really hungry and tired because I hadn't eaten all day and my legs were hurting. On my way back to school it was good because I was able to get some other work done I didn’t complete. After school it was tiring because I got picked up at 5pm, I was falling asleep in the car and I just wanted to be home and sleep. This morning I felt good. I was still tired in the morning but I felt ready to go to school and try and finish all my work. If you never thought paddleboarding was fun, give it a try.

When we first got to the beach we started to unload the paddle boards from the car. Then we laid them out on the beach and started to put them together. There was also a group of paddle boards that were inflatable so we had to pump them up.

After getting into our group it was time to start taking photos. I watched as people sank their paddle boards and took pictures.  After the first group came back to shore it was my group's turn to get onto the water.

 When I first pushed my paddle board into the water I already saw people falling in. Once I got on I was already having trouble balancing on the board and was scared of falling in. I decided to go to the island in the middle of the bay. It was really hard to navigate there and go straight because every time I paddled I would always turn a little.

 Once we got back it was time to start sand castle building. My team was enemies with Ethan's team and people were throwing a lot of sand. Soon both sand castles were destroyed.

 After the end of the sand castle competition it was time to start packing up. Folding up the inflatable paddle boards was really hard because we had to fit them in a really small case and amelio made me and liam do it.

 After we were done we all packed into the car and started to head home. If I were to do the field trip again I would be excited but I would wear more sunscreen next time because I got lots of sun burns. I  would have also decided to wear better beach clothes. I would also not bring a paddle board because it was a very big hassle to deal with it.

*Fictional*

What started as a calm sleepy drive filled with anticipation turned into something that scarred me for the rest of my life. With warnings of the bad water quality and my own fear of falling in

I was in for one of the scariest stories Daygo has ever heard of and witnessed in 137 years of this city.

We finally got there and set up all of the stuff we brought and Sebastian wore socks the entire time, which was funny. Once I got on the paddleboard and started navigating my way through the calm waters I was locked in and focused. It was very chill and I came back to shore and kicked some people's sand castles and went back on my paddleboard and went back into the water. I saw Tyler and Sebastian on their paddleboards right next to each other.

 And suddenly a great white shark jumped up, crunched Tyler's paddleboard in half and ate him whole. Chaos erupted in the water filled with screams of people trying to get out. No one cared about Tyler. I instantly started paddling back to shore and people were falling in the water squirming, some people forgetting how to swim due to the fear and then the shark ate Ezekiel and by that time everyone else was out screaming and some people crying. I kicked some more sand castles, took pictures of the shark and then I started running back to Daygo. If you're going to come to mission point paddleboarding I'd say bring a harpoon to fend off any sharks that bother you during your paddle boarding adventures. Also just some necessities bring towels,water,food and possibly some sand toys to stay entertained. - The end

Wednesday we got to school and we were preparing on what to do and what not to do when we went to the mission bay. We were told to specifically not break the fins on the long boards and how to use the oars(the thing we use to steer I guess), and also to try different positions on the paddle board like sitting, on our knees, and standing. At ten p.m we got into the car and started heading to mission bay, we arrived and they split us into three groups, group A, B, and C. 

Group A were the first to go paddle boarding, Group B were taking pictures of Group A Paddle Boarding, and my group, Group C, we were making sandcastles for a little competition. Our 30 minutes were up, it was time for my group to take pictures of group B in the water, I took a few good pictures, I even took a picture of Arianna and Carli falling off the Paddle Board. After taking a couple of pictures I started playing soccer with Ms. Freddie, turns out she used to play soccer and is still a bit good at it. 

That 30 minutes were over and now, it was time for my group to go onto the paddle boards. I was nervous because I didn't wanna fall into the water immediately, so we put on our life vests and grabbed our board and went into the water. I got onto the board and it was actually really easy and I even stood up on the board on the first try. It was also really easy to steer the board and I got the hang of it in less than 3 minutes. 

The time was up and we had to go back to the school, so we headed to grab our stuff and get into the car. Right before I got into the car Saxon had lost his sandals and I got off to get them because I saw them earlier before leaving. I got his sandals and gave it to him and we went back to the school

I would recommend this to people who love paddle boarding and have fun because this experience was really nice especially because of the weather and the water at the bay wasn’t too cold it was perfect. I would come prepared though with sunscreen, water, snacks, towels, and extra clothes.

San Diego California is well known for many things. One thing it is very well known for is its beaches and Mission Bay. So I decided to head down over to Mission Point to try out something every San Diegan has probably done, paddleboarding. 

For me it has been quite a few years since I had Paddleboarded but I wasn’t scared of falling or anything. We left around like 10 in the morning and were in the water at 11. For me carrying the paddleboards down to the water was one of the hardest parts. The wind was blowing against us so the paddleboards were trying to become a giant sail. It was also very cold and my sweater had been stolen by my friend.

Thus we finally got into the water. I put my paddleboard in the water and walked with it a little before hopping on perfectly. I mean I was perfectly balanced with what felt like no chance of tipping over. Then I started to row around and kind of just getting comfortable inside the paddleboard to start. The water was also really warm and even warmer than the outside air in my opinion. So I rowed and rowed just moving around and chatting with my fellow friends on paddleboards. My friends also thought it would be funny if they bumped into me and tried to make me fall. Alas I prevailed never falling and in fact while one of them was trying to make me fall they lost balance and fell. 

After our time on the paddleboard ended, we decided to build a sand castle. Our sand castle was like an Egyptian Sphinx but in the picture of our favorite teacher. It was definitely an interesting piece of work and I enjoyed just hanging out on the sand having fun. After that I filled out a worksheet I had been given but after I just kind of rested since I was way too tired. 

Overall I would say I had a very fun experience and this activity is definitely one for people who like being in the water or being at the beach. Everyone in the whole family can have fun even if you can’t swim. Making sand castles is fun, folks. I hope you decide to visit one day. 

Before the actual trip (like most of them), I wasn’t expecting anything. When I got to school, I greeted Emeli and Arianna, then Judith, Arianna, Emeli, and I all went outside to where the cars were to help watch over the gear as Ms. Trisha pulled some of the hth vans into the drop off area. Once we helped load everything into the vans after waiting for a good while, we all made our way back into school, where Emeli got us all a copy of the worksheet, which we all completed the FBD for in the fishbowl.

I was put in a car with Emeli, Judith, and Martin, which was super fun because Martin’s mom is incredibly funny and nice (and she kinda reminds me of my mom in a way :3). When we arrived, I went on the swings for a while, until it was time for attendance and groups.

Paddleboarding is something I have experience with, so it's not new to me. I was in the first group, and Judith and I were both on a paddleboard together. When we had about 10 minutes left, I started collecting seaweed, which was fun, then Lars and Alex tried to steal my stash.

Once on land, I made a sand ball and wrapped it in seaweed, and threw it at Alex, who then shoveled sand at me as revenge. Afterwards, I helped with Mr. Scott's ‘sand castle’ by helping put a seashell for his mole, seaweed for his beard, and a mustache. Then, I washed off, ate some string cheese, and completed my worksheet. After a while more, I went with Emeli and Judith to change out of our swimsuits, and once we had finished changing, Emeli and I went onto the swings for a bit before Martin’s mom told us we were leaving.

When I got home, my mom said I looked like a tomato, then I realized I had forgotten to use sunscreen, so when I looked in the mirror, I was tan everywhere but my shoulders and under-eyes (my shoulders were alex red and my under-eyes were alex when he bends down red), I put some aloe-vera on but the burns didn’t hurt, they were just hot to the touch and VERY red. This morning, however, they are barely noticeable, but still feel hot and hurt a bit.

If you are thinking about going paddleboarding in Mission Bay (or just in general), bring a ton of sunscreen; you will, in fact, need it.

Before the trip, I was very excited because I love the beach and I knew I was gonna enjoy it more with Alana and Judith by my side. All I was expecting from the whole trip was to have fun, especially with paddleboarding. 

When we were about to head to the beach, we found out that we were going to ride with Martinie Weenie, and that made us 10x more giddy because we all love Martinie. So, we all got in the car and all made our way to the beach with all of us singing to the Hamilton soundtrack.

Once at the beach, we all happily got out of the car, and Alana quickly went to play, while Judith and I stayed back to fill up the paddleboard. After we finished getting the paddleboard ready, Judith and I carried it to where everybody was hanging out. Afterwards, Alana, Judith, and I went off to play before we had to do our assignment.

While paddleboarding, we were all having fun, and there was a lot of “traffic” that kept being created on the water because a lot of people were bumping into each other, which was funny. Afterwards, we were told we could build a sand castle, but Judith and I decided we just wanted to rest and finish the worksheet so we wouldn't have to do it later. Alana, on the other hand, was happily building a sand castle with the others, as Judith and I watched happily.

After sand castle building, we were told to take photos of the last group on the water, and so we did. It was a lot of fun, especially since we captured a few people falling into the water and others just having fun.

When we finally came back to school, I was exhausted, sunburned, and happy. It was one of the best days I had experienced, and it had taken me back to my 8th-grade beach day, which is a core memory of mine.

I would definitely recommend going out to the beach or bay to paddleboard, whether it be with family or friends or just by yourself. Always make sure to wear sunscreen, though! Even if it’s cloudy out. 

How is Mission Point for paddle boarding, and is paddle boarding even any fun? Well, for me it was. I knew that my dad was chaperoning, which I thought would be nice, so I figured I’d have a good time. I didn’t really want to go in the water because it seemed like it would be cold, but I thought this would be fun with friends. That said, it felt like we were just sitting around for ages beforehand, getting ready to leave.

When we got there we put on sunscreen, used the playground, and I went to help my dad carry over the paddleboards. We eventually gathered on the grass and were assigned to one of three groups. I had my friend, Vivienne, in my group. I also had another friend, Charlotte, who had swapped places with someone.

Our first activity was sandcastle building. Vivienne didn’t really care about it, but Charlotte and I at least wanted to try. We headed near the shore for better access to wet sand and eventually settled on attempting to make an octopus. We drew out a circle where the head would be, as well as eight tentacles curving around it as a guide before actually starting to sculpt. The tentacles I sculpted were coming out better than the others, but a lot of that is because I was doing it with my hands while Charlotte kept using the trowel, so she couldn’t get it as even. She also kept wanting to pour water or a heap of wet sand directly on where she was building, which we repeatedly told her would not help. 

Eventually it switched to just me working on tentacles while Charlotte sculpted the head. She was the only one that could picture what an octopus head looked like. Then Vivienne moved on from doodling and practicing tentacle details (that we ran out of time for) to help us by digging out around the tentacles to make them look deeper. I wasn’t a fan when I had to destroy a tentacle and try and move some over gently because the head ended up sculpted so a tentacle would have been coming directly out of its mouth, but we made it work. As we heard time was ending we quickly rushed to put a clear border around the build, which we didn’t finish, and I wish we had more time for the build overall. I think we could’ve done better with more time, but it was fun. Well, except for the fact that someone said it looked like a cross between an octopus and a spider.

Our next rotation was taking photos. I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to get specifically, so I tried to get ones where it looked like people were actually paddling. I also got a lot of videos because those were mentioned as well. I saw someone fall off their paddleboard at some point, but unfortunately didn’t get that on video.

Our final rotation was paddleboarding. I made sure to get the board I brought and then waited behind it for Vivienne and me to use. We decided I’d paddle first. I tried the different ways like we were supposed to and decided that kneeling with the single paddle was the best. After paddling for a little bit I pulled into shore so Vivienne could have a turn and we switched. The wind was strong that day and kept trying to push us left towards the rocks, and so if she was struggling I’d use the paddle I was holding in the front to help correct our course. Towards the end we also switched boards with Saxon to try the board with no fin, and finished with that one when heading into shore. My biggest takeaway about it was that it drifted more. Paddling and the wind both had a greater effect in making the board turn.

After the trip was also great. I had to take a partially deflated paddleboard to the showers so I could rinse off the sand which wasn’t so fun, but then I just got to sit with friends and enjoy lunch. Even better was the fact that because my dad had brought stuff and chaperoned, I just got to go back home with him. I helped him carry the paddleboards to the side of the house and then went to my room to finish the worksheet. Even if you think you might not like paddleboarding, I’d recommend giving it a try. It’s a lot more fun than you’d expect and there are various different ways (kneeling, standing, etc..) you can try when learning how. If you do it at a mission point like I did, watch out for the rocks to the side and just enjoy the experience.

I did not want to go on this “fun” field trip to the beach. Waiting in the class for the drivers to get there, I was quite anxious and overall unhappy about the trip. I don’t like the beach, and find cleaning up afterwards to especially be a pain. Not to mention we were going to Mission Bay, “the toilet of the ocean”.

I was in one of the groups that got there first, so I got to be at the playground for a while. Some of the kids started climbing the frame holding the swings, it was funny to watch. We all took turns on the swings, everyone likes swings.

We were later all called into a grassy spot to get our groups, learn what we would be doing first, and where to go. Thankfully, I got put in the same group as Lila. Charlotte later joined our group too, swapping with Sebastian. We were in group C, which meant that we started with building sand castles. I paired with Lila and Charlotte, we chose to try and make an octopus instead of a sand castle

Taking photos of those paddle boarding afterwards was uneventful. Finding where to go took a bit, but once we found it we sat our stuff down and took photos of those out paddleboarding. Watching Mr. Amilio zoom around helping students was entertaining. I didn’t like how sunny and hot it was, I was a bit afraid of getting sunburnt. We saw someone fall off their paddleboard, that's about it.

When it was my turn to go on the paddle boards I went with Lila on the one her dad let the students use. At first I was very reluctant to enter the water. I mean, it's Mission bay, what did you expect? Getting onto the board was not as bad as I expected, It didn’t sink too much. The initial wobbling made me want to cry internally, but it wasn’t too bad I guess. Once we mellowed out and got situated it was fine, at least with Lila paddling. When it was my turn to paddle I did fine… I think. I’m not sure, Lila said I did okay. I didn’t really like it. Being a passenger was kinda fun, Would do again. Not in Mission Bay, though

Cleaning up was no fun. I hate cleaning up after being in the water, it feels disgusting. I brought mine and Red’s stuff back. I then sat down in the grass and processed. Trying to shower and change back was annoying, but I got it done. Followed by lunch, I shared fruit with Arianna, chatted with Hannah and said goodbye to Lila. 

Getting into Camilo’s mom’s car and driving back was thankfully uneventful. Unless you count Charlotte finding an inch-worm on her in the car as eventful. (Fun-fact inch worms aren’t worms, they're caterpillars, specifically caterpillars of moths within the Geometridae family. It’s a very cool looking moth family.)

After it all I was just tired. Same for the following day too. Just tired and dreading the physical test on Friday. Don’t fixate on one thing too much. You might enjoy something you're dreading more than you think.              

The week of the beach field trip I was very excited and couldn’t wait for the day to arrive. 

Through my excitement I forced myself to calm myself down to not have a repeat of the camping trip where I got sick because of how excited I was.

 On the day before the beach field trip I had a friend let me borrow some shorts and a tank top.

The next morning I had made my mom wake up early to arrive at school at an earlier time to get myself a sweet treat before school starts. 

When I arrived at school at 8:10 I quickly dropped my stuff in Omar's room and on the way I accounted Santi. 

I didn't want to go alone to Starbucks so I snatched him up and raced out the door to our adventure to Starbucks. 

When we arrived I noticed a massive line, but I was determined to have my sweet treat so I waited.

In the middle of waiting I was informed that my friend that was going to provide me with the polka dot swimsuit had forgotten it, my heart sank down to my stomach. 

I addressed the information to Adri and shared some of her knowledge and told her that my first friend was still home and she could still grab the shorts and tank top.

I quickly informed her of the situation and begged her to let me borrow the shorts and tank top. She of course said yes because she's just so cool and awesome. 

Immediately my nerves calmed down and I was up next in line. I ordered my drink, waited for some more and when my drink was ready I snatched  the drink and Santi quickly raced back to school because it was already 8:40. 

Finally we arrived and were in time to listen to the instructions.

I got my swim suit and packed things in the HTH van, soon on our way to Mission Beach. 

Upon arriving at the beach, we helped load things out of the van and settled camp at some random spot of the grassy area. 

I quickly changed with the help of a towel wrapped around my body. When I changed I felt so exposed and cold. 

 We later got called to regroup and find out our groups. I was in group B with most of my friends, so we first took photos of group A and documented. We were soon up next to paddleboard. 

Adri and I got on one to both go on it. We grabbed our boards and headed off. When I first got one, I freaked because it wouldn’t stay still, mind you we were still on shore. 

We soon paddled farther away from shore and into slightly deeper water. I freaked out when I couldn't feel the ground and Adri had to assure me that we were fine and she could feel the ground. 

As we got into deeper water I had to calm myself multiple times, to the point me and Adri started singing songs such as ‘row row your boat’ to help me calm down. 

While Adri tried multiple positions on the paddle board I stayed seated with my legs on both sides to keep us balanced. 

We soon got the hang of turning and going forward with the help of the lifeguard and Mr Amilio. 

We would row at the same time to be able to go faster and do the same when turning. 

We soon got called back because our time was up and it was time to do the sand castle contest. 

I got the brilliant idea of making my friends bury my body and make me a mermaid. With a lot of work time and sand inside my mouth, I was successfully buried. 

I helped put some of the sand on top of my body so my friends could shape my beautiful mermaid body. With a lot of effort. I was finally a mermaid with seaweed as my bra. 

I broke out of my cocoon of sand after taking multiple pictures and was free once again. We were called back for lunch and to pack back up. 

I begged Adri to rinse off with me in the showers because there is a drought in California and we have to conserve the water; she had agreed, but we both regretted it soon after we were brutally attacked by the shower head. 

We survived and got a reward with mediocre peanut butter sandwiches.

After our mediocre sandwiches I helped pack up toys and bags into the HTH van and we were soon on the road; back to school.

I would recommend mission beach! The water was so clear and clean as well, with a lot of space to hang.

I was originally not gonna go to the bay but when I told all the teachers and became this big thing, we had a super long talk and Amilio convinced me to go. He said he was bringing a nutella sandwich so I might as well go, but since I wasn't planning on going I didn't have clothes to get it in the water. 

I wasn't too upset because my car was good and I had all my friends. The car ride there wasn't that long so I didn't get bored or anything. When we got there we were supposed to help out but all i got to help with was put towels over the boards. We didn't help much because we got there late.

Taking pictures was easy cause you just had to take a couple pictures and then that was it.  After me and my group took our pictures 2 people in our group started racing and then it became something everybody started doing. I had fun racing. My friends were joking around making fun of each other. We would get in a real racing position, have a starting and finish line. Somebody at the finish to see who wins and somebody at the start to call it off and say go. We took turns going against each other. We did 2 at a time and when I called it off and said go I would switch up how I would say go so people don't cheat, sometimes I would say go fast or slow. 

Making a sand castle was crazy because everybody was arguing, throwing sand at each other and getting in trouble. I was giving a couple ideas while they were building it but I was like the blueprint guy and telling them what we should do and how. I didn't want to help build because I didn't want to get my clothes messed up. After all the stations were over, I was ready to go home and just relax. 

My opinion on if you're going to go paddleboarding is get on your knees, it's easier to hold balance and less likely you're going to fall.

Before the trip, I was feeling super, super scared and nervous because I was told we were going to the water, and when there’s water, there’s monsters. I was expecting there to be a kraken or something crazy, scary. Even thinking about it got my heart jumping out of my chest. As we pulled up to the water, I started to feel like I was dying because I swore I saw something in the water. But thankfully, I was in the second group to get into the water, and as I watched the first group go in, I just thought, little did they know they’re just some candy in the bowl. Not even the bright red lifeguard would be able to save them. As I watched every second, the first group was in the water like a hawk, but surprisingly, nothing happened. I just started to think to myself, maybe it was just my imagination. But then, the time I was hoping would never come came: it was my group’s turn to get into the water. As I took every step closer, my heart beat harder and harder and harder. Until I touched the water, I felt the cold wind hit my body immediately, and my feet were cold. I had goosebumps all over and was terrified.

When I heard Diego call out, “Anthony!” I snapped out of it, and it was like it all went away. I was good. I went with my friends and told them what I thought I saw, and they said I was just imagining it, and I said they’re right. I started having fun on the paddleboard, swimming in the water, until Diego fell off the paddleboard, and it went flying out because it had no strap. Without thinking, I said, “I got it!” So I started to swim closer and closer to it, not noticing it was getting deeper and deeper. Once I realized it was because I kept feeling seaweed and other little fish swimming by, I hooked on the paddleboard. I was scared, remembering what I saw before, thinking it could be out in the sea. I got on the paddleboard, and I looked at how far off land I was. My amigo, my teacher, was shouting my name to come back, and the lifeguard started to swim towards me when suddenly I heard a noise. I look down and see a shadow moving. I wonder, can it be the kraken? Then I think to myself, no way. Then I hear screaming, and I look, everyone is looking at me, the whole class and pointing, kids running out of the water, the lifeguard swimming the fastest he can back to shore.

Suddenly, I see a huge shadow appear on top of me. It was the kraken. He had many tentacles and sharp teeth. He started to roar and screech. I jumped into the water and started to swim the fastest I could back. As I jumped into the water, the kraken swung at the paddleboard, and I barely dodged it. Then I was yelling, “Get away!” but it grabbed me. I felt slimy tentacles all over my skin; it felt like wet circles, and I bruised immediately with red marks all over me. It yelled in my face, its saliva spraying all over me. I felt so scared I was gonna die, my heart pumping faster than the world spinning. Then the kraken opens his mouth and puts me over it, then he drops me into his mouth. It felt like I was falling for years in slow motion, and I kept falling; it got darker and darker until I woke up.

I was super confused, but it turned out it was all amazing,m and I never really went to the field trip because I was with my grandma. But I wondered what would have happened if I had gone.

If you ever go on a field trip to the water, remember that sometimes your imagination can make things seem scarier than they are. Try to have fun, stay close to your friends, and listen to the lifeguards and teachers. Most of all, don’t let your fears stop you from making memories; you never know what adventures you’ll have until you try.

Have you ever paddleboarded? You absolutely should, it’s such a special experience! I was delighted to learn I was going paddle boarding for school. My family loves doing it, and I always enjoy the thrill of standing up and looking around at the flat surface of the water. You feel like you’re the tallest thing for miles!

When we first got to Mission Bay it was cold. Freezing, in fact. I shivered and stuffed my hands into my pockets. I tugged my hair around my face as if making a barrier against the wind. It was a lovely day, beautiful, sunny, and extremely windy.

During setup I helped with blowing up some of the inflatable paddleboards and afterward my arms felt like jelly. Then, the teachers called a huddle to assign groups. 

I was originally in Group B but one of the boys, Sebastian, came up to me after they had been assigned and practically yelled in my face “Do you want to swap!?” 

After giving him a hesitant reply (“Um..sure?”) I landed in Group C with my friend Lila and her friend Vivienne.

For the first thirty minutes me, Lila, and Vivienne built a sandcastle. Ours was an artistic approach to the prompt and, I am proud to say, my idea. We built an octopus with its eight tentacles outstretched in a circle. I quickly realized that tentacles are not my expertise and decided to sculpt the head. I was pleased with my work because I thought it had the shape of a true octopus head.

For the next thirty minutes Group C took photos and videos of Group B out on the water. I took many pictures and at least a few videos. I even got a video of Ari and Carli falling off their paddleboard into the water, invoking a huge splash. I saw quite a few people topple off their boards but it was also a little hard to get photos since they were so far out. Later I learned that they were that far out due to a “misunderstanding about the number of adults”. 

Finally, for the last thirty minutes, it was our turn. Group C went out on the water on the paddleboards. To my credit, I waited a little while before I stood up, though it was hard. When I finally stood I felt amazing. The water was flat and slightly choppy, the sun warmed me up, and I pushed through the water with every stroke of my paddle. 

I’ve had some awe inspiring paddleboard moments. There have been some days where the water is glass and I’m just sliding along the surface. With barely a ripple my boat slices through the water elegantly. I glide at a leisurely pace and look around at the banks of the water. Greenery, lush plants; nature.

Then, there have been adventurous moments. The waves churning and frothing around me like they’ve been stirred into anger. The bumping up and down, rocking back and forth. A ride that is pure and untamed. I balance precariously on my board and steer through the current. Wild waves, roaring in my ears, droplets spraying everywhere; nature.

This ride was calm and choppy. The waves were dancing to their own tune, pulling toward the rocks, gently lapping the board. The paddleboard was riding the tide, nudging its way through.

Looking back, I remember the energy that pulsed through me as I stood tall. I remember slashing the waves and parting them with ease with a kayak paddle. And the jolt, the sudden sinking feeling when I almost fell over. 

Paddleboarding is a paradox: soothing, thrilling, calm, energetic, safety, danger, and somehow all at once, balance.

I would extremely recommend paddleboarding but maybe not at Mission Point, the water is a little dirty.

Mission Bay in San Diego, California, is the biggest man-made aquatic park in all of the United States. You can always count on this place to have fun, even when the water quality is subpar. Turns out we were going to go paddleboarding there, finally, after all these years at school, we were having a field trip to the beach. I knew today would be full of fun activities, sandcastle building, amounting to a fun-filled day. I was hoping it would go smoothly, and hoping I wouldn't get sick from the water. 

I came to school, and we learned about what exactly we were doing during the trip: paddleboarding, photo taking, and sandcastle building. A couple of minutes of driving and we reached the beach, which was located right behind South Mission Beach. Coming out of the car, I noticed that it wasn't the most perfect beach day, as it was slightly windy, making me a little chilly, but it didn't matter too much as the sun balanced it out, and warmed my skin faster than it could get cold. 

We then set our stuff down by the playground, and I went to help everyone bring the equipment down to the beach after a little safety talk. I grabbed a foam board on the way down, and it was so much heavier compared to my light shortboard. The wind didn't help either. It was actually quite a challenge to get some of these boards down. I struggled, but persevered. 

After getting all the stuff down, we got into groups. We were on the paddle boards first, so I grabbed a Life vest, a paddle board, and slowly shimmied to the shore with our group. Getting on the board was natural, but I still had to be mindful of the fin. I pushed it into the water, and when the water was about knee high, I jumped on and started paddling. Paddleboarding felt weird, but familiar at the same time. It took me a minute to get used to the paddleboard, and even then, Amilio was so much faster than everyone. Lars was also trying to sabotage me, attempting to capsize my paddleboard. He was successful one time. Overall, I had a ton of fun, and when we were told to go in, I was satisfied. 

Our next activity was Sandcastle building. Initially, I didn't know what to make, so I started making a sand mound. While staking dirt with Juan and Alex, we decided that it would be amazing if we made Scott out of sand. Later, Alana and Martin also joined us, and our vision was coming through as Scott's face was slowly emerging from the sand mound. Alex added something to the back, and I worked on the front. Alana gave him hair, a goatee, and a mustache, made from seaweed. I had to admit Scott was looking pretty good. We were laughing the whole time we were working. We asked Scott to take a photo, but we didn't realize Lars put the stache and goatee in the back, so it didn't really look like Scott in the end. It still was a lot of fun to make, we had a good laugh, and it won in our hearts, even though it was disqualified from the sand castle competition later. 

When everyone was done, we brought all of our equipment back to the grass. After we had lunch, I made myself a peanut butter and peanut butter sandwich, which was very peanut buttery. I relaxed the rest of the day, lying in the grass with Alex, Martin, Kaden, and Lars. 

On the way to school, I knew that this day was awesome just like I expected it to be, maybe even more than that. Like always, I thought about how this was going to be just a memory, a pretty good one. The next day I felt soreeeee and tierrrrrrdddd.

So, if you plan on going to Mission Point, to paddle board, or be on the beach. Don't forget to bring sunscreen - being burned is not fun. Bring a towel and a change of clothes if you plan on getting in the water, and if there are showers, take a shower because the water quality is usually pretty low. Bring food + water - you need energy. Bring some sort of water-related activity, like a paddleboard or kayak, to have fun exploring the open waters, and bring a shovel or trowel, so you can maybe make an epic sand castle, as we did. As I always like to say, bring people you know, who you are comfortable with, because when you are with those people, you will make those memorable, funny moments, and in the end, make your day here at Mission Bay no matter what. 

Before the trip, I was really excited to get out into the calm and smooth waters of the bay. After a short drive, we arrived at the bay. As soon as I got out, a cold breeze ripped through my clothes. As soon as I felt the breeze, my mood immediately dropped. I knew that if it were windy, then the paddleboards would be hard to steer.

 Once everybody had the paddleboards set up, we brought them down to the water. We turned the jetty, and I saw the water; the wind had made the water choppy and messy. When I put my board in, I immediately felt the current pushing me towards the rocks. Once I controlled my board, I sailed around and messed with my friends. Lars even tried to push me off, but I ran over his board with mine, and he plunged into the water with a splash. After we brought our boards in, I ran over to the other side of the beach, where we had to build a sand castle. 

For our build group, we had me, Juan, Lars, Ilyas, and Martin. We decided to make a Mr. Scott mountain. We finally finished the mountain, and I felt like we had painted the Mona Lisa. After that, I grabbed a small snack to tide me over my hunger. Our next job was to take photos, but that was pretty boring.

 The only funny thing I saw was Santi falling headfirst into the water. Santi and I started to pass around a soccer ball as we cleaned up, but I stopped because it felt like the sun was out to kill me. We left the beach, and once we got back to school, I finished up my packet and relaxed. The next morning, I realized I had a crazy sunburn on my shoulders. I would recommend paddleboarding, but don't go to Mission Beach. I would also bring sunscreen and a towel.

When I was eating breakfast that morning, I remembered that we were going paddleboarding. I was very excited to go paddleboarding at Mission Bay. Once I got to school, it felt like so long before we could leave and go paddleboarding. The people in my car group were Alex, Ilyas, and Juan. On the car ride to the bay, we talked about all the things we planned to do while we were there and which groups we wanted to get into.

Once we arrived at the bay, we had about 30 minutes to just hang out and play at the playground. I just hung out with Ilyas and Kaden on the swings for a little bit before everyone gathered up on the grass. Everyone went to the grass to get all of the paddle boards inflated and also get all of the gear sorted.

After that, I put on a lot of sunscreen, which made my face very white. Some of my friends were saying that the color of my face blended in with the color of my rash gourd. After all of that happened, they announced what groups we were in. I was in group A, which meant that I got to paddleboard first. Walking the paddle boards down to the beach was very hard because there was a lot of wind, so when the wind would blow the big paddle board, it would work like a sail, so it felt like I was getting blown around by the wind.

Once I finally got to go in the water, I was very surprised by how warm the bay water was. Once I got far enough out to where I was able to stand up on my board, I thought standing up would be a lot harder than it ended up being. After I got used to balancing, learning how to row better was not that hard. Everything was going very well until Alex started bumping my paddleboard with his row, which made me fall. After I got back up to my paddleboard, Alex tried to push me off again, but this time I was ready and able to adjust my balance to not get pushed off this time. We only had 30 minutes to go paddleboarding, which felt way shorter than it actually was. After I finished paddleboarding, it was time to build my sand castle.

A group of people made a portrait of Scott out of sand. It was really hard to make a sand castle because we did not have a lot of tools, and the sand at the bay is super fine and mushy. After my 30 minutes of sand castle building were up, it was my turn to fill out my packet and take photos of people.

I do not have my own phone, so I had to borrow Alex’s phone to take photos of people. I got some good photos of Saxon and Luis paddling boarding. After I finished taking photos, I spent the rest of my time filling out my packet from Mr.Amilo’s packet. After I finished the packet, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and ate it while hanging out with my friends. After I finished lunch, I helped rinse off some sandy life jackets and beach tools. After I finished cleaning up, I came back to school with the same car group of Ilyas, Alex, and Juan.

Once we got back to school, all I really had to do was turn in my packet from Mr. Amilois class. After that, I just hung out with my friends, and we all voted for who made the best sand castle. The one I helped make got disqualified:(

Once school ended, my grandma took me home, but on the way home, we got Raising Cane's. Overall, it was one of my favorite field trips we have had this year. If anyone reading this is planning on going paddleboarding at Mission Bay, I would recommend bringing lots of water to drink. I also recommend bringing water to rinse off because the bay water is pretty gross. 

This was the first field trip I didn’t feel dread like a pit in my stomach as I walked into school. I was almost excited. After we listened to instructions, I went to the bathroom with my friends, Adri and Brissa, to change into our swimsuits. We leisurely walked back to class and got into our car groups. The car ride was filled with music blasting, Carli and Ari belting out the song lyrics, Amillio and Freddie talking about birds in the front seats. Adri, Brissa and I were taking photos and laughing. 

When we arrived at Mariners point, I was met with wind. This wasn’t a light breeze, no, my hair was blowing behind me like I had a massive fan in front of me. 

We found a spot in the grass and set out stuff down. I immediately started putting sunscreen on. When I was done Adri, Brissa and I walked over to the playground. When the swings were free we ran over. I immediately sat down and started pumping my legs to get as high as I could. I felt like I was in one of those summer movies about teens. 

After a little while we were called over and put into our activity groups. I was with Adri and Brissa, of course. Our group was observing the paddleboarders first, so we walked down to the water. We quickly walked into the water, mid shin deep, and started taking photos. 

Some of them looked like they knew what they were doing but some people looked very uncertain. Everyone on the paddleboards stayed in the cove area, which I found strange because I was itching to paddle away from everyone. 

The wind was blowing people into the rocks, which meant most people were in need of rescuing. Other people were trying to knock each other off their paddle boards. 

Once their time was up, it was my group's turn to get on the paddleboards. At this point I was very excited to get onto the water. I had my plan - to get as far away from everyone as possible. 

I skillfully got onto my paddleboard and started paddling towards the boats. I opted for a kayak paddle because it would allow me to paddle faster. I quickly paddled around the guys who were trying to get out on the water. Then I was alone. Well not technically alone but it felt that way. So much peace and the wind blowing droned everything else out. I turned around and watched the rest of my group as I paddled backwards. After a minute or two, my teacher Trisha had caught up with me, I turned back around and started paddling with her towards a buoy. 

We had lovely conversations, too far away from people to hear their struggles. We paddled around the buoy and I leisurely started paddling towards the rest of the group, passing a group of guys trying to go into the boat area. 

I paddled right next to the shore, switching from paddling normally to paddling backwards. It felt like I was in my own little world. It was amazing. Some people were taking photos of my but I ignored them, content in my little bubble. 

Our last rotation was making sand castles. Brissa was very adamant about being buried and sculpted into a mermaid. Who are we to say no to her dream? 

We quickly got her buried, then started sculpting her tail and body. I sculpted her top while Adri and Ari sculpted the tail. Carli was off doing who knows what. We, sadly, were not fully finished when our time was up.

We took a photo for the competition and quickly got cleaned up for lunch. I quickly toweled off and got changed into my other clothes. Then I sat down to eat my lunch. I hadn’t realized how drained I was feeling, until I almost fell asleep while I was eating.

When I was finished with my lunch, I decided that the best thing to do was cartwheels. Because why not?

They hurt a little bit, but I had no time to dwell because it was time to drive back to school. The drive back was very quiet and I dozed off a few times. When we got back to school, I finished my assignment and tried to not fall asleep.

This was a very fun adventure and I would highly recommend it. Make sure to go with friends because it is way more fun than being surrounded by people you don’t really like. Also bring sunscreen and warm clothes because you never really know what the weather will be. Take care of yourself and be safe!

The days leading up to the Mission Point Paddleboarding trip everyone around me was looking forward to it. I, on the other hand, was not. I was happy I got to hangout with my friends and it wasn’t a normal school day but I wasn’t all that crazy about paddleboarding. In the morning, I was looking a little more forward to the trip. I still didn’t wanna go but I also promised myself to at least try and enjoy and not let what I was feeling at the moment affect my time there.  

When I got to Mission Point it was super windy and so cold I felt like a snowman. I set my bag down in a mini pile of other bags next to a palm tree located in a grass field where everyone met up at. There was a playground right across from the grass field so my friends and I decided to head over. When we got there, there were a group of kids from our classes at the swingset. Some kids were on top of the swingset, others were waiting for the swings, and two kids at a time swung on the swings. 

Me and my friends, Carli, Arely, and April, decided to hang around the baby swings since there wasn’t anyone there. After a few minutes of talking and giggling some of the boys climbing the other swingset had the bright idea to come over and climb the baby swingset. We made the decision to leave and head back to the meet up spot and soon after our teachers called everyone to huddle up. Everyone huddled into a circle as the teachers got ready to explain the next instructions.

They split us into three groups, A, B, and C, and explained the schedule for each group. I thankfully had most of my friends in my group but I was also in the group that had to paddleboard first. Everyone in group A slipped on a life vest and chose a paddle board. I, of course, chose a pink paddle board. We were then given the instruction to head down to the water once we had everything we needed. I carried my paddle board all the way down and though I was able to, my arms and hand felt like they were gonna snap off at any given moment. Amilio huddled our group together and told us the do’s and don’t’s. I carried my board until I was knee deep in the water.

The water was cold but it felt nice. As I was getting on top of my board I was really scared I was gonna fall over into the water. My heart started racing just a little but I was able to get on top, with the help of this lovely lady. It was hard to steer at the beginning but thankfully one of the volunteers helped me steer and told me what to do. I couldn’t understand some of what he was saying because of his accent and the terms he was using but I was eventually able to turn around and steer in the right direction. 

A few minutes in I was able to get the hang of it and it was fun, except for the parts where my legs were hurting. I was going to stand but I was too afraid to fall into the water. I crashed into a couple people at times and it was kind of like bumper cars. When it was time to go back on land, I hopped off my board and my legs felt so weak. I was able to walk it off a few moments after and I was perfectly fine. I caught up with my friends and then made my way over to the sand castle station with Scott. I spent a lot of time in the sand kind of just making squares because we had to make something in the sand. 

Then it was time for my group, group A, to work on our worksheet. Arely, Mani, April, and I sat at a table and worked on our sheets while we snacked on Ritz crackers. When we finished I tucked my paper into my backpack, went to the bathrooms with Arely so she could change, and then headed to the swings with April.

A few minutes later it was lunch time. I could tell by the big group of kids running around the grassy field and table crowded with food.

My advice to anyone going paddle boarding is to do some research on how to stand and paddle. I only watched one video before going paddle boarding and I maybe would have been able to stand and paddle had I done more research.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of beaches. So I wasn’t entirely enthusiastic about this field trip. My mom was the one to drop off my group at the playground everyone else was dropped off at. I spent the first few minutes just walking around the place and looking at the water crashing against the rocks. Martin actually walked all the way down to the bottom rocks with no shoes on, so that was interesting. 

Eventually we were split into groups to do what we were supposed to do, paddle board. I was part of the first group going on the waters, and I was not excited. Just the thought of possibly falling into the dirty mission bay water put a bit of a damper on my paddle boarding experience. But I grabbed my board and paddle and set out to the ocean.

At first it was definitely a hard time getting used to how a boat like this worked, especially with how windy it was that day, but over time I learned how to get a hold of the boat and properly steer it. Though that learning process took up most of the time I had on the water. I also remember seeing Alana along with another person collecting (I think) seaweed in a giant ball on their board. Once I’d gotten used to the waters and could finally feel comfortable, I just laid down on the board and started just swishing the paddle across the water, which is how I learned that paddles can cut through water making a kind of V shape.

My group was then called over to the sand for our next activity to take part in, making sandcastles. It was a fun experience and I enjoyed looking at what everyone was making. Though the thing that almost everyone was trying to contribute towards was the sand effigy of Mr. Scott, who was one of the adults in charge of keeping track of us. Complete with hair, hands, and an attempted 1-1 replica of Mr. Scott’s face. It was actually pretty good. However I got so caught up in the watching of sandcastles, that I forgot to make my own.

After all of that, me and my group were brought to the last part, which was just working on the physics sheet we were all given at the start along with taking photos of everyone. I just decided to focus on working on the sheet, so I headed up the sand to the grassy area, sat down, and got to writing. I had Mr Scott help me with certain sections but other than that it was an average work session by myself. Though I did forget to take any photos during this time, I did remember to take a few during the sandcastle portion. 

So after all of this was done, we headed back to near the playground area where we started to then wash off any excess sand, clean the boards and any other equipment that got dirty, and eat lunch. Soon after my mother arrived to pick up my group and me. So after eating we all hopped into my mother’s car and headed back to the school.

Overall a pretty good field trip, despite the heavy winds that day pushing us against the rocks. Would board again.

If you want to paddle board somewhere with mostly good scenery, then I’d recommend Mission Bay. Just as long as you don’t mind water that’s a bit dirty.

Mission Point Beach, a great beach, due to the warm water, soft sand, and calm water, perfect for paddle boarding.

 The drive there was very short, when I got there I was happy to be at the beach. First I got in a group where we first built sand castles, obviously the first thing to come in mind to build was a pyramid. I tried my best, it was difficult for two reasons, first, I didn’t have a water bucket so if I wanted water I got very wet sand and brought it back so I could mold it into the spots that needed support, second, I didn’t have a team. I think I did an average job for one person. 

Then we took photos of the people in the water, my camera was very blurry and the people were far away. I did try my best to wait for people to get closer to the shallow side. Then it was my team's turn, though the whole time not many people stood up on the board while I was taking pictures.

So I really wanted to experience how difficult it was. My first try was easy, the board didn’t move much, it was difficult pushing the water away while trying to be balanced on the board. turning the board left to right was very difficult with one paddle, so I decided to lean in the direction I wanted to go. At first it was easy, but then I leaned too much to the left, lost balance, and fell. The water was not too cold to swim in, but my board was floating away, so I swam to my board with my paddle in my hand and grabbed my board. Getting up was easy. I grabbed the handle and pulled myself upwards. After learning my mistake, I did it again and fell like three more times. When I got out of the water my arms,shoulders felt exhausted and I think I pushed the paddle so hard that I damaged my leg, I don’t even know how. 

So when carrying the boat to the lunch table I lost grip multiple times. When I finally got to the lunch table I gently put down the board and made myself a sandwich. After I went back in the car to go back to school, When I got there I felt so tired, and I wasn't the only one, other classmates were asleep. Then we voted the best sandcastles, then I put the photos into the folder. At the end of the day I still really enjoyed the trip. If you decide to go to Mission Point Beach to paddleboard, bring goggles, the water isn’t eye friendly.

As I sat in Ms. Trisha’s classroom listening for what I should and shouldn’t do out on the water, I couldn’t keep from shaking. It’s been an upwards of 2 years that I had not paddleboarded and I wanted to see how good I’d be for the first time in a while. When we got to the bay, it was quite windy and I figured it wouldn’t be easy paddling out, but we all got down to the sand and took off. 

The water was very rough and as expected, the wind pushed everyone towards the rocks. Rowing was a very one sided thing due to the breeze and we had to put a lot more effort into paddling left than right. Me and my friends went circles around each other and attempted to make others fall by creating waves, but in the end our efforts were in vain because everyone was just so good at balancing.

Nothing really happened on the water, it was just paddling but I saw a moon jelly and me and Nefret raced to a boat (spoiler alert they beat me). Aside from being on the paddleboard the day was a tad bit uneventful. When our paddle time ended I got back on the sand and helped a few other friends make a (cursed) sculpture of a beloved staff member whom I shant name for fear of retribution. 

All in all the day was pretty a-ok and it probably could have been better had we gotten to paddle farther and for a longer time. If you yourself ever want to try paddle boarding, a few things I recommend are to NOT go to mission bay and instead somewhere else with better water quality, and please remember to put on sunscreen because I didn’t and got sunburned. 

Me and Ariana, Adri and Brissa got into the car and did some karaoke and it was lots of fun. I was feeling thrilled and excited before the trip. On the way there thinking about the paddle board I was expecting, Belmont and Mission beach the actual one. I picture big palm trees.. The class all of them scarred thru the beach and ocean waves. 

Then after we got here I changed out of my comfy clothes into water clothes I put my cover up so then after that we were called and put into groups I met up with Gia and Arely to say my goodbyes and good luck they go into the water while I record and take photos and I sat in the sun with the hot sand warming my body from the wind me and ari dug our legs in the sand and started clicking away with photos I remember seeing Gia tense and scared which made me a little nervous but I zoomed in on Gia paddling with her every strength and slowly but progressively. Arely’s eyes sparkled and you could tell she was good at this. I even caught a picture of her standing up on the paddle board! 

Once it was my turn I noticed Gia had the pink panelboard so as soon as she got off I jumped up to claim my spot and grabbed a paddle. It was pink.

We were given instruction then I proceeded to leave into shore and I was on top and Ariana was making sure not to mess up the fin while i was just relaxing so she pulls us into the water more and she gets on top of the board and we launch we row row row our boat gently down the stream while singing that exact song and we have a blast we get off and burry Brissa as a mermaid. I remember how my call sound sounded asking Gia to take a picture of me each time I was standing up she wasn’t paying attention, but I looked to my life in Saxon said “say cheese “and I remember the feeling of trying to balance, but like the ropes course again on paddle boarding too much weight on the left caused me to tip too much weight on the right caused me to tip so I learned how to really gather my balance and I could tell Ariana I got the hang of it as well.

I remember warming my feet from the leftover residue of wet sand all over my leg. Real ones who got to the beach know if you dig your feet in the dry sand the wet sand will come off. And I saw Brissa and apparently I wasn't the only one digging in the sand. Brissa, Hannah, Adri and Arianna were getting ready to dig Brissa's body into the sand. Finally, getting to relax, I glance and I see Ms. Anna and Ms. Trisha 2 feet away from me. They were blocking the faces, but sure enough not loud to block the funny wistful voices of Adrian and Ariana. Then I turned to my left to see that Brissa had a sandy mermaid tail and my face turned red from giggling and I turned to lay back in the sand and I fell asleep from the sun irritating my eyebrows and giving me a massive headache. Waking up to a migraine was not so pleasing and I woke up to Trisha announcing to everyone it's time to go back so we left and on the way back to school I slept some more and the next morning after i was so exhausted. I fell asleep too many times during the day. If you want a fun beach day in the sun. You know just the place to go with warm water and water hearts.

Setting up 

We really only messed around at the playground.

Lars, Saxon, Martin, Alex, Ilyas, and I all tried climbing onto the tallest swing set. In the end, Martin, I believe, was the only one who didn't get to the very top.

Sand castle’s

Originally, I was going to try to get Santi and Vincent to help me build the UFC octagon, but they ended up starting their own group.

Taking Photos

I honestly don't have much to say. I only got very few photos.

But in this time frame, I wrestled with Saxon and Ethan. When I went with Ethan, he went for an armbar, but he couldn't get a good enough grip on my wrist due to the sand, and I tried to hop my legs over Ethan, and I rotated my wrist to do so. When I was able to hop over him he freaked out because he saw my elbow bend and for a second thought he broke it but I was fine and I just sat there laughing as he was panting trying to calm down.

Paddle boarding

Once I got on a paddleboard, it was pretty relaxing. At one point Saxon got on the finless board, and eventually Saxon, Freddy, and I all decided to race each other. Once we lined up, I realised that Saxon had the kayak (double-sided) paddle, thus giving him an advantage. Off the line Saxon was faster, but as soon as  I was able to get my paddle to really dig in the water, I was able to fly up to Saxon and tie the race. Once the first race was conceded, we decided to race back to our previous starting position. This time, I was able to beat Saxon to the start/finish line.

So if you're going to go paddleboarding at Mission Point, bring friends.

Me and Carli were screaming at the top of our lungs. So loud to the point that the song lyrics barely sounded like words. My watch alarm went off saying the environment was too loud. I promptly ignored it. It was so fun. Although I'm not sure others in the car were enjoying it as much as us. We were headed to the bay. I honestly was excited, it sounded fun to hang out at the beach.

I dragged my stuff mildly offended that no one was helping me even though I knew that I could definitely do it on my own, and also that if I wanted help I needed to ask for it. I then set my stuff up against a rock, and laid down in the warm sand, it shielded me from the frigid breeze. Although the sun still pierced my skin the air was the thing controlling the temperature. Everyone from my car laid down near me staring up at the sun since we were in group c first. Eventually I had to force myself to a stand so I could take some photos of the people on paddle boards. After taking a few I walked into the water so it gently lapped at my ankles. 

I'm holding a paddle as I try to crawl up onto the paddle board in front of Carli. The water is cold, but not quite as cold as I expected it to be. I put my foot into the water to push out against the sand. Plunging the paddle into the water and directing Carli how she is supposed to hold it only takes a moment. I remember not feeling any seaweed at first, but once we went further out it began cutting my feet. We got pretty far out before Calri felt like making a sacrifice. We had both stood up and as Carli sat back down I was knocked into the water. It honestly wasn't that bad, and I thought it was refreshing. Unfortunately though this was one occurrence of many and I was having to push the paddle board toward shore while in the water many times.

Once we were out of the water we had to go make a sandcastle, I didn't really want to. At first I thought it would be boring. Then however we started making Brissa a mermaid, and that was very fun. We decorated her sand-made tail with pretty shells we had found. We took photos and went into the water, swimming in the shallows. In the end if you're going to the bay plan on having fun.

I always thought paddleboarding was this hard thing that I would never do even though I did kayaking. When I woke up the day we were paddleboarding I was fine with trying it out even if I failed. 

We got there and had a brief lesson on paddle boarding by the lifeguard. The lesson was basically about safety and some basic tips for beginners like me. We got in partnerships so I went with Devin again just like the Ropes Course. 

This time I went first, so I pushed the paddleboard into the water and hopped on. It actually wasn’t as hard as I thought, balance wasn’t a big problem for me as it is for most people. The main problem for me was to switch to each side while using the paddle. You see the kayaking paddle has two sides to switch easier but for paddleboarding it is a one sided paddle which is different and harder for me to switch. I was kind of drifting off from where I was trying to go but that happens in kayaking for me too. That was expected already to drift off course since I am good at kayaking but not the best at drifting off. 

30 minutes ended so we had to switch, Devin got on the paddleboard and started his turn. I had a few tasks to do now that my turn has finished, first I had to take pictures of Devin. So I got a couple good pictures of him that he can keep as a memory. Next I built a sandcastle with a couple friends and it turned out better than when I build them by myself. I also ate my lunch that my mom made me before he came back. 

On the way back to school in the car, I reflected and came to the conclusion that this was a really good field trip. It was fun even when I wasn’t paddleboarding since I built sandcastles too. Overall I think this is a good place to practice for paddleboarding or kayaking but I don’t think you should come here if you want a lovely place to paddleboard. I would say to go to a place like Hawail instead that has nice lagoons and oceans that are crystal clear. 

Once I found out our side was going  paddle boarding at mission bay I didn't really like the idea of going to the beach. Before the trip I was feeling meh didn't really care for it. As we got into the car I was feeling okay.

 I felt better about the trip because everyone else was happy and excited. As we arrived at the beach we were about the second car there so I was just waiting for my friends to arrive. A few minutes later everyone arrived and we started to unpack and set up. I was one of the kids who had to help and unpack the paddle boards and life vests. We started to set up and get into groups which were pretty fast and organized. I was the second group to get into the water so my first job was to take pictures of others. I'd say I got some good photos of my friends but from a far.

 The best moment of being in that group at the time was seeing Camilo shaking and wobbling his board because he didn't know how to use it but as he was coming in he was looking like a pro. My experience on getting on a board was different because I partnered up with eathan and got on the same board since we are both beefy. Our board started to sink and we both had to keep the best possible balance.

 The wind wasn't really an issue since it was pretty sunny out that day. And my navigation was good because they told us our boundaries and I was just following others around but pretty fun overall funner than I expected it to be. After the turn was over for the water I was next brought to build sand castles! 

That's when it just hit me all that running around and swimming and paddling so i had no energy to go and try and build one so i just made a big mound with water and sand which was pretty fun and easy. We were there for another hour. Once the time ran out we re-changed ourselves for those who brought extra clothes. Once everything was cleaned up and all ready to go we had lunch! There was no more food but oranges… which was fine. As we made our way to the cars on the way back to school I felt tired, sun burnt and sandy. There was only one thought in my head and that was about taking a fresh shower. That morning I woke up sore and with my face, legs and arms red. Good day. This trip was hard so i will give you some recommendations, SUN SCREEN, water, shorts, food and your fun face!

On the way there I was pretty hyped because I really liked the water. I wanted to get in the water but my friend Kaylum didn't want to. We went back and forth because I would go in if one of my friends went in. He was the only one actually there. We arrived and me, Kaylum and the teacher Scott were the first ones there, looking at the water. I don’t know what I expected but that wasn't it. We waited for a long time and I was bored, but then people started pulling up. That meant we had to help take down paddle boards and we started going to our groups to do our things. Kaylum and I were just bouncing between groups. 

During our times in the middle of everything, me and Kaylum wanted to go to the bathroom, so we went closer. We ended up right in front of the bathrooms. We were waiting outside of it because we heard people inside and it was a small bathroom. We heard multiple voices so we were not going in! It turned out to be a family! 

 Some guy with a backpack was looking super odd on the way to the bathroom. He walked past us and he gave me and Kaylum super dirty looks as he was walking by us. The guy was still giving us dirty looks and he pulled off his backpack, looking dead straight at me and Kaylum. As soon as his back was turned we ran far from that bathroom! We didn't even say anything, but we both  thought that he had a gun or something. We left, but I wish I spent more time over there. 

*Fictional*

Before the trip 

The salty air kisses my face, a gentle promise of the adventure to come. Before the trip, I was ready to face a few challenges, have fun, and just be in the sun. The bay called, and I was more than ready to answer. Arriving at the park, the sun warms the sand beneath our feet as we begin preparing the boats. As I'm rolling out the paddle boards and then looking at the sky and just reflecting at the glimpse of the water at the bay. 

During the trip

As we were doing the sand castles, my friends and I were wrestling around and just having fun, and we were throwing mud and sand and running around with each other. As I was on the water, I was with my friend John, and we had a pretty fun time. We kind of faced a challenge where we went too far at one point, and we started to go into waves, and it started to get harder to control the current of the water. I was so happy to be back on the shore. When we were on shore me and my friends were just goofing off and walking around on the beach.

After the trip 

On the drive back to school, the lingering scent of salt and the echo of laughter filled the car. This morning as I woke up, the memory of the bay, the sand, and the joy of friendship felt like a warm, pleasant glow and a reminder of a perfect day. The next day, I felt tired, and I unfortunately missed school the next day because of it. 

Knowing that this was going to be my 3rd to last field trip, I wanted to participate in everything even if I wasn’t sure on how I would feel later or after. I was really excited about paddle boarding since I’ve never been and was looking forward to hanging out with friends, while trying new things.

Before the trip, I felt excited and prepared. I was ready to get in the water and be able to chill with friends. Setting up and finding a paddle board was cool because I got to choose the paddleboard and partner I wanted. Getting in the water was nice because the water wasn’t too cold and it was easier than I thought to get in the water and move around while in control. When me and my group switched to sand castle building, I didn’t really have an idea of what I wanted to build but ended up making a big river while Gia made her own castle. I didn’t really take a lot of pictures while at the field trip but I took a few with friends. It was a really chill day with not much to expect. It was definitely worth trying as a first timer.

The best moment of paddle boarding was getting on the board because at first I thought I wouldn’t be able to balance or get onto the board without falling but I didn't touch the water as much as expected.

After the trip, I couldn’t wait to get in the shower because of how long of a day it was. On the way back to school, I felt really chill because I got to rest for a little while in the car before heading home.

In the morning I felt kind of tired and wanted to still rest because the sunlight made me even more tired. I would definitely paddleboard a little longer than I did and come snack prepared so I can have some for myself and share with friends.

Before the trip, I was really excited because I hadn't been swimming for a long time. Additionally, I was excited because I had never tried paddleboarding before, and it was going to be with my friend. I was a little nervous because one of my biggest fears is dying in the ocean. 

Once we got there, we set up, and David put all our stuff in one place so we wouldn't lose it. Once we put our stuff down, the first group went, and we had to take pictures of them. Once I took those pictures, a group of friends and I started a race, and everyone was racing. We had a lot of fun. It hurt to run barefoot, but it was worth it.  

When I got in the water, I was nervous because my biggest fear is dying in the ocean. Once we got far out, the water started taking us farther to the point where we passed our limit of how far we can go. Then one of the valinters came and helped us out because the water was pushing me. Once we got back to the limit, my friend and I were laughing because we were both scared. But after the fun was over, we had to head back to shore

Once we were on shore, it was our turn to make sand castles. Once we started, we made teams. When we got our team, we thought of starting a sand war. Once we saw the opps make sand castles we went to mess their castle up and smash it. But once they found out what we did, they came and destroyed our castles. Then we started throwing sand at each other, but then the teacher stopped us and took a picture of us with our smashed sand castles. 

We had to take pictures of the other people paddleboarding, and my friend David and I went in the water to get good pictures, but we started screaming because the water was extremely cold and we ran out of the water, and as we were running out, we thought we saw a sea animal, so we got scared and ran faster than ever. Once we got out, we decided to just take pictures from afar. 

After the trip, my mom took my friends and me back to school, and I was talking to her about all the fun I had. Then my friends and I talked about our favorite lemonade, then we all got quiet and I fell asleep in the car. One second, we were on the freeway, and the next, we were at school. When we got to school, we had to finish up our work, and then we got to leave. When I left I went back to sleep in the car. When I got home I took a shower and took a fat nap, and I felt fresh after my nap

On this journey, we went paddleboarding to understand how to use an oar/ paddle, and just for fun.

This was fun and really easy for me 'cause I actually paddleboard like normally, and it was chill at the beginning. I was passing a soccer ball with Santi, Vincent, and I don't remember who else, but it was fun.

We eventually went into the water, but I was in the second group, so I was just watching. But we got board and we started to race each other on the beach, and till we got in the water, and it was pretty much just a little beach day.

We were next to go paddleboarding. I picked the one I wanted to go on, and I paddled out far, far, and it was fun watching people struggle on it cause like how do you even struggle on it, but anyway, I kinda just chilled on the water and lowkey just layed on the paddleboard on chilled I remember seeing Liam make it all the way to the island and he wanted to go on but trisha said no sadly I remember seeing Sebastian and Ethan fall off ther board and it was the funniet thing ever. After this, Sebastian wanted to push me in, but I wouldn't let him plus we had to go back.

Once we got back to land, we went to build a sand castle, and Ethan and I made a little hose, but we started making, like, little peaks. Soon, some came over and disturbed it, so we had a sand war, and it was both fun and not fun because we lost our sand castles.

If you like the water, I would say to paddle board its really fun to do, but I would recommend doing it some where theres not boats docked for more room. Other than that its fun.

Before all the fun I had on this trip, I was exhausted.  I had been tired from late nights of sleep, and my procrastinating was in full effect. I had forgotten to remember to just get my bathing suit and clothes ready, so I could go Paddleboarding in the morning at Mission Point. I was in a rush to get out the door. As I made my way to school, I thought about what car groups I was going to have. Then we did a brief talk about what we were doing and how the groups would work (courtesy of Mr. Amillo). They did not tell us what group we were in until we got to the bay.  When I got in my car group (Sebastian, Santi, and Constantine), we played Spanish music like Juan Marta all the way to the bay. 

 When we finally got there, we had some time to hang around, so some of us were climbing the swing set and just generally having fun. Then I realized that I forgot my backpack and I left it in the back of the car. I was too late to contact my mom and have her turn around, so I just put my phone in my friend's backpack. I saw that some of my classmates were trying to blow up the paddleboards, and I jumped at the chance to help. I helped to fix the broken pump, and when it was replaced, I helped to pump up the inflatable paddleboards. Then Ms. Trica gathered all of the students and had us get into groups. The first station where other students were grouped was paddleboarding; the second group was taking photos and writing down what they saw. The third last group was building sand castles. I was assigned to the third group.

 As I walked over, I took my shirt off because it was hot. I put it down on the nearest bench and began to work on my sand castle. I decided to make a big HTH, as I was in the process of this, I forgot that I had lost my phone, and I began to freak out. I retraced my steps, and just as I got back to the bench where I put down my shirt, I remembered that it was in my shirt. Anyway, I retired to my sand castle. It was hard to angle the letter correctly. My last H was rushed, and I made it too big. 

After the sand building contest, I was taking photos of my classmates. I got photos of them falling in. Then it was my turn to go paddleboarding. When I first decided to go paddleboarding, I chose the paddleboard without a fin so I could get the EE in Mr Amillio’s class. The paddleboard without the fin is way more difficult than the paddleboard with a fin because the back of the paddleboard fishtails. 

After a little while, Charlotte and I switched Paddle boards, and I got to try what a paddle board with a thin felt like.  The difference between a paddleboard with a fin and a paddleboard without a fin is that the paddleboard with a fin has more drag.   We raced to see who could get in the farthest back inside to shore, and I won, but I had the advantage of a double paddle. After I drew how the difference between the two paddles was overall, I just had a lot of fun on this trip. The next morning, I felt like I would do this all over again.  

I always had a good experience with paddleboarding. I prefer surfing, but it is a very calm way to move through the day, and this day was no exception. I couldn’t even believe we were even doing a day where we were going to paddleboard on a school day.

When we got to the bay, I waited for Amilio and Mrs. Trisha to arrive so that I could pump up my paddleboard. I played around on the swing set and hung out with my friends while they set up the paddleboards. When I went back to the green grass area, I realized Mr. Amilio was trying to pump up my board; however, the pump wasn’t working, so he gave me one to actually use. 

Unfortunately, later we realized that there was a hole in the board I brought, so I had to use all of the other paddleboards. We eventually got into our groups and we started building our sand castle. The Sand Castle that we tried building was a soccer bracket for which teams have been winning. It just ended up being a giant square. That’s ok because I had fun either way when I got on the paddleboards. When we switched, I took a lot of pictures with a camera that Kaden and I borrowed from Mr. Amilio’s room. 

When it was finally time to get on the paddleboards, I was scared as heck because I didn’t fully trust myself to keep myself balanced on the board. “Zpp”, goes my life vest, as I repeatedly say, “I trust myself not to fall” with my normal school clothes. It was a breeze getting out into the open and standing up on the board, surprisingly, and it was nice chillaxing with the wind washing over me. Just before I could fully take it in, Saxon tried tipping my board but failed astronomically. 

The water was so beautifully blue and yet so dirty. When we got out of the water, I helped put the paddleboards back and rinse the life vests off. Lying in the grass was really nice; it wasn’t necessarily quiet, but it was peaceful. If you are thinking about paddleboarding, I 100% recommend the experience as it will give you a chance to unwind your mind. The Bay is a beautiful place to go to.

Story time about my first time paddling..

The morning of our paddle boarding trip, I felt this rush of joy. I love anything that has to do with swimming or the water. Although I hate the sand.  The sand is my worst enemy. Yes I love the beach, but don't get me started with the sand. 

I have actually never been paddling. I have always wanted to try it, although I feel like it's too calm for me. It has always looked to me like you are just sitting on a board.

On the car ride to Mission Point, I felt like I ate a bag of sugar. I was so excited. I love trying new things. One thing my mom had always told me is “just try it once and if you don't like it then you never have to do it again”. That pushed me to be willing to try new things all the time.

Once we arrived at Mission Point, I just wanted to jump in the water already. When I said I love anything that has to do with swimming or the water, I always get so excited. Before I knew it I was getting ready to hop in the water. I always thought a paddle board weighed the same amount as a surf board.

 Although I was completely wrong. They were way way bigger and heavier than I imagined. I wanted one of my friends to tag along with me. While I was paddling, just to make it easier. My thoughts about paddling quickly changed, it was harder than I thought it would be. It felt like an arm workout. I just knew my arms were going to feel so uncomfortable after today.

Leaving Mission Point, I reflected a lot. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I thought I could just chill on the board but I didn't know I always had to be on alert. You have to make sure you don't bump into anything or anyone, and make sure you continue to move and don't stay in the same area.

Whether you do or don't know how to swim. It’s very important to always try something new. Stepping out of your comfort zone is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. 

Go try something new today. 

Go out for a swim.

The date was March 25, 2026, when the Sage and Oak came together to try out paddleboarding at Mission Point. Before the trip, when heading out to Mission Point, I was pretty nervous about paddleboarding because it had been 4 years since I last went. I felt inexperienced despite it being a few years. The drive there gave me nostalgia for some reason; I think it was from most of us going to Belmont Park in 8th grade the day before we officially graduated from middle school. When we arrived, I saw some of my friends already at the playground. We hung out for a bit, playing on the swings and messing around on the play structure.

 After 20 minutes, the teachers called us to the grass area to announce the groups we were assigned to for this field trip. My group was the first one to build sand castles. Making the sand castles was the easiest part of the trip; the only downside was my castle falling. I tried to make the Green Lantern logo, but gave up after two tries. After my 2 failed attempts, I decided to stick with a design that kinda looked like a small hill.

The next shift for my group was taking pictures. Taking pictures was pretty decent; it was just taking photos for others that they can use in the future. While taking photos, I saw Arianna and Carli on one of the paddleboards together and recorded it. When I was taking photos, they fell off their paddleboards, which was pretty funny. After that, when I wasn’t taking photos, Santiago took a photo of me in the water with my arms out; he put it on his TikTok story with the song from Titanic, which was really funny. During the trip, I was scared of trying paddleboarding when it was my group's turn; it was really nerve-racking to try something after a few years. 

When I tried it for the first time in a while, it wasn’t as bad as I imagined it would be, but I expected. I thought that it was going to be hard since I haven’t been paddleboarding in a while. For the entire portion of it, I was on my knees because I was scared to stand up and lose my balance. When I was done with paddleboarding, I went in the water to chill for a bit. While I was in the water, I saw everyone heading back to the grass area near the bathrooms so that everyone could change and clean up. I came out of the water, grabbed my belongings, & went to change into my other pair of clothes. While I was changing, my mom was texting me that she had arrived and was waiting for me and the group of kids that we had given a ride to. After a few more minutes, we were on our way back to the school. Also, I thankfully finished my worksheet for Physics. Overall, it was a really good experience, from trying paddleboarding again to hanging out with my friends.

If you want to enjoy the views of San Diego or want to spend time in the water? I highly recommend going to Mission Point if you want to enjoy some time on the beach.

On March 26, 2026 High Tech 9th graders went paddle boarding to learn how to steer and use paddles for when we create our cardboard boat. I will now get into more detail about my fun experience with a short recommendation at the end.

When we were setting up I felt bored and didn’t want to go and before that day according to Amilio I did not have my permission slip signed and by wednesday I did not care that it wasn’t signed I was actually somewhat excited to go to the other team for a day and actually maybe learn something new. I ended up never getting called out that morning for not having a permission slip signature and ended up getting in the car. By the time we got there I was playing soccer with Santi. Soon after we got into groups, I was assigned to group C with my friends; Santi, Devin, Kaden, Juan,  Julian and Saxon. Santi, Devin and Julian and I tried to build a mansion but we did not have enough time unfortunately. We then had to switch groups and I had to take photos, I did not take many and only around 5, they were in poor quality and the best moment watching people paddleboard was seeing Carli and Arianna fall in the water. 

Later it was my turn to paddleboard and at first I didn’t want to, I already knew how to paddleboard but didn’t want to be here on the field trip, but I decided why not and put on my life jacket and got in the water. It was somewhat fun although I had to rest on my knees which was uncomfortable. I got out of the water a while after and decided to chill and play soccer with Santi. I was finally happy to get back in the car and leave but I was still irritated that we couldn't leave when we got to school so I told my mom to pick me up early. This morning I felt very sore mainly within my legs and felt tired and was not prepared to take 2 quizzes in Mr. Omar’s. 

If you were to go paddle boarding in this area at mission point I would recommend bringing sunscreen, life vest for safety, and of course a paddle board and oar and of course a simple lunch. I would also recommend stretching and just getting comfortable with resting directly on your knees.

As we drive a shorter ride than all our other fluid trips, we hop out of the car.

I watch as Alana runs to the swings, I stick by Emeli’s side as she inflates her board. We head to place our stuff down.

That's when reality hits me, that I was actually going to have to get onto the board. I had an anxious pit in my stomach. Luckily, I stayed calm. I mean I rode in a kayak. How much could it be different? 

Once we went down me and Alana decided to go on together, I had gotten on first and sat in the front. Once we started to row I took notes in my mind for the physics packet.

As we rowed Alana helped me stay balanced, so we didn't have any chance of tipping over and falling together. I felt the small waves of the water lift us and they crash to us. They were subtle and luckily never heavy but enough to give us a little bounce each time.

After getting out, me and Emeli had wanted to swim but sadly we couldn’t since we had to go build castles, we had decided to do our physics slip, eat, and then go into the water. We went by the slip really quickly without a worry. I water as they made castel but I didn't want to get my hands sandy. I don't like the feeling of sand on me, That's why I prefer the pool way better than the beach. 

As we finished, I gave Emeli some of my lunch to share. We ate as we talked with Emeli while playing soft music as we sat, I jokingly played my music since I saw it was rap, We laughed since usually it would be the opposite with our music taste.. Afterwards we walked to the water and sat down while chatting. Then we heard Alana yelling, barely 15 minutes of sitting and it was time to get up again, but for this it was a roll call. It was out to be for photos. Me and Emeli got enough for the moment so I set our phones on a towel, so we can actually swim. We swam together as we watched others on their board.

Once we got out, we went to wash all the sand off trying to leave none on us for later. We headed into the changing room, luckily there were not so many people when we went in. I’d say we were one of the first people to change.

Once it was time to go I felt exhausted and ready to get picked up but, I stayed for office hours.

but when I got home I went straight to my room.

It was an amazing time and very refreshing. For the summer it's an amazing activity to enjoy and I would recommend it to someone and it's very easy to learn it.

That’s it!

Judith

Before we left to go to the beach, I was feeling excited for paddle boarding because last time I went paddle boarding it was fun for me. When I was in the car going there me and everyone in the car were talking about stuff. When we got there we were like one of the first ones to get there. We started playing on the playground like going on the swings and stuff.

When everyone was there they started unpacking the paddle boards and oars and putting them on the grass. When they were done with that they told us what we were going to do and told us the groups we were going to be in. I got put in group C and the first thing we were going to do was make sand castles. My group and I were making a soccer bracket for our sand castle. When we were making the bracket we ran out of time and it was unfinished. Then Scott told everyone who helped with the bracket to gather for a photo shoot.

When he was done taking photos the next thing we were going to do was take pictures of the people on the paddle boards. This part was boring so I took one photo and sat on a rock scrolling on tiktok.

Then it was time to go on the paddle boards. I put on my life vest and pulled my paddle board to the water and sat on it. Then I started to paddle out to the ocean. When I was paddling the wind kept pushing me to the rocks where we weren’t supposed to be at. I kept getting out of that area then kept getting pulled back in by the wind. Then I started to paddle really fast and made it out of that area but soon after I got pulled back in by the wind.

Then it was time to get out of the water so I started paddling towards the shore and made it there. I took my life vest off and flipped my board over. Then I went to get my towel and started drying my legs. Then I sat there for a little bit and started scrolling through tiktok.

Then Amilio asked for help to bring back the paddle boards and oars. I picked up one of the paddle boards and started bringing it up to the grass area. When I was walking to the grass area my back and arms started hurting but I kept going and made it to the grass area and put the board down. Then it was time for lunch and I made a peanut butter sandwich because they ran out of jelly. It tasted bad. Then it was time to leave so I got in the car with the rest of my group and left. On the way back me and my group were watching anime in the car. When we got back I went to change into my pants and started doing my worksheet. When the teachers came back we started voting on what sandcastle was the best and I voted for my team. A different team that buried someone and turned them into a mermaid won. When that was done we put up the chairs and after that I left and went to go get Chick-fil-a because I was hungry. I got a chicken sandwich and fries with a drink. After I was done eating my mom came to pick me up and I left with her.

To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend this place to go paddle boarding as a beginner because it gets really windy and pulls you into the rocks, and the water here is really dirty. But if you want to go to a place not that far, I would recommend this. 

I thought paddle boarding would be easy, especially since I had gone kayaking before and knew the techniques were similar. As soon as I got to school, I felt excited, and on the way to Mission Bay my friends and I couldn’t stop talking about how fun it was going to be. Everything about the day felt exciting, until I actually got on the water.

When I made it into Mission Point I left my stuff in the grass and ran to a park nearby. The park was so fun, especially because I hadn't been to one in a long time. After the park, the teachers separated me into a group and thankfully I was with some of my friends. 

Surprisingly my group was the first one paddle boarding which meant I had to bring the paddle board to the water. I tried helping but I couldn't because the paddle boards were too big! My teacher gave us last minute instructions on how to paddle board. Just after the instructions were done I got into the board and started paddling.There were occasions where I got stuck on rocks because the water would take me to the edge, which made paddle boarding stressful rather than fun.

At some point I was even paddle boarding with my friend Mani because of how hard it got. Since she was paddle boarding I decided to jump off the paddle board and into the water. Honestly I don't regret it but the water was super salty. By the time I had jumped in it was time to go back and I did. 

Right after paddle boarding I went to a sand castle competition. I really didn't have any energy to make sand castles so I just made a basic sand cup. After the sand castle I had free time and in my free time I decided to take photos of others paddle boarding. Only a few minutes passed and it was time to go back to school! 

If it’s your first time paddle boarding make sure you watch youtube videos with clear instructions. Go the opposite way of wherever the wind takes you. More than anything, have fun and don't let stress get to you.

I was able to wake up early, preparing my belongings for the beach. For once, I didn’t forget to bring ANYTHING. I got in the car feeling like I could accomplish anything. 

I arrived at school and sat on one of the tables in Dr. Michaels, I started freezing. Hannah generously offered me her hoodie and I happily put it on. 

I realized it was eight thirty nine, hopped off the table, and headed towards Amilio’s classroom. 

I took a seat and waited. Brissa finally arrived. Keep in mind, in jeans and converse mary janes. I think that we could be in a zombie apocalypse and she’d still be wearing her mary janes. 

Anyway, Amilio finally finished giving instructions and we’d get to change into our clothes for the beach. Brissa was supposed to borrow a swimsuit from Bowie but she forgot it. So I suggested she ask Gia since she was still at her house. 

Keep in mind, Gia doesn’t arrive at school for A WHILE. You know those videos where they’re having a get together and they record every time someone comes. Well she’d be the last to arrive. The function could be at eleven am and this girl wouldn’t get there until four pm. 

As everyone changed into their beach clothes, we headed back to class, getting ready to leave. At one point, we were all certain Brissa would run into the ocean, jeans and all. 

But at the last moment, somehow, Gia arrives. Brissa gets the swimsuit, yay!

My car group was Hannah, Carli, Ari, Brissa, Freddy, and Amilio, so we helped Amilio carry some things to the car. As we all grabbed something to carry. Amilio started talking about some song that had the words ratchet and bougie. Carli immediately knew the song and started singing it. 

Once we got into the car, Carli started playing the song. Amilio looked as if he was no longer with us, zoning out and letting out a big sigh. Ari and Carli started singing and jumping around in their seats, at one point the car was literally shaking. 

From the loud karaoke going on in the back, to the over-analysis from Freddy and Amilio, the car ride there was truly an experience. 

We finally got to the beach and started taking pictures of people paddle boarding, filling out the worksheet while doing so. I kept saying how I was scared to paddle board and how I was gonna fall off. 

 
Well, when it was our turn, I didn’t fall at all! In fact, I was having a blast. I was able to maintain a calm composure throughout the whole experience. 

After a bit, we headed back to shore. But there was one thing we HAD to do. I got off the paddle board and crouched into the water. Hanging off the paddle board. Can you guess what we were doing? Well if you’ve seen Titanic, maybe you do. 

We recreated the famous door scene, safely of course. Then the time rolled around for sand castle building. 

We had a vision. A goal. To turn Brissa into a mermaid. And that is exactly what we did. We were very dedicated. I even ended up pressing the tool into Brissa’s actual stomach just because I was so concentrated on carving her abs.  

Me and Ari ran to the ocean to find seashells to decorate Brissa’s tail with, while Hannah was helping shape Brissa. Carli was in the back taking selfies and thirst trapping. 

Unfortunately, our beach episode came to a close. All of us ate lunch quickly, cleaned up, and went back to school. Although I technically was tired, I also had a bunch of energy. 

When we got back to school, everyone voted for the best sand castle. Of course, we all knew who the real winner was, regardless of who won. But thankfully, the people took notice of our beautiful craft, and we were victorious. 

This journey claimed its title as my favorite one yet and I believe that everyone should go paddle boarding at Mission Point! The water is perfect for paddle boarding, the sand is flat, there’s a playground right next to it, and it’s easy to get to. If you go, I’d recommend bringing a towel, change of clothes, and a friend!

We packed up and piled into the prius and set out to the beach and not two seconds later we almost drove into somebody. I was once again crammed in the back but not the middle this time so it was slightly more bearable. We pulled up and everyone started unloading the heavy paddle boards. I knew this was my cue to avoid doing any work and talk to my friends the whole time. 

We split into groups of three and got put into three stations. One for paddle boarding, one for taking pictures, and one for building sandcastles. Me and all my friends were in the group taking pictures but I just spent most of my time sitting down. About an hour later my group was paddleboarding. The waves were initially pretty choppy so I stayed on my knees.

 I ventured out to a little floating island out in the middle of the water and touched it with my paddle. After this I repeatedly kept getting told to go back because we were running out of time. But I wasn't done. I still had to flip my friend then jump off the board. After doing both I arrived back at shore and changed into some dry clothes. Next was building sandcastles. I joined a preexisting group with my friends Ezekiel, and Ethan who had already started building. A rival sandcastle had started building close to us and we were NOT about to let this slide. 

Both groups started throwing sand at each other's castles until it escalated to full on just destroying them. We lined up and smiled to get our picture taken in front of what was once our castle. We met up with the rest of the class and it was time to go. I reluctantly helped deflate a few paddle boards and pack them into all of the HTH vans. The drive back was slow and quiet; nobody felt like talking. Arriving back at school I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go home. If you plan on going paddle boarding I recommend trying to stand up on the board to challenge yourself.