Winter time and the cold that comes with it are beginning to leave, which means more outdoor activities are becoming available. Many Prep students took advantage of the warm weather over spring break and went out to do something rather than sit inside. Erie comes to life when it’s warm out, so it was only right to go out during the little glimpse we had of warmth. Some decided to play volleyball on the beaches at Presque Isle. Others played basketball. Some even went to play golf. And a few had a camp fire.

It was warm for almost the whole break, but on the first day, Thursday, it was close to hitting 90 degrees outside, tipping the thermometer at 87 degrees. Junior Jack Rouch and a couple of other students went out to the beach to play some volleyball.

“It was nice to be back out in there and to be playing volleyball,” Jack said. “It felt like summer.”

Another junior, Saul Plasha, was also at the beach playing volleyball.

“We played against some college girls and gave fake names to them,” he said. “Mine was Carlos.”

Jack Rouch decided to go by Kevin. Junior Joe Cacchione thought it was funny when Jack went for a dive and missed the ball completely and then one of the girls said, “Nice effort, Kevin.”

Derek Hime was also present during this time.

“I’ll definitely be going out there more over the summer,” Derek said. “This was only a warmup.”

Another outdoor activity that multiple Prep students did was playing some pick-up basketball at Tracy Elementary School.

“I love playing basketball outside, especially at Tracy,” said senior Colin Taraski, “because they have 9-foot rims to dunk on.”

Sophomores Reece Johnson and Connor Eubank were also present to play some ball, forming a “small ball” team with freshman Luke Trocki.

“I’m not much of a basketball player,” Reece said, “but for some reason, I was just feeling it.”

Junior Mason Orlando played some basketball as well.

“it was just too nice outside to not go and play basketball with some buddies, even though I bodied all of them,” Mason said. “If there’s no refs then I say there’s no fouls.”

Another junior, Reece Colvin said, “Mason plays the game right. No refs, no fouls. That’s just how we play at Tracy.”

Moving past physical sports, multiple students decided to go for a more peaceful sport with golf. Senior Zach Shchouchkoff said he went out three separate times throughout the spring break and that he enjoyed himself each time.

“It’s such a calming sport when your shot’s on,” Zach said, “but if it’s a bad day golfing, it’s a bad day in general.”

Junior Derek Hime hit the links once over break when he played 18 holes at Downing Golf Course in Harborcreek.

“[It] wasn’t my best round ever, but I had good time,” Derek said. “It was more about going out and doing something than how my actual golf game was.”

Another junior, Sam Louie, also went out for a round of golf at J.C. Martin golf course near the zoo.

“The greens were a bit dirty, and it was still kind of damp outside,” Sam said, “but it was too nice out to not be doing anything.”

Other things that don’t include sports were also done by students over the break. For example, junior Eric Hindman said he attended a campfire with a couple of friends.

“It was still warm out at night for the first time in a while,” Eric said. “So, it was nice to sit outside around a fire and just vibe out with my friends.”

Another group of juniors went to a private beach in Fairview and had a fire of their own, including junior Connor Benson.

“I had to help them get [the fire] started,” Connor said, “but once the fire was rolling, it was rolling!”

Anthony Morgan, who was also there said, “it was nice to be secluded from everybody else right on the beach. [It] felt like summer.”

The cold weather is slowly but surely leaving us again, bringing back the warmth of summer. This means we’re gonna be outside a lot more, but don’t worry because there aremultiple things to do around Erie. These various Prep students proved that with only one week of warm weather they’ve already done so much. If playing basketball or going golfing isn’t your thing, go sit by a campfire and just learn to enjoy the nice weather while we have it.