BY KYLE MCFARLAND (’18)

Reilly Zink is a sophomore who made some of her favorite memories during her trip to Hilton Head, SC.

“I stayed at a beach resort with my moms side of the family,” said Zink. “We rented a car and drove down for about a week and it was sort of like a family reunion.”

She and her family caught up with each other during their week of fun.

“We found sand dollars, took walks on the beach, swam in the ocean and the pool, took family pictures on the beach, paddle boarded, and tie-dyed tee shirts,” said Zink.

During her stay she made some unforgettable memories with some of the most important people in her life.

“Some of them are simple memories that make me smile like when we had to sneak in and out of the hotel in groups because we had eleven people staying in a six person suite,” said Zink. “I slept with my sister on the couch which was a pain, but we did have a lot of fun sneaking around.”

Another memory that puts a smile on her face was the first time she and her sister tried froyo.

“We were so excited, said Zink. We didn’t understand the portion sizes so it ended up costing $15 for the two of us and my mom was very upset.”

“Another thing I loved was the shopping! I know that it doesn’t seem like it would be different than in Ohio but visiting all the different beach shops was really fun because it was a different atmosphere,” said Zink. “When my aunt, my sister and I strolled along the sidewalk we could tell who was a surfer, or even a fisherman.”

Other memories she made during this trip made her heart jump out of fear and excitement.

“One time my mom took my sister and I to the beach,” said Zink. “We were swimming and having a good time when a noticed something that looked like a water bottle floating in the water.”

“I started to walk towards it but then my mom started yelling and pulled me out of the water, telling me that it was a jellyfish. I couldn’t believe it,” said Zink. “Then the jellyfish landed on the shore and these kids started burying it with sand.”

“They were messing around and poking at it and I felt really bad for it but eventually they left, leaving the jellyfish covered and a couple was walking on the shore and the lady didn’t realize that it under the sand and almost stepped on it but her husband stopped her at the last second,” said Zink. “My heart sank, but then I felt immediately relieved.”

Another time that made her heart race was at the resort’s dance party.

“My sister and I were so excited,” said Zink. “We got dressed up into our fanciest dresses, braided each others hair and put on leis.”

“When the dance started my entire family was dancing and singing along and by the end of the night I was exhausted and didn’t wake up until 11 am,” said Zink.

Some memories from her trip are from when she was in awe of the world around her.

“We went out to the beach one night to watch the sunset and there was a guy out catching sand dollars,” said Zink. “I was too afraid, but sisters, cousins, and mom went into the ocean and he taught them how to find them.”

“They caught one and named it chippy because it had a chip in it and then we released them because it’s illegal to take them out of the ocean while they’re still alive,” said Zink. “They were really interesting creatures and i’m glad I got to see one.”

Another time she was in awe of the world was the last day of her trip when she went kayaking in the ocean.

“I was terrified of sharks so the whole trip and thought we were going to die and right when we were nearing the end of the trip people ahead of us started shouting and looking down in the water,” said Zink. “I got so scared but then people were saying that they were dolphins so I slowly looked down at the water and saw that there were in fact dolphins swimming with our group of kayaks!”

“Getting to kayak with alongside these beautiful creatures was an incredible experience that i’ll never forget!”

Although she was afraid at first Reilly tried new things that ended up making her trip even more memorable.

“I loved the trip! It was a lot of fun getting to spend time with my extended family and I would definitely go again if I ever get the chance!”