By: Neva Mellow

Bob Ross Art Workshop Photo Credit: Neva Mellow

We are each given 24 hours in a day, and everyday, I try to fill every last one of them. The beginning of my winter break was spent in Southern Florida, where I traveled to spend a week with my boyfriend. That week was spent enjoying pints upon pints of ice cream, collecting shells on the beach, and navigating public transportation routes. When I wasn’t stuffing my face with a Blue Bell Dr. Pepper Float, I was off on an adventure. And so, while my boyfriend Ethan was busy with school, I was busy touring Bob Ross’s studio and hiking through swamps.

I laced up my beat-up red Converse I’ve carried with me since middle school, and started walking with no specific place in mind. Eventually, I found myself at the Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve, a place that spans “2,513 acres of Port Orange” according to the Volusia County Conservation Lands Outreach Program webpage. Nearly all 2,513 acres are marsh and swamp land. Less than a mile in, I realized I had left my bug spray at home, and probably should have stopped by Walmart on the way to purchase a machete. By the end of my eight mile hike, I desperately needed water, better tennis shoes, and dry socks. Still, the hike was well worth it. I was fortunate enough to see crocodiles, owls, and herons, in a place most people will never ever consider entering.

Spruce Creek Preserve Wildlife. Photo Credit: Neva Mellow

The swamp walk was only about an afternoon’s worth of adventure, and so, the next day, I was ready for more. I caught a bus to New Smyrna Beach, where I walked around for an hour or so before landing in front of an ice cream shop shaped like a giant vanilla ice cream cone. Located next door was the Bob Ross Art Workshop. Inside, I was able to view 50 original Bob Ross paintings, featuring beautiful beach sunsets, and mountain meadows that reminded me of home. I spent the rest of that Tuesday afternoon strolling the shoreline, and listening to the wind and waves.

The following morning, Ethan and I boarded the earliest bus up to Ormond Beach. Once we arrived, we played a few games of chess at a small park located just off of the ocean, and I finished up White Nights by Dostoevsky (for the third time). Afterwards, we toured the Rockefeller house, which in reality, is less of a house, and more of a mansion. It is the place where John D. Rockefeller (the founder of the Standard Oil Company) resided in the winter. Upon entering the mansion, we were greeted with a cheerful tour guide, and a beautiful stained glass ceiling. The tour was spectacular, and afterwards we traveled down to the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens, where we took in breathtaking oil paintings from Malcom Fraser’s Spirit is Life’s Only Significant Reality collection, and John Wilton’s Neo Pop Modular Art Panels (MAPS). 

We lingered so long in the galleries that we just barely made the last bus back. But of course, the day wasn’t over just yet. We watched the sunset from the Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse, and played a quick game of frisbee on the beach. My time spent in Florida was magical, and fun filled, and yet by the end of my stay, I was ready to head home.

Carson Valley. Photo Credit: Neva Mellow

Home, for me, is in Nevada, and it’s not just a place, but the people that make it so. Each day of break, I spent with a different friend or family member. In the days leading up to Christmas, I volunteered as a night packer with Toys for Tots, and got gifts ready for families. During daylight hours, I went showshoeing, offroading, and hiking. My friends joined me for eight plus mile walks – sometimes down by the river, and sometimes up a mountain covered in snow. On each of these walks, I made sure to pull up the Geocaching app on my phone, and find a few caches. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, geocaching is an outdoor scavenger hunt, and it also happens to be my favorite pastime. For one such cache, my boyfriend and I bouldered a V12, just to retrieve a Tupperware container at the top, and sign the log.

Geocaching with Ethan. Photo Credit: Neva Mellow

My family took me out to a holiday light show, and spent the evenings with me reading by the fireplace. We held a gingerbread house making competition, and made chocolate chip cookies for all of the neighbors.

I split my time between late night conversations at In’n’Out  with friends, and midnight mass with my dad at St. Mary in the Mountains Catholic Church. On one of the last nights my friends and I had left together, we hit up four escape rooms – and successfully made it out of three with time to spare. From an island filled with cannibals, to a 1969 CIA production studio where we staged the moon landing, we worked quickly to solve puzzles, and break free.

My sister Vivi and I spent an evening throwing axes at old wooden boards, followed by a screening of Eternity – a movie that asks you to reflect on your own love life, and consider who you would spend forever with. I rang in the New Year cutting apart newspapers with my littlest sister to create a vision board for 2026. My board was filled with sunny Caribbean beaches, snow capped mountains, and a promise to come home soon.

And now as I head back to North Carolina, I carry with me a heart full of gratitude and love. I say my final goodbye (for now) to my parents, sisters, and my friends who made this break so special: Vivi, Rene, Harrisha, Shawn, Bailey, Kam, Ethan, Isai, William, Ura, Gideon, Peter, Alex, Vanessa, Lesli, Max, Jax, Adam, Luis, Devin, Cat, Elizabeth, and Savannah. Thank you for the laughter, the memories, and reminding me that the distance doesn’t lessen the love we share.