Knights traveled all around the world during the Thanksgiving break, seeing family, sleeping in and stuffing their bellies. From Texas, to Colorado and New Zealand, students, teachers and their families made the most of the brief week off school. 

“Thanksgiving comes at just the right time every year where we all really need a mental break from school,” Principal Nicole Griffith, who visited San Francisco with her family, said. “And this year I was able to completely forget that I was a highschool principal and just be on vacation with my family. I didn’t check email which I needed to do. It was a nice refresher.”

Others, like freshman Imogen Hendrickse, embraced the education that was offered by her trip to Barcelona. 

“I really liked experiencing all the culture,” she said. “It’s also the World Cup, and Spain is playing there [Barcelona], so there’s a lot of cool celebrations and activities going on. We [also] got to see a lot of cool monumental houses.” 

As we return to school for the end of the fall semester, we are grateful for the opportunity to present how Knights spent their Thanksgiving breaks. 

JUST HORSIN’ AROUND: Freshman Lorelai Rigdon sits atop a horse in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Rigdon stayed in Colorado for the duration of Thanksgiving break with her mom, siblings, aunt, and grandpa. Rigdon and her family have been going to Pagosa Springs annually for the past three years. 

“I find Pagosa Springs to be a really great place to relax if you want to get away from the big city for a little while,” Rigdon said. “My mom loves it too and just bought a property down there, so visiting it is becoming a tradition.”

While Pagosa Springs had many attributes that Rigdon enjoyed, her favorite part of the trip was going horseback riding in the mountains.

“I honestly love horses so much,” Rigdon said. “That combined with being able to see the really pretty view at the top of the mountain made for a really fun experience.” Photo by Cohen Rigdon. Caption by JoJo Barnard.

A MEDITERRANEAN THANKSGIVING: Senior Thea Cahoon (right), her sister freshman Amelia Cahoon (middle left) and their parents in front of the Parthenon while in Greece over Thanksgiving break. Rather than spend a traditional Thanksgiving in the states, Thea and her family traveled overseas for a long-awaited Mediterranean vacation that was delayed two years by COVID. 

“Our flights and hotels were going to expire at the end of this year, so we decided on Thanksgiving break, which ended up working out perfectly,” she said.  

Even though they were thousands of miles from the states, the Cahoons still participated in some holiday traditions, but with a European twist.

“We actually ended up eating Italian food that night, [and] it was funny to be having Italian food in Greece on Thanksgiving,” Thea said. “We did all say what we were grateful for though.”

Apart from Thanksgiving, Thea enjoyed exploring the coastal towns and soaking in Greek culture.

“When I think of Greece, I think of all the islands,” she said. “So I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the towns on the mainland, like Nafplio. And since it was Novemeber there were significantly less people and it felt way less touristy, which was a great way to see the country.” Photo courtesy of Cahoon. Caption by Francie Wilhelm.

BUILDING A NEW CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING: While many Knights enjoyed the break in the comfort of their own homes, freshman Imogen Hendrickse was hundreds of miles away in Barcelona, Spain. There, Hendrickse enjoyed engulfing herself into the Spanish culture.

“I really liked experiencing all the culture,” Hendrickse said. “It’s also the World Cup, and Spain is playing there [Barcelona], so there’s a lot of cool celebrations and activities going on.”

In addition to watching a lot of soccer, Hendrickse explored the city’s unique architecture.

“We got to see a lot of cool monumental houses,” Hendrickse said. “They were very different from a lot buildings in the US because they didn’t feel super modernized.”

The houses Hendrickse explored were built by famous architect Gaudi in the 1800s. 

“Gaudi was inspired by nature and the world around him,” Hendrickse said. “So it was cool to see how he incorporated that into his work, and how he changed the normal form of architecture to fit his ideas.” Photo by Nhalia Rigdon. Caption by JoJo Barnard.

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER: Digital media teacher and Shield adviser Dave Winter and his bichon-frise poodle mutt Marty pose on a dock in front of Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Ark. The Winter family, including Dave’s wife Jennifer and children Henry (class of 2020) and Annabel (class of 2022) reconnected with Jennifer’s twin sister’s family and her dad and stepmom during the break.

“Hot Springs was perfect because it was about halfway between central Texas and Atlanta, where my wife’s sister’s family lives,” Winter said. “It is a beautiful location and also in the same state where Annabel attends the University of Arkansas. Unfortunately, it rained the whole time we were there, and Marty had to show my sister-in-law’s dogs that he was the alpha dog.”

Despite these setbacks, the family enjoyed the time together playing board games, blackjack and watching World Cup soccer. They also had Thanksgiving dinner at The Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs.

“A Thanksgiving dinner with no cooking and no dishes,” Winter said. “That’s the way to do it.” Photo by Annabel Winter.

TIME TRAVELER SPOTTED: High up over a canopy of trees, junior Sydney Safarik poses for a photo with her younger sister Natalie during a zip-line trip they took while vacationing in the northern islands of New Zealand over fall break. In addition to traveling across the globe for their Thanksgiving holiday, Safarik’s family also traveled a day ahead due to the time difference from Austin.

“It was so different,” Safarik said. “Everything is so lush and more tropical than I was expecting. Probably the biggest difference would be the people and towns. New Zealanders were so down to earth and friendly and everything was so quant and welcoming, versus the typical busy-ness of Austin.” Photo courtesy of Safarik. Reporting by Alice Scott. 

SUNNY CALIFORNIA: Principal Nichole Griffith poses with her wife Brenda and son Langston at the golden gate bridge in San Francisco. 

For Griffith, Thanksgiving break is perfectly timed. 

“Thanksgiving comes at just the right time every year when we all really need a mental break from school, and this year I was able to completely forget that I was a high school principal and just be on vacation with my family. I didn’t check my email which I needed to do. It was a nice refresher.”

In their time in California, the group, along with Griffith’s mother, saw sights such as Alcatraz, took a cable car ride, rode a train and visited the science museum. 

“San Francisco is a fun place to be but it is also a place that is special to our family,” Griffith said. “My wife lived there and really loves it. I always joke that she left her heart there and we have to go pick it up every once and a while.”

Most excited for the trip was Langston. 

“[My son] loves travel. He gets so excited. He is a definite travel bug, which I don’t know where he gets that. But he loves travel, loves being around his grandparents. It was really great.” 

The young adventurer got to lean his head out the window on the train, learn cards with his grandmother and explore all of the sea creatures at the aquarium. 

Griffith was also thankful to miss the rainy weather in Austin. 

“The weather was beautiful [in San Francisco],” Griffith said. “We missed all the rain in Texas. By the time we got back on Saturday it had passed. But it was sunny in San Francisco and super clear. We never didn’t have these beautiful expanses of light.” 

Photo courtesy of Nichole Griffith. Reporting by Morgan Eye.

BEACH BREAK: Junior Gella Andrew traveled to Clearwater, Florida over the break to participate in a beach volleyball tournament. Andrew, who has committed to play for USC, said that the tournament allowed her to catch up with teammates from around the country. Feeling the sun and sand on her skin was a welcome escape from Texas winter.

“There were around 120 teams,” Andrew said. “It was crazy. I got to see a lot of my friends and we did well. It was super fun.”

For Andrew’s family, Thanksgiving festivities occurred a day early, combined with her brother’s birthday celebration. She boarded the plane to Florida on Thanksgiving morning and was surprised to find that the Florida airports were already fully decorated for Christmas, Santa’s reindeer mixed with southern sunshine.

“It’s nice to get away from home for a while [and] forget about things.” Photo by Gella Andrew. Caption by Ingrid Smith. 

A THRIFTY THANKSGIVING: Senior Robert Hudson spent Thanksgiving with family in Arlington, Texas. Hudson said the best part of the trip was reuniting with his mom (who Hudson said makes phenomenal cherry cobbler).

“A highlight of the trip was going thrifting with my mom for records and movies,” Hudson said. “It’s nice to go out instead of just getting everything online.”

But the change of pace that came with a week off of school has made the transition back to school days rough.

“The break was horrible for my sleep schedule,” Hudson said. Photo courtesy of Hudson. Caption by Ingrid Smith. 

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: During the Thanksgiving break, freshmen Julia Ross and Emerson Merritt took pictures on the top of a parking garage in downtown Austin. They thought it would be funny to say they went to New York, as they’ve always wanted to go. The background of downtown made it seem like they were where they wanted to be. “I love the rooftop parking garage because we were up there with the skyline and got to see things from a different perspective,” Ross said. Even if they could only travel to New York in their imagination, the best friends had a great break hanging out together. Photo courtesy of Emerson Merritt.

SEATTLE; SOMETHING NEW: Freshman Evelyn Jenkins and her family decided to head over to the Emerald City for this year’s week-long Thanksgiving break. “We wanted to go to Seattle because none of us had ever been there before and because we have some family friends that live up there.” Jenkins said. To escape the rainy weather that Seattle is most known for, the Jenkins family headed over to nearby Issaquah to see the beauty behind the popular hiking spot known as “Issaquah Alps,” where this photo was taken. Reporting by Julia Copas. Photo courtesy of Evelyn Jenkins.

FAR FROM HOME: On her Thanksgiving break Senior Camille Wilson got the chance to get away from home and travel to Charlottesville, Va. 

While the trip was mostly centered on relaxing and partaking in typical Thanksgiving activities, Wilson also got to visit a college in which she has intestest.

“I stayed there all week and just cooked, went on walks, read and spent time with my family.” Wilson said. “I also visited Vanderbilt on the way home, so it was nice to get in a college visit.”

While Wilson and her family flew to Charlottesville, instead of just flying back they decided to make it a road trip. 

“My sister joined us from college and came home with us,” Wilson said, “which was really exciting.”

Caption by Chloe Lewcock. Photo courtesy of Camille Wilson.