Destination Station

Several staff members go away during Christmas Break. From south of the Big Rapids all the way to the hot state of Florida, they travel to get away (or to not get away) from the cold.

“We’ll be heading to Venice Beach, Florida for Christmas break,” security specialist Henry Piechowski said. “It’s nice once you get there, but it can be kind of risky or tricky getting there sometimes, with the weather going down from here and through the mountains of Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains. We celebrate with my family, my two daughters, and the grandkids come over.”

Florida is the place to go for Christmas break for teachers, who hope to warm up and get away from Michigan’s cold weather, while staying away from all the chaos.

“My family goes to Walt Disney World in Florida,” teacher Steve Haley said. “It is very busy, very festive, and all decorated up and everything–we love it. We eat at all of their restaurants and for presents, well… that is their present.”

Haley enjoys leaving behind the hustle and bustle normally associated with the holidays.

“Going to Florida is a lot less stressful because you don’t have all the family stress that goes along with the holidays,” Haley said. “It’s just our way to get away from all that we don’t have to worry about.”

As for teacher Anthony Smith, he would rather have fun in the snow with his family.

“I’m going to my cottage, which is south of the Grand Rapids,” Smith said. “If there’s snow, we’ll go out snowmobiling, or we’ll go cross country skiing–we’ll do something out in the snow.”

Smith said he enjoys spending the time away with his family.

“We like to hang out and play games,” Smith said, “and as for dinner, we have ham or roast and some sausage.”