<p>All these trips sound super cool! I'm debating between sea kayaking, surfing, and Yosemite. Any thoughts from current students that went on these trips? Like maybe more details?
Thanks!</p>
<p>strenuous backpacking!</p>
<p>D2 picked Yosemite, then kayaking…strenuous backpacking probably last :D.</p>
<p>my daughter did kayak sea adventure. she did that one because she wanted to do something in the great outdoors, the strenuous backpacking sounded above her level of conditioning, and sea kayaking seemed the best balance. she said at the end of each day her arms were killing her, and the group didn’t ration their food that well. The last day all there was left to eat was a spoonful of oatmeal for each student. and somehow she ended up in the water, which she said was freezing-- and my daughter likes the ocean (the Atlantic must be a lot warmer than the Pacific). It wasn’t all bad-- she had fun-- but that was the downside for that trip.</p>
<p>My daughter did the Yosemite trip last year and loved it. The group was divided into several subgroups and they had some options as to participating in more strenuous hikes, etc. (Half Dome) or staying in camp. Being from SoCal, she had experienced most of the other trips (beach, LA, kayaking, etc.) and she did not feel up to the strenuous backpacking (despite my lobbying for it). One potential downside to Yosemite (depending on your perspective), it is the furthest away and thus a good deal of the trip is the bus ride to and from.</p>
<p>When I went on my OA, the bus ride was one of the most fun parts of the trip - we bonded a lot and I talk to the ppl that were on my bus almost everyday now! So a long bus ride isn’t always a bad thing!
Also I heard Yosemite is BEAUTIFUL. So if you haven’t already been, that would be a good place to go and they have several options from strenuous to not so difficult activities. </p>
<p>But my #1 is still always gonna be strenuous backpacking :)</p>
<p>Strenuous backpacking fo sho. </p>
<p>There were only nine freshmen in my group, which made for a great bonding experience. I met my best friend and current roommate, and overall were a pretty tight group as far as OA’s go (and this has been true for many of the backpacking groups, from what I’ve seen).</p>
<p>My D went on beach adventure which was not her #1 choice. She LOVED it. I think it totally exceeded her expectations. She bonded so well with her group and maintained some of those friendships all year. Camping was a new experience for her and liked it so much that she has since been on several OTL trips.</p>
<p>I did Yosemite OA. It was really great in the sense that w/o that trip I probably would not have seen Yosemite for quite a while, nor would I have pushed myself to do the strenuous trails that we did. The only real negative is the early morning bus ride and the people who packed the food supplies did a horrible job (i.e putting a carton of eggs right next to ice=crushed eggs). They should have just packed a lot of canned goods but they got too fancy and it backfired. This may have changed, however, since I went two years ago.</p>
<p>D did Catalina Island - a combination of beach, kayaking, and bicycling. Plus, I believe the sailing group stopped by as well.</p>
<p>Awesome to hear all the perspectives. Strenuous backpacking sounds great, but I think it may be too much for me. And wow, Catalina island sounds awesome, but it’s not an option this year. 
I think I may rank sea kayaking and yosemite as top choices! I’m so excited for any adventure I end up getting. :)</p>