As soon as you said you wanted us to take a trip to a place we’ve never been to, I knew I wanted to go to Barcelona Beach. I texted one of best friends and asked if she wanted to come along. She agreed and we were off to Westfield on Monday.
Barcelona Beach has been a historic point for voyaging for hundreds of years. It is a point of entry to the interior of North America and will eventually take you to the Allegheny- Ohio basin. The Barcelona Lighthouse was built in 1829 to overlook the harbor and was eventually deactivated in 1859. The lighthouse was the first in the world to be powered by natural gas. Another fun fact is that Welch’s Grape Juice company is also located in Westfield.
This trip was an all around first for me. It was the farthest I’ve ever driven without one of my parents present. My first road trip with a friend, all happening during my first global pandemic. I drove to my friend Maddy’s house on Monday around 11. We drove through Jamestown on our way there. I forgot that people in New York are crazy drivers, as we almost got in a few accidents. We drove for an hour and a half and listened to some very good music and screamed. We talked about everything going on at our school and all the drama going around. Finally, we arrived at the beach.
The beach was beautiful. The sky was nice and clear so you could see far across the lake. The top part of the beach is sandy with driftwood. The bottom part closest to the water is very rocky, with little pebbles and pieces of beach glass. As you walk down the beach, the coast is jagged almost. Eventually there is a part where there’s a little stream running through the sand and rocks. It’s almost like a sand bar, only not in the middle of a body of water. As you keep moving down it gets to a gated area where the rich people’s lake houses are and that’s as far down to the left as you can go.
The beach is so calming. The sound of the wind and waves crashing helps relax you. It is a very nice place to go if you’re feeling overwhelmed or sad. It is also chilly, so if you go I recommend wearing a jacket and shoes compatible with sand.
Creative Minds 
First of all, I am extremely jealous and frankly upset that I was not invited. However, I may just get over it at some point (probably not, I am heart-broken). Anyways, this was an absolutely excellent read! You described everything wonderfully, and even went as far as to mention aspects of history surrounding your new destination, such as the lighthouse. I could immerse myself in the setting as if I truly was there bundled in my heavy coat on the sandy shore– for the cold is not my friend. The style of your writing in this piece depicts descriptions given in segments, each bestowed one at a time to give every aspect of the beach their own spotlight. Referring back to the historical background, historical context adds some interest to the reading, both to the readers and yourself, as the visitor. I adore the touch of humor in your writing. I can one-hundred percent envision you screaming the entire way to the beach, whether it be at the hands of reckless New Yorkers or a perfect road trip song. Your pacing allows readers to effectively absorb your experience to the fullest. Again, the separation of material, via images, paragraph structure, and punctuation causes this. I could just be picky, but I would have loved to hear what all you two did at the beach, unless it was purely to look at it. Considering the low temperatures, I certainly would be as far from the water as possible. Nonetheless, this was a fantastic writing, Hanna! 10/10
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Hey Hanna! Loved this story start to finish. I think the spacing, as well as the word to picture ratio was on par for that of a story that requires you to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It felt like every time I would get a perfect amount of information to add to the mental image I had created, there was another picture following it. I do kind of wish I read more about what you guys did there or such things, although the descriptions were really good, I just feel like it’s missing a plan. Overall it was a super good piece and I’m glad to hear you weren’t just cooped up inside the whole time. Great writing, Hanna, keep it up!
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