April vacation arrived this week for area students with great weather in its pocket.

Children were all over the Lakes Region enjoying their week free from teachers, classes, and homework. Five days without alarm clocks, backpacks and tests are liberating for every student from Kindergarten to senior year and it is then you can discover what children truly wish to do with their days.

Steven Lambert, Adam Szklaney, Brandon Hodge and Tyler Ober were found at Dairy Queen as they wolfed down fries and soda. All attend Windham Middle School and had plenty of ideas on how they were going to pass their week. Tyler planned to “cause trouble” while the others expected to be at Dairy Queen every day. They also mentioned going to the movies, but, no matter where they are, all four plan to “hit on girls.” Of course, each had helpful hints for the others on how to improve their chances with the babes. Although Stephen insists he has no trouble in that department, he said his friends “could use some work.”

Ashley Thibodeau, Jacob Thibodeau and Brandon Gordon were enjoying ice cream cones at The Dugout on Tuesday where they spoke of their siblings and planned activities. They were a bit more low key. They were hoping to go “ocean fishing” with their uncle. Brandon and Jacob intended on playing Sony Playstation. The idea of playing video games didn’t appeal to Ashley but Brandon’s suggestion of “riding bikes” sparked her interest. Brandon was missing art classes, his favorite subject in school. Ashley hopes to become a cheerleader in the next few years while her brothers plan to be playing football. The siblings enjoyed ice cream cones with their parents and grandmother.

Michael DePalmer, a fifth grader from Gray, wanted a quiet vacation. Michael and his mother visited Smitty’s Cinema in Windham to watch “Are We There Yet” and eat lunch where both have enjoyed numerous movies in the past. His plans for the week included riding his dirt bike, going to the movies, swimming, and a bit of homework. His only desire at Smitty’s was that they change the television station from Nickelodeon to something “older.”

Ashley, Amanda, and Alex Aube of Gorham were spending part of their vacation at Skyway Games in Windham. They had been there for two hours already when their play was interrupted to talk to this reporter. Ashley and Amanda were playing Sims 2 while Alex was engrossed in his action game. They planned to spend a lot of time at Skyway and maybe do a little swimming in the pool at Howard Johnson Inn in Portland.

Laura and Amanda Clugston emerged from the Windham Public Library after checking out a couple of books each. Both girls attend the Windham Christian Academy. Their mother was taking them to the Portland Children’s Museum on Wednesday where Amanda was eager to see the “Asian exhibit.” Both girls enjoy reading chapter books, but intend to spend time playing outside.

Steve, 8, and his 3-year-old sister, Kayley, ran from apparatus to apparatus on a Windham playground. Steve spent two hours on Monday catching pollywogs. He caught 256 pollywogs, 2 fish, and 1 bullfrog at the pond near his house. His sister was proud of her catch of 2 pollywogs and 1 frog. Steve is a third grader at Windham Primary whose favorite subjects are math and lunch. He planned on catching more pollywogs and playing video games during his week off.

Some kids spent their vacation far from the Lakes Region. Abi Henderson of Quest Travel in the Windham Shopping Center said there were an unusually high number of vacations booked this year with Florida and the Caribbean being the favored spots.

“There isn’t a seat on a flight originating from or landing in Florida from April 12 to April 25,” Henderson said.

A local family of four booked a trip through Quest in December to stay in a premiere resort in Disney for a nifty price of $5,800. Abi stressed that was an extremely high price tag because of the exclusive resort they chose located in the Walt Disney World resort. According to Abi, a family of four could book a package that included Disney tickets for a more comfortable price of $3,000.

If you wanted a destination beyond Florida but don’t want to spend too much more Abi suggests you consider the Caribbean. Abi noted that while Florida packages may include park tickets, many Caribbean packages include meals. Ireland and England are popular too, but those will cost a pretty penny more. Abi added a helpful hint for anyone planning a trip for next April vacation-book your vacation in the fall for best prices and availability. Last minute booking will cost you more and possibly leaving you with little flexibility in travel days.

Wherever April vacation was spent, there is more coming as Michael DePalmer pointed out, “Six weeks until summer vacation!”

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