The trip of a lifetime: Jacob Pace's students get their beach trip

Dylan Livengood has fun dressing in a costume at the Children's Museum in Wilmington. He was there with a DOVE group from Salisbury High School, led by teacher Jacob Pace.

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DOVE teacher Jacob Pace helps Dylan Livengood with his lifejacket during a fishing trip, part of a four-day trip to Wilmington.

Salisbury High School DOVE student Carmen enjoys her visit to the Battleship Wilmington, part of a class trip to Wilmington organized by teacher Jacob Pace.

Editor's note: In May, the Post published a story about Jacob Pace and his Salisbury High School DOVE (Developmental Occupational Vocational Education) class. Pace was launching an effort to raise money to take class members to Wilmington.

A few weeks ago, that dream became a reality, as Pace and a few chaperones took students to the beach, some for the first time.

By Jacob Pace

For The Salisbury Post

Arriving at school Monday morning, Sept. 14, the students were excited about the trip. We departed from school at 9 a.m. for our four-hour bus ride.

Upon reaching Wilmington, we visited the Battleship North Carolina Memorial, where we walked plenty to stretch our legs from the bus ride and enjoyed the tour of the ship.

After resting a bit, we went to the Hiro Japanese Steakhouse. The students were excited by the food, and most experienced the show at the steakhouse for the first time.

Tuesday was a day full of new experiences; we went on a fishing trip and caught 50 fish, of which only two were keepers.

Then, it was time for the beach. The waves were rough, but the students enjoyed the water and the sand. We returned to the hotel to relax in the pool, which was like our second home because the students love to swim.

The next morning, we went to the Children's Museum, where we practiced our grocery shopping, learned camping skills and honed our karaoke skills.

After all that activity, we had a much-deserved lunch at Olive Garden, where all of the students ate their favorite meal of the week: spaghetti.

Thursday, we traveled back to Salisbury after our four-day, three-night stay in Wilmington.

Our trip was wonderful. We want to send our gratitude to all those in the community who supported us in our efforts and enabled us to enjoy our time and experience at Wilmington. For many of my students, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.I appreciate the community support in helping me make this trip a reality.