Some east metro kids are wrapping up some major travel, which changed their perspective on life.

St. Paul's Rondo neighborhood is steeped in history. It's where three St. Peter Claver Catholic School seventh graders made some personal history of their own -- setting sail in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Charles, his twin sister Dominique and their friend Amber were part of a weeklong wilderness adventure.

"That was my first time, it was hard," Charles said. "The mosquitoes were horrible, I had them everywhere. I was scared to sleep, fall asleep because I could just feel like 10 on me."

"In the portage I carried the canoe, it was hard," Amber said.

"The only part that wasn't good, you could smell muskiness," Dominique said.

"Because we didn't shower for like five days," Charles said. 

Dominique says being unshowered and unplugged led to real connections.

"Instead of like being on your like phones, iPads, you could actually talk to other people," she said.

And once they opened up, the fun opened up, too.

"I made macaroni and cheese, I made the rice," Dominique said.

"The best part was the fireflies at nighttime," Amber said.

They also said they loved canoeing and swimming. 

And just like that, these adventurous kids are bringing lessons from the middle of nowhere back to the middle of the city.

St. Peter Claver plans to do the trip again next year. Two of the three kids say they would like to go back to the Boundary Waters, but next time they will bring more bug spray.