Today's sleeper of the day goes to........Bailey Patterson!!
Once dinner was eaten and cleaned it was time for our first competition....RELAY RACES!!! During the trip there are a number of different competitions to determine the best group of the summer, and all the teams were motivated to get out ahead early. We started the relays with a simple foot race that came down to the wire. Feeling pretty confident, we were pumped to keep going. Little did we know what Josh, the elementary PE teacher, had in store for us. We had to leap frog over each other, crawl through each others legs, use a golf club as our Harry Potter broom, whack an empty water gallon jug, and even did the old school ping pong ball in a spoon race. The competition was fierce, but the Grumpy group came out with the early lead....but this isn't over yet!
We decided to see who the fastest people on our trip were and had an 80 yard foot race. Our winners were Luke Edwards and Olivia Andrews. It was a very quick demonstration, proving they truly were the speedsters of the trip.
We finished out the night with our first sing along. We learned a few new songs, and sang some familiar ones, but overall Grant and Matt said we sounded pretty good. We will need a little more practice, but we have a feeling there will be many more sing alongs to come.
With day one coming to a close, we hit the sleeping bags and eno's quickly fell asleep to the faint sound of jazz music in our minds as we prepared for New Orleans tomorrow.
We cannot wait to begin the best summer yet!!
The quote of the day came from two of our counselors during some of our ice breaker games.
Josh: “Would you rather punch a baby or a puppy?”
Josh: “Would you rather punch a baby or a puppy?”
Ty: “Baby, no question. I would rather punch a baby twice before I’d punch a puppy.”
So today was the first big day!!! We all met at Mallard Creek Presbyterian with a blender full of emotions. After we threw our sleeping stuff into a trailer, put our duffles under a bag, and talked to our counselors who already knew our name, it was time to say goodbye to all of our loved ones. There were tears and hugs from a lot of people...mostly parents...and Grant yelled "LOAD THAT BUS!!!" and we were off. We waved farewell to the crowds of family and friends and the first day of traveling began. Our journey’s fleet consisted of two vans and one charter bus: Miss America, Carolina Girl, and the bus which has been dubbed The ‘Merica Mobile.
At first the bus and vans were a bit awkward with all the butterflies, but things slowly got better as we got to know our new traveling family. On the bus we did a little game to get to know each other better. The game was called “Speed Dating”. Speed Dating is a TWB way of getting to know everyone on our trip. We were given a question from one of the counselors to ask the person next to us. After a few minutes of meeting and talking, we changed seats, got a new partner and a new question to discuss. This was an awesome way to meet a lot of the cool new people we were going to be spending the next 23 days with.
Our initial stop placed us in a South Carolina rest stop where the struggle to learn names persisted. We continued speed dating and meeting new people on the road. Our second stop was an interesting motel-store combination called the Flying-J, in which we discovered grass flip-flops, interesting residents, and restrooms straight from the 70s.
We had lunch on the bus around 12, everyone was glad to eat! There was ham and turkey sandwiches, and PB&J for vegetarians. Alex Garrigus’ amazed us with his ability to force an entire sandwich into his mouth. Needless to say many of us were pretty impressed. Sloan Edemann was surprised to find that her cheese had not been unwrapped before being put on her sandwhich and it still had the plastic wrap on it. After a few bites, she realized she needed to quickly remove the plastic. BBQ & Ruffle Chips were passed up and down the aisles as our gourmet side, and we wrapped up lunch with some "great value" Oreo’s for dessert.
Meanwhile in the vans there were some pretty amazing sing-alongs going on, which helped dissipate some of the social anxiety. The vans quickly became acquainted and the conversations bloomed into laughter. In the midst of all that was going on, the drive seemed super short, and we were pulling into our third stop before we knew it. We found ourselves placed in the parking lot of a Georgian Walmart where the cooks shopped to buy our dinner. While they were shopping we tried on cowboy hats and played a game of catch with Tristan Benson's new frisbee.
So today was the first big day!!! We all met at Mallard Creek Presbyterian with a blender full of emotions. After we threw our sleeping stuff into a trailer, put our duffles under a bag, and talked to our counselors who already knew our name, it was time to say goodbye to all of our loved ones. There were tears and hugs from a lot of people...mostly parents...and Grant yelled "LOAD THAT BUS!!!" and we were off. We waved farewell to the crowds of family and friends and the first day of traveling began. Our journey’s fleet consisted of two vans and one charter bus: Miss America, Carolina Girl, and the bus which has been dubbed The ‘Merica Mobile.
 |
| At our first rest stop waiting to load the bus. |
 |
| Carolina Girl passengers, best in the world! |
 |
| So happy to finally be on the road! |
 |
| Our mobile home for the next 23 days! |
At first the bus and vans were a bit awkward with all the butterflies, but things slowly got better as we got to know our new traveling family. On the bus we did a little game to get to know each other better. The game was called “Speed Dating”. Speed Dating is a TWB way of getting to know everyone on our trip. We were given a question from one of the counselors to ask the person next to us. After a few minutes of meeting and talking, we changed seats, got a new partner and a new question to discuss. This was an awesome way to meet a lot of the cool new people we were going to be spending the next 23 days with.
We had lunch on the bus around 12, everyone was glad to eat! There was ham and turkey sandwiches, and PB&J for vegetarians. Alex Garrigus’ amazed us with his ability to force an entire sandwich into his mouth. Needless to say many of us were pretty impressed. Sloan Edemann was surprised to find that her cheese had not been unwrapped before being put on her sandwhich and it still had the plastic wrap on it. After a few bites, she realized she needed to quickly remove the plastic. BBQ & Ruffle Chips were passed up and down the aisles as our gourmet side, and we wrapped up lunch with some "great value" Oreo’s for dessert.
Meanwhile in the vans there were some pretty amazing sing-alongs going on, which helped dissipate some of the social anxiety. The vans quickly became acquainted and the conversations bloomed into laughter. In the midst of all that was going on, the drive seemed super short, and we were pulling into our third stop before we knew it. We found ourselves placed in the parking lot of a Georgian Walmart where the cooks shopped to buy our dinner. While they were shopping we tried on cowboy hats and played a game of catch with Tristan Benson's new frisbee.
 |
| Josh's first ever selfie stick photo!!!!!! |
 |
| Kayla "Dabo" Capps filling up the tank on Miss America. |
 |
| Never fall asleep when Ty has a camera nearby. |
Walmart may be fresh out of watches because everyone realized we don’t know how to keep track of time without our phones. Many of the watches purchased were the cheap Disney themed watches that matched Josh’s "Frozen" book bag. We realized being “phone-less” didn't mean we had to also be “time-less”.
Our last and final stop was our campsite for the evening, LaGrange College in Georgia. We were greeted by who told us all about LaGrange. Afterwards they gave us athletic bags that have the LaGrange logo on them. More bag space for shopping!
The cooks started up the grill and began preparing our dinner for the evening. We broke into our groups and met the members of our team and learned our responsibilities for the first 3 days of the trip. While waiting on dinner, a game of football broke out on the practice field and a new game, Ukranian soccer. The goal is to use your hands to try to hit the ball between someone else's legs. If it goes through your legs, you can only use one hand, then you have to do it backwards. Ethan Manning seems to be Ukranian, because he was dominant in his circle.
When the all call for dinner rang through the campsite, we all rushed to feed our ridiculous appetites. After a long day full of a mixture of emotions, we were all pretty hungry. The burgers were delicious, with chips and chocolate chip cookies to boot. There was not a single burger left over!
 |
| No phones means cheap Walmart watches. |
 |
| Trey Dry must have been bad...he got a whole bag of coal. |
 |
| All smiles from the cooks first grocery trip, makes since they are the Happy group. |
 |
| Katey Taylor was in charge on lettuce, she realized 2 might not be quite enough. |
 |
| Emilio Blair is learning a lot from the Happy's leader Dallas |
Our last and final stop was our campsite for the evening, LaGrange College in Georgia. We were greeted by who told us all about LaGrange. Afterwards they gave us athletic bags that have the LaGrange logo on them. More bag space for shopping!
 |
| GEORGIA!! |
 |
| Learning all about LaGrange College |
The cooks started up the grill and began preparing our dinner for the evening. We broke into our groups and met the members of our team and learned our responsibilities for the first 3 days of the trip. While waiting on dinner, a game of football broke out on the practice field and a new game, Ukranian soccer. The goal is to use your hands to try to hit the ball between someone else's legs. If it goes through your legs, you can only use one hand, then you have to do it backwards. Ethan Manning seems to be Ukranian, because he was dominant in his circle.
 |
| Some of the girls passing time before dinner |
 |
| Learning how to play.....patty cake? |
 |
| Claire Fry drops back and launches one in the flats to Landon Wright |
 |
| Hunter Wood focused on his receiver, kids gotta cannon |
 |
| This is what Ukranian soccer looks like |
When the all call for dinner rang through the campsite, we all rushed to feed our ridiculous appetites. After a long day full of a mixture of emotions, we were all pretty hungry. The burgers were delicious, with chips and chocolate chip cookies to boot. There was not a single burger left over!
 |
| Mack Slaughter, Jordan Thompson, and Trey Dry flipping some burgers |
 |
| Anna Ramsey using a golf club to make lemonade. Callie Smith and Nat Warner are wondering if she knows you have to take a penalty stroke out of the water. |
 |
| The Happy group making our amazing dinner |
 |
| Mack and Trey are man....and they create FIRE!! |
 |
| Cheese faces and cheeseburgers. |
 |
| Maddie Lawson and Olivia Andrews breaking up lettuce. |
 |
| Tristan Benson can't stop smiling the burgers are so good. |
 |
| This is the face of complete food satisfaction...thank you Claire Fry. |
 |
| Kate Reed Inabinet not letting a single chip go to waste. |
 |
| Sarah Beth Parker showing off her empty plate |
 |
| The victorious Grumpy group getting hype before the relays |
 |
| Allison Roney on her "Harry Potter" broom |
 |
| Hurry up Ryan Phillips, your falling behind. |
 |
| FOOOOOUR!!! I think the club is upside down..... |
 |
| Focused in, ready to win. |
 |
| Jake Studebaker rounding the turn into the homestretch. |
 |
| Looks like a little bit of a tunnel traffic jam here. |
 |
| By golly I think they got it figured out! |
 |
| Bashful group hurrying to the finish line. |
We decided to see who the fastest people on our trip were and had an 80 yard foot race. Our winners were Luke Edwards and Olivia Andrews. It was a very quick demonstration, proving they truly were the speedsters of the trip.
We finished out the night with our first sing along. We learned a few new songs, and sang some familiar ones, but overall Grant and Matt said we sounded pretty good. We will need a little more practice, but we have a feeling there will be many more sing alongs to come.
 |
| Sing-alongs are so much fun! We need a little more practice, but a great first night. |
With day one coming to a close, we hit the sleeping bags and eno's quickly fell asleep to the faint sound of jazz music in our minds as we prepared for New Orleans tomorrow.
We cannot wait to begin the best summer yet!!
 |
| BASHFULS |
 |
| GRUMPYS |
 |
| SLEEPYS |
 |
| DOPEYS |
