TWB Trip 2 2016 Experience: DAY 4

HELLOOOOO FROM THE DOPEY GROUP!!!! WE ARE THE NEW BLOGGERS!!!!

WHAT'S UP? WHAT'S UP?

Emily Ling, Hannah Finlon, Jacquline Garcia, Liz Dorn, Maren Syska, Carolyn Tuttle, Meggie Cauley, Dareion Duff, Colton Pierce, Matthew Lacayo, Meredith Nanney, Chris Sanders, Kyndall High

There were many achievements reached today in Schreiner University. We would like to acknowledge those who pooped today, and shout out to Kyndall High for having the first poop of the day at 4 am. It was such a big deal because people finally were able to unclench their sphincter muscles (shout out to Vicky for the anatomy lesson). Every meal had American Cheese in it. Maybe that was the problem. Some people still have not pooped. It’s becoming a concern, but they are determined to do it before the Grand Canyon.

Today started off amazing with being able to sleep until 5:30 a.m., a cakewalk compared to yesterday’s 4:35am wake up call. We loaded the bus around 6:05am and began our drive out of Texas. Our new cooks, the Grumpy’s served our breakfast at 8:00! It consisted of jumbo muffins and GoGurt and was so tasty (Jumbo Muffins were a God send compared to the other breakfasts we have had so far). After having full tummies and happy hearts we all got some much needed “z”s. since we do wake up before the rooster crows. Then at this time DJ Evan got the bus bumping, and soon we had the entire bus in the aisle having an awkward yet bond forming dance session. As for the van they caught some much needed rest since there is no room for a dance party but hopefully those who missed out will get to experience it tomorrow. Day 4 and so much has happened already we have formed bonds from dancing together, showering in close quarters, singing to our favorite songs, sharing our dreams and telling embarrassing stories.

While the bumpin’ dance party continued in the bus, the vans encountered a crisis. Miss America (one of the vans), was running on 6 miles worth of gas. The next gas station was 30 miles away, in the middle of Texas. After taking the next exit and driving hopefully for 12 miles to a “gas station”, Miss America ran out of gas. It was soon discovered that the gas station was a farm. The vans pulled over on the side of the road and tried to pull the situation together when a white truck pulled up, and everyone knows that white vehicles in the middle of nowhere do not mean good things. A man walked out of the car. He was described as having the physique of Texas in a man with a beard and cowboy hat, and the name Clinton Elliot. After he told us he would bring us gas, those in the van got out and started the photo shoot in the middle of nowhere. It was filled with laughs and happiness. He soon brought back gas and we were on our way once again.

As we made our way through the seemingly never-ending state of Texas, we were served the incredible lunch of sandwiches! We had turkey/ham sandwiches with delicious granola bars. As we finished up our lunches we had an exciting realization that TWB trip 2 is 2 hours behind the Carolinas! We soon after made it to the Carlsbad Caverns. Our hike was 2 and a half miles, with the surrounding smell of lots and lots of guano. We went from 109 degrees on the surface to around 70 underground, which was quite the relief from the heat. We weren’t complaining! Mitchell, Zack, and Dylan were fantastic group dads while weaving our way through. The scenery around us was beautiful, but most of us had shaky hands from excitement so there turned out being more bad pictures than good. From rocks that looked like mushrooms (thanks to Gina Smirz for pointing this out) to suspicious liquids dropping on our heads (cavern kisses), we got a little bit of everything. After reaching the very bottom we were happy to see elevators to bring us back up to the top!

Walmart was really exciting. The first few visits to Walmart were spent aimlessly walking. This was possibly the first day that we each hunted for food with a hunger. We raided the fruit sections (yes, we were being healthy), and attacked the snack sections, like pringles, candies, and chips. With 40 minutes to shop, we spent each second to it’s fullest. Dan Caruso and Charlie Lindsey, bought a rotisserie chicken, and ate it all in the in-store McDonalds, where a lot of us ate food, like parfaits and frappes. When we got on the bus, each of us pulled food from our filled bags and began to eat food without a second thought. Just to add, a lot of us bought food strictly to make us poop.

After driving a few miles down the road, we came to our home for the night, New Mexico Military Institute. Quickly after getting off the buses, Lieutenant … filled us in with great info about the military academy. There were so many questions, and many had funny answers. For example, when Kyndall High said, “What the heck is the deal with aliens,” Lt. Colonel Jeff Cunningham responded with, “Well, I believe in aliens because we live this close to Mexico.” Other cool things he talked about were how new members of the school are called RTs (pronounced rats), and how little privileges new members have until they grow in ranks. Just in case a mom or dad was thinking of sending their son here, the tuition is $16,000; there are also so many scholarships, and some of them did not even get used last year.
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To finish the night, we ate great tacos with more grated cheese and some poppin’ cheese dip. The meat was deliciously made, and the soft and hard tacos were taken away really fast. So many went for seconds. Then, the rain started, and everyone ran to put their tarps over the duffel bags and sleeping bags to then run to the gym. Hopefully the rain will hold off and we can get a good nights rest WITH NO TENTS!!!!

Here are some pictures from our day!!! ENJOY!!