Early birds get the worm!! This morning we woke up at 5:30
and loaded up the bus. Everyone slept for a few hours before our delicious
breakfast of great value bakery cinnamon rolls and fruit snacks. While most of
us were sleeping, Preston Cook and Daireon Duff used the bus bathroom for the
first time in 19 days…. Preston stated that even though Henry the bus driver
was mad at him, “it was the best one yet.” Those of us sitting on the back of
the bus were sorely affected by their actions…. Pee yew!
It was a morning full of mostly driving and those of us on
the bus spent our time sleeping, writing in journals, dancing, and talking.
Meanwhile, Miss America (the cursed van) struggled behind the bus with very
little gas, almost getting stranded for the second time! We were thrilled when
we arrived at a Flying J!
With much excitement we stopped at a Flying J for a bathroom
break and filling up. Before TWB, most of us would not consider going into a
gas station and buying chicken tenders in a bag or preheated pizza, but almost
all of us got lunch there. The Flying J had REAL Cinnabon cinnamon rolls (and
not great value) that some of us bought with no shame despite having it for
breakfast too!!!
We loaded back up the bus, switching seats as usual, and the
cooks served lunch immediately. Lunch for the day was DRUM ROLL PLEASE…..sandwiches!
Da da da! The sandwiches were the same as everyday on TWB- turkey, ham, cheese,
and lettuce. The boys, who eat like pigs, ate the lunch served by the cooks
AFTER eating a full meal from the Flying J.
After almost 7 hours of driving, we FINALLY arrived at the
United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. The first stop at the Academy was
on the steps of the Chapel where we took a group picture, and Mckenzie Moody
gave her presentation on the USAFA. Her research included that their mascot and
fight song is the Falcon. After listening to her presentation we headed into
the Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist Chapels. All of the chapels had
stained glass windows that were gorgeous, detailed and expensive paintings, and
history behind every piece. Something our tour guide also told us was that
everything in all four chapels was donated, including their GIANT organs – how
cool is that?!
 |
| Mckenzie Moody |
 |
| Trey Armstrong and Preston Cook |
 |
| Reid Brigman |
After visiting the Chapel we had to walk up a steep pathway
to the gift shop, where Anna Brady yelled “why didn’t they tell us we were
hiking another canyon today?” At the gift shop many of us were shocked by the
high prices, but we were able to find some clearance t-shirts for those of you
at home! As we left the gift shop and made our way to the bus we saw the sky
turn from bright blue to dark grey with large clouds rolling in. The
temperature dropped from 85 degrees to 53 degrees in a matter of minutes.
As we headed to the Olympic Training Center we were caught
in a large hailstorm. The storm included booming thunder, raking lighting, and
cheese puff sized hailstones. The bus, which is a VERY nice bus, had a leak in
the ceiling that many in the front had to move to avoid. Some were scared that
the bus would not withstand the storm, but others saw the storm as calming and
took a short nap (HOW DID THEY NAP THROUGH THAT?!) There was a tornado warning
in our area too, but luckily we did not encounter such a thing. The twin
counselors (Katti and Katie) and Henry were TROOPER drivers through the
terrible storm!!!
We outran the storm and shortly later arrived at the Olympic Training Center. We watched a quick video on many Olympic athletes typical day in the center and all that it offers. After that we split into two groups (Happy, Sneezy, and Grumpy in one and Dopey, Sleepy, and Bashfuls in the other) and were shown around the facility by two Olympic athletes. Nic Taylor and Dakarai (we don’t have a last name for him, sorry guys) are Olympic bobsledders that lived at the center… It was super cool to see them in the Olympic video and then in real life! Our tour guide, Nic, took a “twittagram” pic with us. He showed us around the campus and we saw an Olympic gymnast, the U.S. women’s basketball team, swimming pool, gym, and had a bobsled demonstration with a string. Both tour guides were super chill, one of them even looked like Jackson Avery from Grey’s Anatomy.
Everyone sprinted to the Olympic Training Center’s gift shop with seconds to spare from it closing (our sprints could have qualified us for the Olympics). Almost everyone bought an over priced t-shirt in the store (sorry mom and dad, we might be scrambling for pennies the last few days and have nothing left over). We all loaded up the bus with our new presents and made our way to Colorado College where would be staying for the night.
 |
| Future olympians? |
 |
| RIO 2016? |
 |
| Thank you to our tour guides AKA OLYMPIANS!!!! |
 |
| Nic gave us the grand tour of the olympic training center |
 |
| Sam and Mitchell |
 |
| Nic teaching us how he practices for bobsledding |
 |
| inspiration quotes on the walls in the gym! |
 |
| Lexie and Parker GO TEAM USA! |
 |
| Gina and Josh are pumped for the tour! |
 |
| Carrie Foster |
 |
| Sydney Stanley and Anna Brady |
 |
| Which one is the statue? |
 |
| Bobsled practice |
When we got to the college we were given free time in the
park beside the school to throw around a Frisbee (which Ross Sands takes very
seriously) and Nerf ball throwing. Not long after getting there the most
magical thing in the ENTIRE world showed up at the curb…… A DOMINO’S PIZZA
CAR!! Everyone crowded around the car, watching the beautiful pizzas be
unloaded. As the pizza man departed, Kelly Ford called after him and said,
“thank you, you probably just saved my life!” As the counselors carried it to
the picnic tables, we followed behind them like a bear following honey. For the
first time the whole trip, Happys were called to eat first. Our options were
cheese, pepperoni, or sausage, but in Gina Smirz’s case, she got her own mini
gluten free pizza. To our amazement we actually got TWO whole pieces and SODA!!
After everyone was served we made multiple dining circles around the park to
socialize, and for the boys, throw cookies into the girls drinks.
 |
| Sunset at Colorado College! |
 |
| Pizza for dinner!!!!!! |
After the delicious dinner provided by the counselors,
everyone moved upstairs to the gym to practice for the dance competition and
get into proper apparel. After listening to the song many, many, many times yet
again, the show down came around. Most groups, including the Happy’s, had the
girls dress in boxers and sweatshirts, while the boys dressed in denim shorts
and crop tops. Some groups took a conservative route and dressed American.
After all of our amazing dances, we were surprised with the counselors own
dance. They can really dance! After a
short meeting and score calculations, the winners were announced…….. the
BASHFULS. WOOOHOOOO, Katti was so excited and so proud of her group… as well as
everyone else of course!!!
 |
| BASHFUL'S AKA CHAMPS!!!! |
 |
| GRUMPY'S |
 |
| SNEEZY'S |
 |
| DOPEY'S |
 |
| SLEEPY'S |
 |
| HAPPY'S |
After a late night, it was time for showers. To our
surprise, the girls line didn’t have to be THAT long because we were treated to
six showers instead of the typical two. The boys, who only had three, were
still in and out before all the girls. It is a late night, but the long and
boring Kansas drive will come sooner than later. So, goodnight everyone, and as
Colton Pierce would say “Goo-Bye.”
 |
| WE LOVE OUR LEADERS! |
SNEEZY'S
BASHFUL'S
DOPEY'S
SLEEPY'S
HAPPY'S
