Today is Sunday-Funday! All of the Trippers got to Two Sisters Library even though one of us had a flat tire on the way here. When everyone got there, we played name games. Michael was pretty bad in the beginning and made up with more fitting first and last names for everyone. Because it was raining, we all rode in the Chariot to swim checks. Everyone got blue bands!! Then we went to the Nightingale to have our temperature checked by the nurses. While we were wait we got our groups that we will do jobs with this week. Justin and Sarah made it a competition to see who had the highest temperature. Whoever won got to sleep on the air mattress for the night. Reagan won with 99.9 degree fever! We met a boy named Henry who was about to start his first week of camp ever. He is Mohawk and was really cool. We went to get paddles and life jackets for opening campfire at the boat house. We then got to take our trip picture in front of the Chariot. We got our jobs for this week; stuff like packing all the suitcases into the back of the Chariot, recording all the things we see for Road Wars, and handling the money. The Chariot was decorated with paint and tin cans on strings for the parade tomorrow. We went to dinner and had chicken strips. When we got back to Two Sisters, the girls made chokers that said different Trippers or rafting related thing. Each one is different and unique! The boys got decorated for closing campfire with flags for all the states that Trippers have visited this summer; Tennessee, Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Then Opening Campfire! The girls and boys got their own Trippers pictures at flagpole. When it was time to head to campfire, We all lined up on the side of the covered bridge that is closest to Lake Village. We put our oars up to make a tunnel for everyone to walk through. On our way back to Two Sisters we took the Chariot to the boat house so we could put our oars and life jackets back. In Two Sisters we have devos and got to pick our Trippers beads; grit, generosity, encouragement, positivity, orderliness, and courage. The boys and girls went their separate ways for sleeping and showering.
Monday 7/30-
Good morning! We were up around 6:45am to pack up our stuff and fill the coolers with ice. We all loaded into the Chariot to go to Lake Village flagpole to say goodbye. At flagpole, Tom prayed over us and everyone sent us on our way! We made it to River Village flagpole just in time to say hi to those kids before their breakfast bell rang. On the road breakfast was eggs, sausage corn dogs, and yogurt. Chapel for us was about what we find comfort in and what we should be finding comfort in. The random question of the day was what is a small thing that makes you happy? (I didn’t get everyone’s but here are a few):
Ben: people being nice, Zander: random acts of kindness, Helene: dogs, Natalie: seeing friends, Peter: friends, Kelly: dog's, Justin: Mint chocolate chip ice cream, Reagan: Dogs, Sarah: funny moments & kids who visit during passing period
Then we drove forever. Around 12 we stopped at a Walmart for a break and to eat a sandwich lunch. We all switched seats and watched a Batman movie. We played Most Interesting Person in the World where you have a partner and you have to prove to everyone that your partner is the most interesting person in the world. Natalie won and gets ice cream! Another break for gas and we switched seats for the last few hours of driving and watching Wonder. When we made it to the campsite we had to put up our tents which was kind of hard but they had instructions. The cooks got to work making dinner of cheeseburgers and cheese-y mashed potatoes. After dinner everyone showered and got ready for devotions. We talked about getting back to our childlike selves. We said goodnight around 10:45 pm!
Tuesday 7/31-
First day of white water rafting! We were woken us at 6:30 am but we didn't have to pack up our tents because we are staying at the campsite for two more nights. Breakfast was smoothies and bagels. Chapel on the Chariot was about remembering to let the wind guide us rather than plotting our own corse. The random question of the day was what takes up too much of your time? Ben-Netflx, Peter-YouTube, Natalie-volleyball, Michael-YouTube, Jake-Netflix, Reagan-social media, Justin- ESPN.com. We stopped at Starbucks and some people got coffee. Then we were on the road for an hour and a half to get to Nantahala Outdoor Center. There we watched the safety video and got all our safety equipment (life jackets and helmets). All of the rafters loaded on a bus for a 15 minute bus ride to the Chattooga River. The Trippers were split up into 3 groups of 5 for different rafts. We went over class III, IV and V rapids. The biggest one we did before lunch was the 7 foot drop. Most of the Trippers stayed in their raft on for it but in one raft all of the Trippers fell out! Their guide was Robert and he was the only one left on the raft… hmm. The tour company took pictures of each group going off the drop which ended up being pictures of everyone falling into the water. We got to jump off a rock before heading to the bank. We walked over to a waterfall before eating lunch. Lunch was the best sandwiches ever and dip! Before heading back on the water, Sarah and Reagan stacked rocks. Back on the water we did some more rapids and even rapid surfed. That is where you go to where the rapid flows over and creates a vacuum of some sort. On another rapid, one raft completely flipped and everyone fell out. The last rapids we went on were class V and there were five of them. We could only go one three of them. After we finished those, we got to jump off another rock into the water. When it was time to go our tour guides hooked all of the rafts around a motor boat. It took us over a lake and back to the bus. We loaded up the bus and put the rafts back on the top. Back at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, we changed and go to see the pictures from the trip. All the Trippers thanked their tour guides and loaded up the bus. We stopped at a local apple store and then went to Walmart to get Zander new water shoes (he lost one of his going over the 7 foot drop in the raft where everyone fell out). Back at KOA, the cooks started on dinner in the rain. They had to hang a tarp over the fire to get it to light. The other campers went into the hot tub while they waited. We had cheese & chicken quesadillas, Spanish rice, oranges, and chips & dip for dinner. The boys and girls had separate devotions under separate cover picnic tables. A quote from the day is from Dara; “I’m really cold but if you think about being warm, then you are warm!”
Wednesday 8/1-
We woke up around 6:50am. For breakfast we had cereal and bagels. Chapel was about showing God’s love in tangible ways to people. At Nantahala Outdoor Center, we got wet suits and jacket for our rafting in the duckies. Duckies are one person rafts. We got on a bus and drove to the drop-in point in the river. It was really cold and rainy but everyone still had a great time. We threw around a ball between everyone when we weren’t on rapids.The biggest one we went on was the Falls. A few people fell out but we all made it to the end. We took off the wet suits and jackets. There were showers but they were coin operated. Sarah found 3 quarters which the girls used to get warm. Sarah and Justin dropped all the campers off at the gift shop while they looked for parking. Justin had told us earlier that a guy who was a Tripper last year had fallen in love with a girl who worked there. The boy had asked her what her favorite candy was and she said Twizzlers. He ended up bringing her one! Earlier this summer, Justin had seen her in the store and asked her is she was “Twizzler Girl.” We were all on a mission to find her. Reagan found her and she told us the story again! We went to Rivers End Resta for lunch and had pizza. One table played the Elephant game and Snaps to pass the time. In the end, everyone at that table figured out the Elephant game but some were still trying to understand Snaps. When we were leaving the pizza place, we saw an Alaska license plate! It was still raining when we left so no one really wanted to go to a look out spot. Most of the campers went into the hot tub but Dara and Reagan stayed to move their tent into a less wet area. After, we all went into town to ride Moonshine the bull but it was closed! We also tried to go to the really good ice cream shop but that was closed too. Instead we went to Heavenly Fudge Shop. The worker told us to go to the casino because they had bowling. On the way to the casino, we stopped at Dairy Queen to get some ice cream. When we got there though they said it would be a two hour wait. Instead of waiting, we went exploring! Sarah, Justin, Reagan, and Jake played pool while the others had a dance party on an inclosed patio. On the way back to the KOA, Natalie sang for all of us! She was so good! But she doesn’t know any songs. Back at the KOA we had devotions on the bus because it was still raining. They were about times when we felt loved and when we felt unloved. We talked about why people make other people feel unloved. Then everyone went to shower and to sleep!
Thursday 8/2-
We woke up at 6:30am to pack up our tents and load up the bus. We were a little slow to pack so instead of being on the road at 7, we left the KOA at 7:15… oh well. We had breakfast on the Chariot of cinnamon rolls and yogurt. We went to the Ocoee River. It was really high because of all the rain and the rapids were fast. The ratings were between III and IV. Many of the rafts got stuck at some point because of the strength of the water. After rafting, we loaded up the Chariot for a four hour bus ride to Lexington. We had to switch campsites from the planned one because we were trying to get away from all the rain. We watched The Greatest Showman on the ride and had sandwiches for lunch. Sarah had us all write Love Tanks for everyone while we drove.. Love Tanks are notes about the things we love about the other person. We also did chapel in the afternoon because everyone slept in the morning. It was about where we put our worth. Once we got to Kentucky Horse Farm, everyone set up their tents so they had a chance to dry. There was a plague of gnats that seemed to follow us wherever we went in the campsite. We had mac & cheese, pasta with sauce, applesauce, hotdogs, garlic bread, and lemonade for dinner. After dinner we had an applesauce and pasta eating competition and we all had way too much of both. Jake had brought a speaker (his “tune box”) and Justin used it to play music while we all hung out. Sarah and Justin went for a walk while the campers stayed to hang out. For devotions, we did the line one. We talked about friendship and what it takes to be a good friend. After devotions, the campers stayed up and played games until midnight. We saw a racoon in the tree next to all the tents and some people were sleeping in hammocks. We also saw a skunk walking around near our tents too! Then everyone fell asleep, some more uneasy than others.
Friday 8/3-
We woke up at 6:45am to pack up our tents one last time. The restrooms were not open so everyone brushed their teeth with the water pump. Breakfast was bagels and cereal. Justin and some of the boys used the leftover oranges to pelt the raccoon. We watched Shrek the Third on the ride. We planned our skit for closing campfire, Zander’s vlog. We stopped at Justin’s parents house near Greenwood because they had the keys to Sarah and Justin’s new house. We all got to meet his mom, dad, niece, and nephew. They were really nice! His mom gave us milk and cookies as we sat in their backyard. Sarah and Justin finally got their keys too! Justin’s mom gave him BBQ. 1 more hour of driving later we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch. Some of us went into the play room too.
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